Transcript Learning Commons: Why and What?

Learning Commons
What should ours be like?
Knowledge Team
January 2006
Learning Commons
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A place where tools used to learn are owned
by all the people – held in common.
“. . . a physical space, not always in the
library, that incorporates many workstations
equipped with software supporting a variety
of uses, offers workspace for individuals and
groups, provides comfortable furniture, and
has staff that can support activities related to
access to information and use of technology
to develop new products.”
Key ingredients to a
successful leaning commons:

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One stop-shopping
People can go to one
place and find what
they need.
Seamless integration
- All of the service
providers are
represented, they work
together, but they are
still independent.

Learning Commons One-stop
Shopping: Typical Components

Reference and
student
workstations.
Computers that can
not only access web
based resources but
have word processing,
spreadsheet, power
point, statistical
analysis, bibliographic
management, etc.,
software.
Typical Components

Collaborative learning
rooms. Small group
discussion rooms from
which users can link to
the Web, other others,
etc.
Typical Components

Electronic
classrooms. Large
classrooms with WEB
connectivity,
overhead projectors,
etc., needed by
teachers and
librarians while
teaching students in
an electronic
information rich
environment.
Typical Components

Multimedia
workstations.
Equipment/software
needed to develop
multimedia presentations
for teaching students or
for sharing information
between students, e.g.,
video editing, imaging,
scanning, etc., facilities.
Typical Components

Consultation stations.
Workstations allowing the
student and the teacher
to work together while
sitting in front of a
terminal, e.g., sufficient
desk space to work with
both printed information
and electronic resources
at the same time.
Typical Components

Writing lab. Access to
professional writing
coaches/teachers who
can help students
organize and present
their research effectively.
Some writing labs go the
next step and help faculty
and graduate students
prepare their material for
publication.
Typical Components
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Extended hours.
Students typically go
to class in the
daytime and need
access to all of these
facilities and services
late into the night,
e.g., 2 AM. Important
to have 24X7 self
service access to a
limited range of
facilities.
Typical Components

Lounge. Comfortable
furniture, often presented
in conjunction with a cafe
and or vending machines
so that patrons can enjoy
a home like environment
by themselves or with
others. Some lounges
even offer television and
audio listening facilities so
that students can take a
break without leaving the
larger Information
Commons area.
Typical Components

Outreach support
centre in support of
promoting outstanding
teaching, research and
learning. Access to
regular classes and
special seminars about
how to improve teaching,
get grants and research
funding, and how to get
published in leading
journals, etc.
A Learning Commons
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Collaborative approach to meeting the informational
needs of a campus: brings together information
providers/facilitators from across campus.
Builds upon a university’s large investment in
electronic forms of information, student and teaching
staff services.
For the sake of the community, independent
services come together virtually in the commons –
but organizationally still independent.
Vision Statement
HKU’s Learning Commons will be an
integrated, accessible and highly visible
academic support service which will
strengthen teaching, learning and research at
the University of Hong Kong.
University of Arizona
Quick Tour
Individual and group use work
stations
Help with wireless
connections
Large auditorium
Leisure reading area
Media coach
Medium sized classroom
Small sized classroom
Small group study
Arizona virtual tour
http://www.ilc.arizona.edu/vrtour/Default.htm