Our department collaborated extensively with many people this summer to deliver our students better spaces in which to work in our dated public computer lab in General Studies 101A. We consulted with Media Commons from University Park, imagineered with EFS to customize furniture, planned and troubleshot with our Physical Plant on campus to do the hard work that needed to be done, and put our ITS heads together to compose the best possible combination of function, practicality, and aesthetics.
Until the renovation, this lab was configured as it had been for many years. Twenty-eight student workstations filled the room in four rows of tables. We provided a scanner, a signature station, a black laser printer, and a color laser printer in this space for student use. Collaboration happened in this room, but only awkwardly. Thanks to Nick Smerker for taking pre-construction shots of the lab in use, last spring:
Problems in the room ranged from issues with running cabling from the walls down the rows of desks to poor lighting to minimal space for movement to old paint and carpet and furniture. Students used the space, but primarily as a place to do the bare essentials of computing.
We set out with several goals in mind. First, we didn’t want to lose any more workstations than possible for the room. It has only been rarely that the lab fills to capacity, but during those busy parts of the year, we can’t spare any seats. We managed to use twenty-six regular desktop computers, with seating for six laptop users – an improvement of four computers in the space. Second, we wanted to provide more effective spaces where collaboration can happen. The two collaboration tables that we imagineered each allow for two public computers with smart podium monitors to work alongside three individual laptops – when the large digital displays are turned on, all you have to do is click the “Share” button on your cable for your screen to show on the TV. The standing computer stations allow for students to use the computers to print jobs quickly without the hassle of settling into seats. Our department can adjust the station heights as we see fit, and two of them are exactly in the prescribed range for chair-bound users to use. Also, we desired to deliver a warmer, more welcoming environment – one that aligns with the beauty of the campus. Finally, we did what we could to conserve both energy resources and money. Those tables that line the walls of the new room are cycled-down from a classroom computer lab.
The feedback that we’ve received since opening the lab has been overwhelmingly positive. Students who returned this fall from previous semesters are astounded at the difference. Students who arrived for their first semester a few weeks ago have made themselves at home in the space. Use of the room seems to have increased, and if we have the opportunity to add more good collaboration spaces in other areas of the campus, we’ll seriously consider it. What do you think?
