Facilities

KALS, which stands for the Komaba Active Learning Studio, is a studio type classroom built in Second Floor, Building 17 Komaba Campus to make active learning activities (such as discussions, group work, and media production) possible in response to the need for a variety of educational programs in liberal arts education.
KALS was designed and developed by the School of Arts and Sciences, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, and Center for Research and Development of Higher Education in their joint project and started to be in operation in May 2007.
KALS consists of a studio of approximately 144 square meters for a classroom space, a waiting area, a storage room, a staff room, and a meeting room, and its classroom capacity is about 40 people. The most notable feature of KALS is its well-equipped state-of-the-art ICT environment, and two full-time staffers are engaged in supporting teachers and developing educational methods using KALS.

Bean Shaped Tables

The tables are designed to create group workstations seating two to six people in various combinations. The classroom layout can easily be rearranged.

Tablet PCs

Each student uses a pen-operated tablet PC to efficiently write, do calculations, and search for information.

Interactive Digital White Board

By touching the large digital white board at the front of the classroom with an active wand, the instructor can operate the tablet PC remotely. The instructor can therefore use the screen without being confined to the tablet PC. The content written on the screen is saved in a digital archive.

The Personal Response System: PRS

Students can respond to the instructor’s questions by pushing individual keypad buttons. The responses are collected, and the results are displayed instantly. This system stimulates group work and discussion and enables the instructor to gauge the students’ level of understanding.

A Four-Sided Array of Wireless Projectors

Wireless projectors can project different images onto four screens at the same time, and four different images can be shown on each screen, so up to sixteen students can display their work simultaneously.

Switchable Light Control Glass UMU

The studio and the waiting room are separated with glass walls of which level of transparency can be changed. When there is a guest visiting the class or when the room is turned over by one class to another, simply pressing the switch can make the opaque glass walls transparent so the people outside can see what is going on in the studio.

Studio Arrangement

KALS is made of five different spaces: a studio, a waiting room, a staff room, a storage room, and a meeting room. The studio capacity is 40 people. The adjacent staff room is to support classes any time. The storage room houses 30 tables and 50 chairs, which can be pulled in and out depending on the form of a class.

Donation

ThinkPad ® X60 Tablet (40 Tablet PCs) Lenovo Japan.
Microsoft ® Office 2007 (40 licenses)　Microsoft Company, Limited.

Educational and research grant

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Support program for contemporary educational needs in 2007 to 2009.
The Hoso Bunka Foundation, Assistance Grants in 2006.