Iowa State education majors are learning teaching methods and techniques in one of the most high-tech classrooms on campus.
The Lagomarcino Hall classroom features four media stations, each of which accommodates up to six students at a semicircular table. In the center of the tables are cable connections; an LCD monitor stands at one end.
"The semicircle tables position students in a way that allows for dialogue and teamwork," said Lisa Norris, senior lecturer in the School of Education. "The technology allows the students to literally plug in their own laptops and share lesson plans as they are being created."
Cameras and microphones placed throughout the classroom let students collaborate with other classrooms via Skype and similar online tools.
"The cutting-edge technology in this classroom demonstrates for the students a new way to present information, and encourages collaboration in their future classrooms," Norris said.
The family of Terry Peterson Denny, an ISU elementary education graduate (1972) who died in 2014, helped fund the classroom, which bears her name. Denny worked for more than 20 years teaching children in the Shawnee Mission school district in Kansas. Her focus was helping children overcome learning disabilities. Photo by Ryan Riley.
