The Durham College Global Classroom is being used for events during the fall semester as the college adjusts space for a new studio, according to original reporting by The Chronicle.
The October 16 campus report includes interviews with humanities professor Lon Appleby and Tony Doyle, the college’s associate vice-president of Academics. Appleby has moved his teaching into a smaller global classroom and says the change has made it easier to focus on course content.
A temporary change in how the space is used
The larger Global Classroom is in the Centre for Collaborative Education at the Oshawa campus. The Chronicle reports that the college announced over the summer that the room would be reserved for events during the fall semester.
Doyle told the newspaper the arrangement was for that semester. The report does not confirm a permanent end to classroom teaching in the space or a decision about how it will be used afterward.
According to a college email described in the article, a Mixed Reality Capture Studio will occupy space in the Centre for Innovation and Research that had previously been used for events. Events are being accommodated in the Global Classroom in the meantime.
Doyle said the room was already regularly used for events and would continue to bring students and the wider community together. His comments explain the college’s stated rationale; they do not establish a new construction budget or a studio opening date.
Professor finds advantages in smaller room
Appleby helped develop the Global Classroom concept about a decade ago. He told The Chronicle he wanted a teaching space that combined the feel of a lounge, theatre and learning environment, with technology connecting students to people elsewhere in the world.
An earlier version operated in a smaller room near the bookstore. The later classroom became part of the Centre for Collaborative Education, developed through discussions involving Appleby and former college president Don Lovisa.
Appleby said he was initially frustrated by the requested move. After teaching in the smaller room, however, he found its technology more reliable and the setting more engaging for students. Less time spent dealing with technical problems meant more attention could go to the material being taught.
His account is a professor’s experience of the change, rather than a measured comparison of student outcomes. The report does not provide survey results, enrolment figures or an independent evaluation of either room.
The Chronicle’s reporting supplies direct interviews with the responsible college official and the professor affected by the move. Details beyond the fall semester remain unconfirmed; the available account should not be read as a final decision about the Global Classroom’s long-term future.
