Equipped with a wall of 27 high-definition video screens as well as five high-end cameras, the newest classroom in Colorado State University’s College of Business is designed to connect on-campus and online students in a whole new way.
The College of Business unveiled on March 29 the “Room of the Future,” featuring Mosaic, an innovative technology–powered by mashme.io–that creates a blended classroom experience, connecting on-campus and online students in real time.
The launch marks a milestone for CSU. The College of Business is the first business school in the nation to provide this type of blended classroom experience, with three learning options: on-campus, on-demand, and online.
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Whether students are online around the globe or in Room 118 in Rockwell Hall–West in Fort Collins, they all can share their perspectives and collaborate on projects and coursework in the classroom.
College of Business Dean Beth Walker unveiled the name of the platform with Victor Sanchez, the CEO and co-founder of mashme.io who provided a live demonstration of Mosaic.
“We chose the name Mosaic, not only to represent the tiled appearance of these 27 screens, but also our values as a community that welcomes new and varied perspectives,” Walker said. “We are all part of a beautiful Mosaic. We believe what makes us different also makes us great.”
How Mosaic works
Mosaic uses mashme.io’s video collaboration technology to mirror a live classroom by creating an immersive learning experience for both online and on-campus students.
During lectures, Mosaic enables simultaneous interactions through polls, group discussions and engagement tools for up to 88 remote students and 37 in-classroom students.
With five strategically placed cameras, online students see exactly what is going on in the classroom. The 27 video screens allow the instructor and on-campus students to have face-to-face interactions with online students.
As an instructor, “there is something really different and compelling in having your students in front of you, in ultra-high definition,” said Sanchez, adding that instructors can pick up on nonverbal cues from online students, such as facial expressions, to better meet their needs.
Sanchez said the key to Mosaic is not just its exceptional video quality, but also its low video latency, allowing for real-time interactions between online and on-campus students.
Joe Giordano is an editor and content manager for Colorado State University.
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