For years, pre-med students in big human biology lecture classes complained that they had to wait too long for grades on their weekly problem sets. A year ago, the Stanford Learning Lab came up with a way for students to submit the work online and have it graded by computer. They got quick feedback, and instructors could adjust their lessons by reviewing students' online comments.
Imagine using similar technology on a global scale for classes, research projects and cross-cultural studies. Just such a high-tech lab is the goal of a $27.5 million grant announced in March by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.
Part of the grant -- $15 million -- will go to build the Wallenberg Global Learning Center in Building 160 of the Main Quad (the political science department housed there now will move to Encina Hall this summer). Stanford faculty will design classrooms and labs where researchers can test ways of using technology to bridge cultural and geographic boundaries. The remaining $12.5 million will support a joint project between Stanford and three universities in Sweden, called the Swedish Learning Laboratory.
Although its exact contours are still vague, the Global Learning Center will expand on Stanford's 18-month-old Learning Lab, which uses technology to increase interaction among students and faculty. "We are frankly trying to be radical," says engineering professor Larry Leifer, the lab's director. "We want to build on shared insights to learn faster and learn more deeply."
Stanford will invest $12 million to renovate the 60,000-square-foot structure, while the Wallenberg grant will fund advanced technology. The new facility should be completed by 2001.
