The College of Education has prioritized developing state-of-the-art classrooms that help learners fully develop the skills, knowledge, and sensibilities they will need as educators tomorrow. The O'Leary Learning Center, TIER-ED, and the new Zola Coffee Bar exemplify this thinking by providing modern spaces for students to engage within the College.
David Zola served as a clinical professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, pouring his wit and wisdom into fellow scholars at all levels until his passing in 2018. Students, faculty, and staff now enjoy coffee and tea in a Zola-dedicated space designed to deepen connection and enhance community.
The O'Leary Learning Center officially opened in September 2019. As the first live teaching studio in the College, the O'Leary Learning Center makes teaching online (a mode that historically has felt disconnected) more personal. Through the live studio, instructors and students can regain connection by being able to see, hear, and pick up on each other's body language.
TIER-ED is a community of interdisciplinary researchers and designers at Illinois developing cutting-edge applications of new technologies to critical issues in education and learning across the lifespan. The initiative is based in the College of Education, but it draws on expertise from across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in designing, developing, and assessing these technologies.