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[peppergal]

Oh my.  These stories make me profoundly grateful that my biggest problem ever (experienced as a student) was a room with motion-sensitive lighting, and no other source of light.  The motion-sensitivity was not very sensitive, so periodically the lights would go out and we would all start waving our arms around.  It was always pretty funny when the lights came back on and we all kind of froze in mid-wave.

[proftowanda]

I empathize; I've endured every one of these stupid rooms -- L-shaped ones are awful, as are computer labs with students' backs to me, or rooms with grated doors next to noisy stairways, et al., etc.

One triumph was after enduring a room with windows next to a small parking lot specifically for motorcycles.  Bikers seem to like to rev those things between their legs for a loooong time before they finally leave with an even louder roar to let everyone know that they've got big things between their legs.  (Yes, I learned to despise them.)  Class had to come to a total stop, repeatedly, and for several minutes at a time.

I found out that many colleagues had put up with this for years, and I was greeted with shrugs of resignation when I suggested action.  Then came a campus campaign for suggestions that could improve campus life.  I submitted a request that the cycle lot be moved, not far, to be next to the nearby gym building -- as classes and activities there tend to be noisy, anyway.  This was accomplished within two weeks.  Yay! for the sake of hundreds of students and colleagues, perhaps thousands by now, in that classroom ever since.

[melba_frilkins]

At least my story has a happy ending.

My class was scheduled in a Normal Classroom. However, on the first day of classes, things were moved around and I was one of the causalities. With no advance notice, I found out that my class had been reassigned to a room in a different department's building, way across campus.

This room turned out to be a chemistry lab. Upon arrival I faced the following problems a) the room was locked; b) I was not interested in conducting a lecture course with students seated around lab tables; c) the room lacked standard classroom technology; d) the room was booked for a lab section overlapping with my class.

I was then sent to room #2. The problems with this room were a) it was overcrowded with rows of fixed tables, no room for anyone to move around; b) it was only available for 30 minutes. So we used those 30 minutes and ended class early.

Then I was given a choice of three rooms. In touring these, I found my options were
a) a section of the cafeteria seating area (charmingly divided off with a fabric curtain)
b) a lounge area above a diesel mechanic shop
c) a large conference table in the medical assistant lab (surrounded by various medical equipment, exam tables, gruesome anatomy posters, etc.)

In the end it worked out, however. The instructor who had been given my Normal Classroom was very keen on the conference table, so he was happy to trade back. And I was happy too.

Oh, and completely separate was when I taught an evening class in a classroom of a high school. Apart from lack of computer/projector the room was adequate. But sometimes we'd be locked out of the building altogether. Usually we could find the janitor and get in, but one night no luck. I conducted class on the lawn until it got too dark.

[mirandaf]

Good topic. In no particular order, I've had:

(1) Right now: overly bright, tons-o-windows room with no shades (or shades that won't come down); have to wear sun glasses or get a headache from squinting. On the plus side, I have a nice view of a duck pond.
(2) various pieces of non-working tech equipment, in particular visuals but no sound
(3) chronically closed & locked room to which I'm not allowed access to the key
(4) room that comfortable seats 25 students, but my class has 35+ (chairs in the doorway!)
(5) squirrel living in ceiling; bits of dust and ceiling tile fall down when it digs

MirandaF

[babbinacara]

The termite-chewed platform and the cannon had me weeping with sympathetic laughter.

Mine is a poor imitation:
A very small basement room with no windows and a very loud booming heating system that did not, of course, heat that actual room. It had some awkwardly placed pillars as well. The sound proofing was extremely poor and one could hear every word of the teaching going on next door (usually a foreign language class, with a lot of recitation).

[fosca]

When I taught in the Bronx I had a classroom with a small hole in the ceiling, through which one could see the sky.  Students were very careful not to sit in the seats beneath that section, and it also made the climate-control of the room rather difficult.  I mentioned this ceiling problem to the Powers-That-Be; nothing happened. So we wore coats when necessary, and tried not to slip when it rained/snowed.

[young_cc_prof]

Now, I teach MATH.

First day of class this semester, I spent the first half-hour or so of a two-hour discussing the syllabus and plans for the semester.  Then I start actually teaching, so I erase the whiteboard.

Or try to erase it!  It probably looked pretty funny, like a dog barking at the other dog inside the TV.  Yup, the marker that covered every inch of my board was Sharpie, not dry-erase.

So, I turned to the class and explain the difference between the two types of markers.  Then I switched on the projector, downloaded someone else's Powerpoint for that class, and made do!