SPEC Kit 328: Collaborative Teaching and Learning Tools · 49
technology run the risk of failing to meet user demands and expectations.
Many of our collaborative learning tools are in our Interactive Media Center. Software plays just as large, if not larger,
role in collaborative teaching and learning.
Strong collaboration in this area with the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning. Along with the Writing
and Rhetoric Program and, to some extent, the academic computing department.
The survey seems to indicate that the library offers the service if it is in the library. However, for many information
commons, IT services are provided by university/college IT services. While our TECHB@R is right next to the library’s
reference desk, and uses our library systems to check out equipment, they are administratively run by another group and
cooperatively work with us. Some of the questions imply that the library or IT only, not both.
We anticipate an increase in the availability of these kinds of tools in the library as the library transforms its spaces to
better support more collaborative approaches to teaching and learning.
We are in the very early stages of considering collaborative teaching and learning tools, too early to answer any of these
questions.
We began our laptop circulation program in fall 2002 with approximately 50 laptops. In spite of rolling out many
innovative programs since then, it continues to be one of our most popular and most appreciated services.
We have also introduced touch screens and red/green lights to the outside of each student workroom so students can
see if the room is available, and book it on the spot using the touch screen.
We have over 2000 pieces of equipment from a $3500 video camera to $3 audio adapters. Some of our kits have 15
pieces that include chargers, cables, batteries, filters, etc. Over the last 10 years that we’ve been growing to serve the
needs of our community we’ve developed extensive policies and procedures.
We recently replaced our circulating laptops with netbooks. Given the lower price of the netbooks, we were able to
increase the number we are offering our users.
We’re still fledglings in this effort. We are currently concentrating on providing these tools to library staff in order to
help them become familiar and up-to-speed on their usage before making them more widely available to our library
users. These responses mainly relate to the Smithsonian Natural History Library, which has specifically been designed for
collaboration and training.
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