I just finished Lauren Oliver's Delerium, and I loved it! I stayed up way too late reading, but what can you do? I really do need to cut it out, though. I’m staying up later and waking up later, and that’s no good for my schedule. I think the husband’s going to stage an intervention soon. Anyway, Lauren Oliver writes beautifully. The story involves a future America where love is seen as a disease and everyone submits to a procedure when they turn 18 that makes all fuzzy-type feelings go away forever. I was very glad to hear that this will be a trilogy, because I can’t imagine a book ending the way this one did and leaving it at that.
Favorite passage:
“Love, the deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.
But that isn’t it exactly.
The condemner and the condemned. The executioner; the blade; the last-minute reprieve; the gasping breath and the rolling sky above you and the thank you, thank you, thank you, God.
Love: It will kill you and save you, both.”
Good news: She has also written a book for middle school-aged children, titled Liesl and Po! AND you can enter a contest on her blog to win a ARC! Check it out: http://laurenoliverbooks.blogspot.com/2011/04/introducingliesl-po.html?showComment=1308858672705#c2027724031602115904
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Web address for my class wiki
Hello! I posted this on the front page of the class wiki, but I'll post it here again:
http://stdresources.pbworks.com/w/page/39219589/FrontPage
http://stdresources.pbworks.com/w/page/39219589/FrontPage
Monday, April 11, 2011
Collaborative design: a learner-centered library planning approach
Somerville, Mary M. & Collins, Lydia. (2008). Collaborative design: A learner-centered planning approach. The Electronic Library, 26(6): 803-820.
Summary:
Information commons were introduced in libraries in the early 1990's. The goal of information commons was the manipulation and mastery of information. However, libraries (particularly science & technology libraries) are not longer just used for the purpose of finding information. Users are now accustomed to all modes of digital technology, and have certain expectations about the library's environment. Technology now plays an important role in both the information-seeking and overall learning experience. Many university libraries now include learning commons, which provide students with the resources and tools needed to complete simple to advanced tasks. They bring people together, "not around informally shared interests as happens in traditional common rooms, but around shared learning tasks, sometimes formalized in class assignments". Learning commons allow for both technology and social interaction to contribute to the learning experience. They also foster collaboration between students, library staff and faculty.
During library design (or redesign), users are often consulted via surveys or other studies. User-centered design was taken to a new level when Cal Poly Pomona decided to take a collaborative approach with students in the Learning Commons planning process. This article identifies this trend as collaborative design, or co-design.
The founding Learning Commons Partners consisted of ten library leaders, information technologists, and pedagogy experts who forged a partnership. The co-design approach was developed and evaluated through an 18-month study involving librarians, students, and professors at Cal Poly. The founders established the two following purposes for the Learning Commons:
(1) provide technological infrastructure, pedagogy and technology expertise, and
information resources and consultation to enable faculty innovation and
curriculum revitalization; and
(2) encourage application of constructivist principles to advance students’
information, communication, and technology proficiencies for lifelong learning.
When the Learning Commons opened, students participating in the study were allowed to bring their library design ideas to the table, supervised by faculty sponsors. The students eployed user-centric research methodologies to identify learning commons enhancements. By observing students, the founders wanted to find out:
(1) How do students study/learn? How do they solve problems?
(2) How do students use technology and share information?
(3) How do students produce content and “make knowledge”?
However, upon observation, students' work suggested that the commons also needed to:
My Thoughts:
I think that while this is a rare example of how users can be involved in the planning process (most libraries don't have millions to spend), it shows how important it is to consider their perspective. The founding Learning Commons Partners were all very experienced and knowledgeable people. But they lacked the insight into what exactly students felt was necessary for an ideal learning space. As we have seen through our coursework, science is very interdisciplinary. It is natural that students from different backgrounds may end up working together. By giving the students tools that allow them to be creative and combine their knowledge and talents, the Learning Commons provides them with memorable learning experiences.
I think that other methods could be employed when a library is considering providing or updating a learning commons. In addition to student surveys, students could be observed to see if certain areas of the library (or even the university campus) are more popular than others. It would also be helpful to set up some of the technology that the library is considering purchasing on a trial basis to see if it is actually used and whether students like it. Taking users into account will ensure that the final design is well-used and the money is well-spent.
