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What Was That You Said?
Ventilation systems, computers, overhead projectors, and even fluorescent lights are creating a racket in the classroom. Add student activity and outside noises such as traffic and now you have a learning barrier.
 Too much noise can impair learning for students with hearing or learning disabilities and non-English speaking students. Even a cold can affect your hearing and make you miss the teacher’s words.
ClassTalk© is the first software in the world to improve the acoustics in classrooms. The software predicts and assesses how a teacher's voice can be heard over all the noise. Released only a few month ago, ClassTalk© was developed by Dr. Murray Hodgson, an acoustics expert at the University of British Columbia. The software helps architects, school planners and engineers test acoustical levels in a virtual classroom. The program takes into account building materials, the number of students, noise factors and other factors that influence speech quality in a typical university classroom.
Dr. Hodgson has also developed a similar system called PlantNoise©, which predicts noise levels in industrial workshops. Demos of PlantNoise© and ClassTalk© can be downloaded at http://www.flintbox.ca.
Contact:
Dr. Murray Hodgson
Tel.: (604) 822-3073
E-mail: hodgson@mech.ubc.ca
Web site: http://www.mech.ubc.ca/facstaff/murrayhodgson.shtml
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