[iDC] Undermining open source: iTunes U
John Hopkins
jhopkins at neoscenes.net
Thu Mar 9 22:54:54 EST 2006
>>Another
>>development that I noticed is that of labs that are conducive to
>>collaboration. Instead of the factory-like rows of lined-up computers
>>there are several smaller units with three or four workstations.
lab musings:
I could kick myself for not making a regular
series of images of all the several hundred labs
that I have either taught in or visited over the
years -- would be an interesting survey. I think
one of the over-riding issues I observed (and
intervened on) was that of very basic ergonomics.
Countless places had the monitors either facing
windows (reflections) or up against
(south-facing!!) windows, some without any
shading. I would walk in during the afternoon,
and students would be squinting into direct
sunlight trying to see the monitors -- OUCH!
(and not know why they had a headache after
working for a couple hours that way!). Of
course, the issue of chairs is a critical one
which is often overlooked, that and some
reasonable ventilation solution that can cope
with 20 G5's each with 11 internal cooling fans...
I think that Jon Nykänen, a staff person at the
Media Lab at UIAH Helsinki had the best proactive
policy for lab spaces -- chosing nice paint
colors, no glaring fluorescent lighting --
instead, single working lights for each station.
Round clusters of three workstations each
scattered around a space that also had plenty of
nice plants, ambient lights that approximately
equaled the illumination of the monitors, a nice
view out onto the Arabianranta Bay, plenty of
whiteboard space, a decent sound and projection
system, and as was the case in all Finnish
schools (and elsewhere) intensively perfect
ergonomic chairs and tables... nice! One school
in Tampere had specially constructed reclining
chairs (like a glorified E-Z-Boy) with the
monitor set in front and above the user, a mouse
pad built in to the arm of the chair, and
keyboard on an adjustable tray in the lap. Also
nice is a parallel chill-out lounge space for
computer-free dialogues. Nothing like having a
discussion with the rows of faces lit up by
monitors in front of them.
Air is a consistent problem -- with centralized
systems usually inadequate to refresh the
ionization of all the machines, and open windows
tending to get things wet or dusty or both...
Carpeting? nice for acoustics bad for attracting
dirt. high ceiling? good for air and avoiding
that cubicle-feeling.
Good to be able to black-out the room for
effective projection use, unless you happen to
have a 4-meter (12-foot) plasma screen ;-]
The best labs had windows only on one wall, so
monitors could be perpendicular to the
window-wall (minimizes reflections).
During working hours, I always did a sonic and
visual remix from material found across the
network. I can recall when the Columbia shuttle
broke up -- I had been playing NASA live feeds
immediately previous, along with an ambient sonic
mix with it... it hit the students hard when we
came in one morning, and the news had just
broken...
hmmm, what else is there. If I had the time, it
would be nice to write a best-practices for a lab
-- including the pros/cons of proprietary/floss,
self-management vs centrally managed,
student-owned vs school-owned machines, etc etc...
Cheers
John
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