09 Nov 2007

 

Academic Commons Highlights Information Technology! [09Nov07]

This past summer, CIT and Library personnel worked with Facilities personnel and contractors to put the new Academic Commons in place on the main level of Mudd Center. The project to initiate, design, develop and implement the Commons had been ongoing for many, many months and included people from all areas of campus life, including faculty, staff and students.

The main computer lab on campus, the Mudd 052 lab, had been on A-Level in Mudd. In that facility were 22 Apple Macintosh G4 iMacs, 22 Windows Gateway E4000s (of which 1 Mac and 1 Windows had special keyboards and adjustable-height desks), 2 Windows Gateway E4000 scanning stations, 4 PowerMac G5 video-editing stations, 3 PowerMac G5 scanning stations, 1 PowerMac G5 slide scanner, and one print station (G5) with multi-purpose printer for 11'x17' paper and transparencies, as well as a color printer and 3 general purpose laserjet printers. In that facility was also located the Student Computing Services Center, the computer/technology help desk for students. The SCSC was a facility staffed by CIT student staff members at various hours, Sunday-Friday. In addition, also on A-Level, in the lobby area, there were 8 iMacs and 2 Gateways, printing to the printers in the Mudd 052 lab.

We worked hard to put many new and upgraded technology resources into the Academic Commons, and have them in place by the start of the academic year. Information about the resources available is listed below.

Workstation Area	Half-Round Booths
Multi-Media Room	Project Viewing Area

• The entire Academic Commons is heavily wireless.
• Many more electrical and network connections were installed throughout the facility, including in the Café.
• There is a workstation area with 7 three-station tables and 1 six-station table. On these tables are 17 new 20" iMac computers and 9 new Windows Gateway E4610 computers.
• There are 3 half-round booths, 2 with new iMacs and connections for laptops, and one with just connections for laptops, leaving room for users to spread out more. These booths were intended to provide collaborative work space for people who want to gather around a computer and work together on a project. They can also be used to sit at individually.
• There is an electronic classroom, intended to be used by Reference Librarians to instruct students on research mechanisms, and by others when not in use for these classes. There are 14 new iMacs and 8 new Macbook laptops in this facility. When not needed for instruction purposes, the 8 laptops are available for checkout by students for use while in Mudd.
• Each of the six Group Study rooms is equipped with a 46" LCD wall-mounted large-screen display, capable of being attached to laptops (user-owned laptops or laptops available for check-out from the Circulation Desk).
• There is a new multi-media facility with 4 Mac G5s and 1 new Windows Gateway E4610 computer. The 4 Macs have video-editing capability; 3 of these also have flat-bed scanners attached and 1 has a slide-scanner. The Windows computer also has a flatbed scanner attached. Each of these computers is set up to print to the color printer and multi-purpose printers in this room. The multi-purpose printer is provided for printing to transparencies or to large-sized, 11"x17", paper. Both of these materials are provided by CIT to users for their express use in this printer. Also in this room is a new 46" LCD display in a viewing area with comfortable seating, where individuals may view their finished digital imaging/graphics projects.
• The Writing Center has been relocated to the Group-Study room nearest the workstation area. One new iMac is located in that room for use by tutors.
• There are 4 laserjet printers. All workstation and classroom computers are set to print to these printers.
• All the Mac computers have Mac OS X 10.4.10, MS Office 2004, iMovie, iDVD and come with CD/DVD-RW super drives. The four Mac G5s in the multi-media room also have Final Cut Pro software and 2 of these stations have the specialized Final Cut Pro keyboard.

In addition to the enhanced technology resources in the Academic Commons, CIT has added additional client service points. The SCSC which was the student help desk in the Mudd 052 lab has been relocated to the Academic Commons, enhanced, and renamed the Technology Services Center (TSC). The TSC is staffed by heavily-trained CIT student staff members during hours most required by students, mainly Mon-Thurs, 1400-2400 (2 P.M. to midnight) ; Friday 1400-1700 (2-5 P.M.); and Sundays 1600-2400 (4 P.M. to midnight). The TSC is the main technology help desk for students on campus. At this facility, students can bring their laptops for basic troubleshooting and repair, and can get assistance on a wide variety of technology problems: printing, accounts, use of standard applications, such as MS Word and Excel. Other users of the Academic Commons may get assistance with on-site resources, as well.

CIT has also added an Information Desk in the center of the Academic Commons, co-located with the Library's Information Desk. We have one student staff member assigned to this location at most times when the TSC is staffed. Users may get assistance at this location with accounts, printing, use of on-site computers, and standard software applications (email, MS Word, etc.).

In addition to the Academic Commons on the main level, CIT has upgraded the computers on A-Level with 8 new iMacs and 2 new Windows Gateways . There is also a laserjet printer located on A-Level for printing from those computers.

The two adjustable tables and special keyboards have been relocated to Mudd 204, the Adaptive Technologies Center, which houses one iMac computer and one Windows computer, plus special software, such as Kurzweil and Dragon Naturally-Speaking. The Adaptive Technologies Center is run by Student Academic Services.

Thus, the Academic Commons provides the same number of computers as were located previously in the Mudd 052 lab, namely, 55. The same number of printers also exists. There are 4 general-purpose printers in the Academic Commons and 1 on A-Level, plus the color printer and multi-purpose printer.

We took out of service some antiquated equipment, such as an old scanner attached to a Windows PC. The separate computer used to print to the multi-purpose printer was removed and all computers in the multi-media room can now print to that printer. We also combined functions at the stations in the new multi-media room, since we found people did not use the various stations, individually, very heavily in the past. Thus, the video-editing capability was combined with the scanning capability at these stations. We incorporated large-screen displays throughout the Academic Commons to allow people to collaborate more easily on various projects. The electronic classroom allows Reference Librarians the ability to provide required instruction without having to move to an off-site computer lab, and also provides additional computers for use by students and others when not being used for instruction. Also, the 8 new Macbook laptops have been made available for check-out.

We intend to keep expanding and enhancing technology in the Academic Commons. We will soon be adding to the resources available in the multi-media room. If you think we're missing something, technology-wise, please let us know! Send a message to client.services@oberlin.edu.

New Uses for Old Spaces:

Computer Store: With the advent of the Academic Commons and the relocation of resources to that facility, some spaces were freed up for other uses. The prior Reserve Room will now house the ever-expanding College Computer Store. Look for the grand opening next semester! The Computer Store is also holding a logo contest. Check out all the details online.

CTIE: With the relocation of the equipment from the Mudd 052 lab, this room was available for another function that has been looking for a good home for some time! This space will now house the Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence (CTIE).