NERCOMP 2008 Blog

Presented by:
Malcolm Brown, Dartmouth College
Joan K. Lippincott, Coalition for Networked Information
Julie K. Little, EDUCAUSE

• Why computer labs in an age of ubiquity?
• Malcolm’s introduction (by Joan)
• 1/2 hour interactive - structured activity (Julie introduces)
• Joan offers more food for thought

What is ubiquity?

• anywhere, anytime
• narrowing the digital divide (ECAR Annual Study - of Undergraduate Students and IT?)
• mobility (increasing use of mobile devices, network follows/accompanies students)
• Net Gen web 2.0 natives (baseline expectation)

That was then: labs with cubicles for computers and students (usually to the detriment of ergonomic considerations and also detrimental to actually getting work done)

• old school: lab tucked away
• old paradigm: closing the digital divide / access for those who didn’t have their own “at home”; technology was divorced from other learning activities

This is now: student computer purchases at Dartmouth: desktop 56% -> 0%

• second wave of miniaturization in progress

Why computer labs in an age of ubiquity?
(if problem lab was trying to solve has been solved – albeit in unexpected ways)

Process (rows assigned to questions):

#1 What are some goals for new-style computer labs?

• flexibility; multi-platform; social learning; collaboration; multimedia production; energy-efficient; reconfigurable spaces; cost-efficient; used often; 24/7 access; coffee; robust systems - high performance and storage capacity; network-delivered software; rare, expensive software not available elsewhere - software for specific disciplines; support services; local storage? network storage definitely; test stations; peripherals not found “at home”; TeamSpot; smartboards; comfort; library resources; whiteboard wallpaper; digital walls/visualization walls; academic support; scheduling / seats available shown on web so students know ahead of going; training appointments and support; self-guided learning; place for instruction to happen; movable barriers; sound-proof audio / video rooms; built-in ports for mobile devices; UPS power back-up; staff well-paid so that they stay; troubleshooting skills in the lab; projection; large untouchable budget; monitor student use in teaching/learning/collaboration/production spaces to see what’s most/least used for future planning.
• observations:
  • how will labs support changes in pedagogy and approach? flexible and responsive built into design; some need for quiet/larger spaces - how does this fit in overall design?
  • departmental/school-based local facilities to meet specific needs vs. centralized labs? sometimes licensing prohibitive for local units to afford; both/and
• “We exploded more than synthesized.”
• We’re really describing a “learning commons” beyond a “lab”

#2 What links to pedagogy should be built into the facility or program?

• software that faculty request/require; access to library databases and other university resources; making certain that facility can be used as a classroom; faculty involvement in lab design, maintenance; used as interactive involvement; links to hardware required for teaching and learning (e.g., DV camera, large-scale color printers, microscopes); open-source projects; discipline-specific software; project-based learning - collaboration spaces; time on task; diverse learning styles / universal design for students with all kinds of needs; access to media resources; ways for students to share work they’re producing;
• observations:
  • easier to talk about links to pedagogy in terms of classrooms than when talking about labs -> don’t lose sight of the social aspect of labs. focus on “learning” rather than “pedagogy,” both academic and social learning.
  • environment/software customized for particular faculty/course needs; collect input from all users to see how they can be build into the image/design.

#3 What campus or other partners could/should you work with?

• simpler to ask, “who should you NOT talk to?”
• registrar, student affairs, admissions - PR/marketing aspect, facilities and planning, library for space and services, central IT, mechanisms for continual input from students, student life, residence hall staff, academic affairs and academic departments, vendors, writing center, tutoring labs, academic advising, fundraising/development/grant offices, lab as community asset -> discussion with community as a whole, accessibility experts, ergonomics experts, faculty who use currently available facilities, faculty advisory committee, security - both IT and physical, so public safety, media technology services group (A/V)
• observations:
  • how to keep the partners/stakeholders group together as needs and space evolve
  • ask students how they want to use the space
  • Susan Gibbons, Rochester, ethnographic study of students’ preferences, EDUCAUSE web site (2007 presentation); NITLE project across schools

#4 What are types and campus locations for computer labs?

• what is and what could be…
• learning clusters, teaching space, collab space, kiosk, former classrooms converted, specialized based on SW/HW/peripherals, different sizes, double duty spaces, accessibility lab; dorms, classrooms, student centers, residence halls, departmental lounge spaces;
• central, library centralized, faculty dev labs; decentralized: mobilized carts, academic departments, multimedia labs

On your campuses, is there a planning process for rethinking labs? Less than half.

Student Learning Centers:

• A new model for computer labs? (learning centers, commons)
• Features not generally seen: group study rooms, lockers, cafes, other campus services
• Three examples (first two are joint IT/Library projects):
• Tilburg U: Montesquieu Learning Centre, Netherlands: monitors set up with mics and headphones for Skype; lockers with plugs for recharging; classroom and color well-designed
• U of Birmingham, UK, Learning Suites: re-purposed old WWII building
• San Jose State: Academic Success Center - learning objectives initiative
• Issues: which learning goals, who’s in planning, location, jurisdiction, staffing (main thing not working well in example facilities), campus partners, which services, how should it be assessed?

Rethinking Computer Labs - Transformation or Obsolescence? (PDF)

Posted by Gina Seising

One of the most interesting ideas for me in the session this morning was the reflection on the original goal of computer labs as a way to close the digital divide: access to computer resources for those who didn’t have their own “at home.” When I was a student, almost nobody had their own at home because personal computers were so new. The computer lab made absolute sense because it enabled us to word process where we would otherwise have to type on our typewriters, and it enabled us to connect to the mainframe to compute, to connect with others, etc.

Data from Dartmouth (change from 56% of student computer purchases being desktop machines several years ago to 0% desktop purchases now) corroborates other such data: students are generally purchasing portable laptops, and they’re using mobile devices. Though the digital divide still exists in some locations, many students do have access to “their own” computers and devices wherever they want to use them.

Given this change in need, we began to brainstorm current goals for “labs” or “learning spaces” or “learning commons.” What do you see as most critical current needs for spaces with computer resources where students, faculty, and staff can gather in the same place? What are the kinds of activities that cannot be accomplished solo at home or virtually in online collaborative spaces? Why have a lab today?

- Gina Siesing

Blogging for this session will begin flowing this afternoon. We wish Malcolm an interesting, but not too lengthy, jury duty. Joan and Julie will be presenting Malcolm’s material along with theirs at this highly interactive session.

- Gina Siesing

Track 2
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
11:15 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.
Room 554 A/B

Presenters:
Malcolm Brown, Dartmouth College
Joan K. Lippincott, Coalition for Networked Information
Julie K. Little, EDUCAUSE

Whither the computer lab in the age of laptop ownership and iPhones? This session will offer a collective rethinking of this learning space. The presenters will seed the discussion by presenting an overview of goals and features of new kinds of labs, followed by an open discussion of the new possibilities for the computer lab at a time when mobile connectivity and anywhere, anytime computing is increasingly the case.

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