Page 29 - Campus Technology, October 2017

C-Level View
where for every one student, there is one computer. These were places where you went to work on a desktop computer or workstation.
It’s important for us to revise and update our understanding of labs, and to introduce more diversity into our thinking about them. Universities, schools and departments should think more deeply about how they are using their lab stations. They should consider taking these resources in new directions and imagine how they can provide students with wholly new learning experiences in the lab spaces.
CT: How did you approach this question at Penn State?
Bowen: We found that the key to innovating our use of computer labs was not to think about them as laboratory spaces, but to begin thinking of them as learning experiences.
An experience has three parts to it, in terms of the laboratory: the environment (the room itself); technology and furnishings (this might be digital technology, furniture or any relevant learning materials needed); and expertise (guidance from people).
Note that computers, per se, are not necessarily required! The target experience itself will dictate how the lab is designed, not the presumption that we must have rows and columns of computer workstations. In many cases, we are replacing the old computers with a range of alternatives, from prototyping tools to whiteboards. And we are seeing
opportunities for virtualization and mobile technologies — as students become more accustomed to the practice of BYOD.
It’s also important to stress the pres- ence of expertise. The room may include guidance, from faculty, a lab assistant, peer counselors or tutors .... Generally,
in order to get the most from an experi- ence lab space, having people there who are experts or well-versed in the particular discipline or task at hand is an asset that’s unique to this type of lab. Experience guides are an important part of the lab.
CT: You are talking about changing the institution’s notion of lab space. What do students expect labs to be?
Bowen: In terms of what students come to labs for, they might think of being able to work with other students, or to get access to technology or specialized software, or even just to use available power .... So their lists of needs are somewhat personal.
CT: Yes ... a comfortable chair was big on my list! Bowen: Right! It’s striking that when you look at these
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | October 2017
Penn State’s Immersive Experiences Lab
personal lists, nowadays, not many of the reasons for coming to a lab really require a laboratory computer.
CT: So are we approaching the days of the computerless computer lab?
Bowen: Yes, in a way. But remember, this comes from try- ing to challenge our assumptions about labs — to update our ideas about these learning spaces, so we can do new things. We are making new experience labs.4
Courtesy of Penn State University