Large Classroom Experience with an Interactive Tiled Display Mural

This paper presents work on an advanced multimedia lecture hall exploiting large tiled displays and student laptops, the software supporting their combined use, and the initial validation of this environment in enhancing learning and student-instructor interaction. Large resolution tiled displays allow multiple students with laptops or tablet PC's to present their work and collaborate with the instructor and other students during a lecture. In the system implementation, real time presentation of material to the tiled display is from the laptop's frame buffer, sent over the local area network, supporting presentation and interaction - and collaboration - independent of any software application. This provides a much more interactive classroom environment, far beyond the traditional chalkboard setting. We present evaluations of this classroom from an introductory computer networking class. Student feedback supports our hypothesis that this system will help enhance student participation, and the utilization of their personal laptop computers to capture better notes allows them to more actively participate in the class