3.835 designing a lab, cont. (41)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Wed, 6 Dec 89 20:23:37 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 835. Wednesday, 6 Dec 1989.
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 89 21:08:33 EST
From: unhd!psc90!jdg@uunet.UU.NET (Dr. Joel Goldfield)
Subject: "Design of a computing lab"
We're appreciative of all the helpful comments fellow humanists have
been sending in to HUMANIST and in private e-mail messages. I didn't
want to include too much of my own educational philosophy in my original
message so as not to "bend" the discussion inappropriately. I was
particularly pleased to read John Slatin's remarks a few minutes ago.
Some of them echoed other comments by experienced colleagues.
Our collective problem at the moment is deciding whether or not to
reduce the number of stations and provide for some sort of "stage" that
some would like for an instructor, or, as I and one colleague in foreign
languages have maintained, have some sort of "lab in the round" with a
seminar table & computer/video hookup in the middle. Not many of our
science colleagues, if any, plan on using the lab for instructional
purposes. We in F.L. would like to have a lab that we could also use
for M. Ed. degree candidates and advanced undergraduates taking courses
in CALL and literary computing, where an instructional application would
be appropriate for us. If the instructional "mode" is not kept (stage or
theater-in-the-round), I suspect that the debate will focus on a
"traditionally" aligned set of rows, perhaps with stations back-to-back
and some on the periphery or kiosks, something like at the U.S. Air
Force Academy. The ad hoc committee is also trying to leave room in the
space described (about 950 sq. ft.) in a previous message for 3 offices
and, if possible, an additional classroom for about 20 students. That's
not going to be possible, I believe.
Has anybody else done this type of lab configuration?
Any other recommendations? Thanks again! --Joel D. Goldfield
Plymouth State College (NH)