Summary:
Information commons were introduced in libraries in the early 1990's. The goal of information commons was the manipulation and mastery of information. However, libraries (particularly science & technology libraries) are not longer just used for the purpose of finding information. Users are now accustomed to all modes of digital technology, and have certain expectations about the library's environment. Technology now plays an important role in both the information-seeking and overall learning experience. Many university libraries now include learning commons, which provide students with the resources and tools needed to complete simple to advanced tasks. They bring people together, "not around informally shared interests as happens in traditional common rooms, but around shared learning tasks, sometimes formalized in class assignments". Learning commons allow for both technology and social interaction to contribute to the learning experience. They also foster collaboration between students, library staff and faculty.
During library design (or redesign), users are often consulted via surveys or other studies. User-centered design was taken to a new level when Cal Poly Pomona decided to take a collaborative approach with students in the Learning Commons planning process. This article identifies this trend as collaborative design, or co-design.
The founding Learning Commons Partners consisted of ten library leaders, information technologists, and pedagogy experts who forged a partnership. The co-design approach was developed and evaluated through an 18-month study involving librarians, students, and professors at Cal Poly. The founders established the two following purposes for the Learning Commons:
(1) provide technological infrastructure, pedagogy and technology expertise, and
information resources and consultation to enable faculty innovation and
curriculum revitalization; and
(2) encourage application of constructivist principles to advance students’
information, communication, and technology proficiencies for lifelong learning.
When the Learning Commons opened, students participating in the study were allowed to bring their library design ideas to the table, supervised by faculty sponsors. The students eployed user-centric research methodologies to identify learning commons enhancements. By observing students, the founders wanted to find out:
(1) How do students study/learn? How do they solve problems?
(2) How do students use technology and share information?
(3) How do students produce content and “make knowledge”?
However, upon observation, students' work suggested that the commons also needed to:
- promote cross-disciplinary inquiry and discourse; and
- create an inclusive, interactive learning community.
My Thoughts:
I think that while this is a rare example of how users can be involved in the planning process (most libraries don't have millions to spend), it shows how important it is to consider their perspective. The founding Learning Commons Partners were all very experienced and knowledgeable people. But they lacked the insight into what exactly students felt was necessary for an ideal learning space. As we have seen through our coursework, science is very interdisciplinary. It is natural that students from different backgrounds may end up working together. By giving the students tools that allow them to be creative and combine their knowledge and talents, the Learning Commons provides them with memorable learning experiences.
I think that other methods could be employed when a library is considering providing or updating a learning commons. In addition to student surveys, students could be observed to see if certain areas of the library (or even the university campus) are more popular than others. It would also be helpful to set up some of the technology that the library is considering purchasing on a trial basis to see if it is actually used and whether students like it. Taking users into account will ensure that the final design is well-used and the money is well-spent.
Background Information: Cal Poly Pomona and the Robert E. Kennedy Library
The California State Polytechnic Institute Pomona is located in San Luis Obispo, and is one of seven polytechnic institutes in the United States. It employs more than 3,000 faculty for its 21,000 students. Cal Poly Pomona features eight colleges: Agriculture; Business Administration; Collins College of Hospitality Management; Education and Integrative Studies; Engineering; Environmental Design; Letters, Arts and Social Sciences; and Science. It prides itself on its "Learn by doing" philosophy, which focuses on preparing students for real-world experiences. In 2008, it completed a $58.5 million expansion and renovation project on its Kennedy Library. The focus of the renovation was to update technology and create a "people space" to support user-centered learning.
When plans for the update of the Kennedy Library began, the University kept users in mind throughout the process. Important new Library areas include:
California State Polytechnic Institute Pomona. (2011). "About Cal Poly Pomona". Retrieved April 12, 2011 from http://www.csupomona.edu/about.php
California State Polytechnic Institute Pomona. (2010). "About the University Library". Retrieved April 12, 2011 from http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/about/about.html
Images: http://www.rsconstruction.com/visit-our-projects/10-education/61-cal-poly-pomona-library-addition
When plans for the update of the Kennedy Library began, the University kept users in mind throughout the process. Important new Library areas include:
- a two-story Grand Reading Room
- a high-tech 53-workstation Productivity Center
- 43 Group Study Rooms to support collaborative learning
- a 24-hour lab with 78 computer stations
- a Special Events Room for seminars, symposia, and receptions
- six classrooms and
- a state of the art Learning Commons that encourages “search and discovery” through a 60-work station center.
California State Polytechnic Institute Pomona. (2011). "About Cal Poly Pomona". Retrieved April 12, 2011 from http://www.csupomona.edu/about.php
California State Polytechnic Institute Pomona. (2010). "About the University Library". Retrieved April 12, 2011 from http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/about/about.html
Images: http://www.rsconstruction.com/visit-our-projects/10-education/61-cal-poly-pomona-library-addition
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