FEDERATION University Australia’s Wimmera Campus has launch its new eLearning and library study hubs.
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The $150,000 eLearning hub will be used by both staff and students. Head of Wimmera campus Geoff Lord said the new site would enhance the study and research options of students.
“From a student perspective, the eLearning Hub will enrich their experience as learners,” he said.
“It also will give students the opportunity to use the space and technology to engage remotely via aggregated teaching delivery, and use the facilities to complete technology enabled learning activities and multimedia assessment tasks.
“Not all students have the facilities or materials at home required for their studies.”
Mr Lord said the hub would allow for flexibility in learning and delivery.
“The eLearning hub continues FedUni’s focus on developing teaching spaces and implementing technological infrastructure that supports innovative, contemporary and student-centred learning and teaching practices,” he said.
“This learning space provides FedUni staff rich opportunities to explore effective teaching strategies that are enabled by a flexible space, furniture and complemented by the available technology.”
The new hub contains movable furniture – which can be rearranged minutes after walking into the room – and coloured zoning on the floors.
It has four LCD screens that students can connect to wirelessly and work on individually or in groups.
A larger screen can be used to show slides or run virtual classrooms.
“Most of the surfaces are writable surfaces. There are no whiteboards or blackboards,” Mr Lord said.
“There is idea paint for writing on the walls and you can write on the tables as well.”
Mr Lord said a portable desktop sound booth, lightning that supported video and green screen recording and a pull-down and portable green screen were all part of the new hub.
“There’s also a high quality video camera, microphone suitable for sound booth recording and a high-end computer capable of video editing,” he said.
Mr Lord said the project had been financed through a Commonwealth grant as well as support from FedUni TAFE and library services.
“We spent $150,000 on the hub,” he said.
“We would have liked to spend a little more, but we’ll get there.”