What is background noise and reverberation?
Background noise is any unwanted sound that interferes with what you want to hear. Background noise in a classroom can come from many sources such as traffic, lawnmowers, children on the playground or in the hallway, heating or air conditioning units, audiovisual equipment, or other students. Reverberation refers to the phenomenon of sound continuing to be present in a room because of sound reflecting off of surfaces such as desks or chairs. When sound lingers in a room there is more interference with speech. In a classroom it is important to have a short reverberation time.
