Twelve of the sixteen general university classrooms in the new building will provide Level 3 or Level 4 multimedia, including teaching podium with computer, VCR/DVD and projector.

Some Classrooms to Open Spring Quarter

In order to meet faculty demand as quickly as possible, four of the new classrooms are to be ready for use at the start of spring quarter, 2004. The classrooms identified for spring completion are:

• CM 115 (146-150 seats)
• CM 224 (30 seats)
• CM 225 (40 seats)
• CM 226 (45 seats, movable tables and chairs)

The above classrooms were specifically identified to address faculty requests for smaller classrooms with media and a multimedia alternative to Fraser Hall 2.

Seven additional Level 3 and 4 classrooms will be ready for use beginning summer quarter, 2004. These classrooms include:

• Two 100 seat lecture halls
• Two 75 seat lecture halls
• Two 50-60 seat classrooms
• One 35 seat seminar room

Finally, two other 50-60 seat classrooms in the Communications Building will be outfitted with Level 2 facilities optimized for video display.

Expanding the pool of multimedia classrooms by more than 12%, these new facilities should help us to meet the increasing faculty requests for classrooms with technology appropriate to individual teaching styles.

We recommend that faculty members and academic department personnel begin planning now to take advantage of these new classrooms for the summer and all of the coming year. Be sure to use the process defined by the Registrar's office for requesting Level 2, 3, or 4 classroom technologies, and use the Block Scheduling Guidelines to assure priority scheduling.

Computer Labs Expand Too

Recent surveys of Western students have indicated that one of their primary technology concerns is the inability to get access to computer lab seats for academic work. Students will see significant progress in addressing this concern, as the Communications Building will include the following general university computer labs:

• One 40 seat PC computer lab (divisible into two 20 seat sections)
• One 50 seat PC computer lab (divisible into two 25 seat sections)
• One 20 seat Macintosh lab
• Two 20 seat PC labs

The first three listed labs (comprising five separate sections) are located on the ground floor of the new building and will be made available 24 hours per day. Departments housed in the Communications Building have the opportunity to schedule instructional activities in these computer labs on a preferred basis. For example, Journalism will have preferred access for scheduling instruction in the Macintosh lab, while Physics will have preferred scheduling for the PC lab located on the third floor. Computer lab space will also be available for instructional use by other departments. All of the new computer labs will be made part of the lab scheduling process for fall, 2004. Keep in mind that this scheduling of the computer labs will take place at the same time as scheduling for fall classes - that is, during the upcoming winter quarter.

Departmental Academic Technology Also Expands

Departments that are moving to new buildings often have an opportunity to re-invigorate their facilities, and such is the case for the departments moving to the Communications Building this summer. Highlights of technology features being added by departments include:

Communications Department: The new computer labs, as well as specific departmental technologies for digital video editing, seminar room mediation, and forensics support will allow Communications to upgrade and enhance its curriculum in ways that better prepare students for today's job market.

Computer Science: A new computer lab with updated computers will be available for undergraduate CS students on the ground floor of the building. In addition, special purpose labs for network management, distributed computing, software development, visualization, and other areas of specialization will be provided in departmental space on the fourth floor. A computer tutorial center on the ground floor, as well as student study and office areas will significantly enhance support services for students.

Journalism: New facilities for campus publications (e.g., Western Front, Klipsun, Planet) will be complemented by a new Macintosh editing lab and dedicated publication scanning and printing facilities.

Physics: In addition to specialized lab facilities for optics, holography, lasers, mechanics and other specialized studies, Physics will have a new classroom support facility to house the specialized instructional equipment that forms an integral part of instruction scheduled for lecture halls in the building.

More To Come

There are almost too many academic technology features in the new building to cover in this brief article. For example, the existence of wireless networking throughout the new building hasn't even been mentioned yet. Suffice it say that the new Communications Building will significantly expand academic technology options for both faculty and students. We hope you're looking forward to the new facilities and capabilities as much as we are.