If you’ve ever wondered how the UNC campus community uses the Social Computing Room that RENCI built and deployed in the ITS Manning Building, final exams offered a glimpse of how useful the room can be.

Instead of the typical final exam, students in Geography 445 held a finals week poster session in the room where they showcased their research projects (created by peer groups rather than individuals) and had a chance to assess the projects done by other groups. The results were interaction and lively discussion on a wide range of topics, from understanding how multi-drug resistant tuberculosis spreads in Peru to an analysis of the relationship between food insecurity and obesity in North Carolina. The class was taught by Ashley R. Ward, PhD, a lecturer in the geography department.

The Social Computing Room is a square room with a floor-to-ceiling desktop on all four walls, making it ideal for presenting large volumes of information, interactions with data, and group projects that involve multimedia. For a quick peak at the Geography 445 poster session, check out this YouTube video.