Twenty-First Century College Dorm’s

Nothing tends to be more traditional in education than the approach to learning at the collegiate level. Students still report of lectures going on ad nauseam, causing even the most interested of students to rub sleep from their eyes.

But a Peter Schworm article in the Boston Globe offers at least one option that may see some serious changes. That is the old, cinder block, dark and rather indifferent structure known as the college dorm.

Apparently Universities are beginning to realize that students of today not only have their own rooms, they are completely plugged in with phones and computers. Privacy is expected but connection to others is welcomed under the right conditions.

The traditional dorm room could change in a hurry if the vision of new college student room structures becomes a reality. Building self-contained units off site then bringing them to the campus and assembling them there is just one of the latest innovations being postured by architects.

But it is the rooms themselves that excite even this staid educator. Consider the concept of computer screens covering entire walls and beamed video lectures entering the dorm room at the touch of a mouse or the screen itself, delivered when the student wants. The incredible new technology would then allow for the screen to dissolve into a clear floor-to-ceiling window with yet another touch of the monitor.

Add to that, moveable walls, modular furniture that folds into those walls, and other clear walls that give the appearance of greater size yet tint at the flip of another switch and you soon understand the sense of excitement these new units would bring.

For more details and the current changes many universities are implementing see Schworm.