The Information Commons: Our Mess is DONE (sort of...)

It’s been a busy time of remodeling, curriculum development and faculty formation!  And in all the kerfuffle of life, I never got around to following up on our Mess and Progress in creating our Information Commons.  So here goes…  

As of Friday, November 6^th, the last piece of lighting was installed and the Information Commons is officially complete.  Students, faculty, alumni and families have been enjoying the space since we opened in late August.  Rather than bore you readers with the details of incomplete cabinetry, back-ordered furniture and misspelled wall art… I thought I would frame this post in light of the happy surprises this project has created.

Zoning works!  We planned our space in light of retail design theory which calls for loud spaces up front with spaces becoming quieter and more personal as the user moves deeper into the space.  So our collaborative tables are near the door, small group tables are nestled within the shelving and personal seating is furthest back near the windows.  Adult presence is most dense in the front of the space – IT Helpdesk and 360 degree reference desk included.  Our surprise lies in the student understanding of zoning.  Our librarians were very intentional in explaining (during class visits, opening tours and continued supervision) the rationale for the zones, purposes and expectations.  Students immediate react with “Oh, that makes sense!” and use the zones appropriately.  Now our physical space reflects our academic learning objective that “students will assess their learning need – evaluate resources available – use the resources appropriately”. 

Sound proof glass to create the quiet study room works!  We chose to glass off the quietest section of the Information Commons.  This created a physical and mental transition from the chattier areas of the space.  Our surveys indicated 48% of the students still required a classic, quiet study space.  The happy surprise has been that students completely own this space.  No adult has yet to need to monitor the space… the students monitor and respect the purpose.  Personal ownership is key to our success. 

Students like to create their own spaces… and will move furniture around appropriately to create great spaces.  We put almost every piece of furniture on wheels.  As students live in the space, we all recognize what works and what doesn’t.  Students have great ideas on how to better create THEIR learning environment.  Having flexible furniture allows for the space to grow, meeting student needs.

Existing features are highlighted.  I can’t tell you how many times people ask me when we put in the skylights.  I have to answer “Ummmm 1986."  The windows and skylights have been in the space for over 30 years… yet prior physical layout, dark paint and walls obscured these features.  By opening the space and brightening the paint and carpet the existing features really pop.  As we enter the dark days of winter, the Information Commons is now the most popular space in the building in part because of its wonderful lighting.

So 2015 has been a great experience in terms of space… and the next step is really looking at the work flow.  Part of our Ignatian process is to reflect on experience.  We have experienced the Information Commons as a physical space for three months.  Now it is time to reflect on how we use the space, how work flow is impacted and how instruction can be modified.  In some ways, a new mess for new progress.  I am looking at Work Flow Analysis research and structures to help facilitate conversation and reflection.   I'll keep you all posted...

Oh - and recently JD and I presented at the Treasure Mountain Research Retreat at The Ohio State University. We talked a lot about allowing for student voice in design. If you are interested in seeing those slides just follow the hyperlink.

So What's Next?

As many of you know, Brebeuf launched it's 1:1 BYOT learning environment on Thursday, August 9th.  For those of you new readers... 1:1 refers to one computer per every one student.  BYOT refers to Bring Your Own Technology... students were able to chose the best personal learning device for them (we support iOS, Mac OS, Windows, Chromium, Android, Windows Mobile and are testing Windows 8).

@jdferries is blogging in somewhat live time over at Confessions of a Jesuit School CIO... and quite frankly knocking it out of the park so I won't even try.  Check out his reflection of Day 1 and Day 2 by following the links.

I've been reflecting on the Professional Development side of the process this weekend.

The anecdotal evidence... 

Anecodote #1: Social Studies teacher writes,

I had a good day with BYOT.  I was able to set up all my students with Edmodo in my Genocide class and my AP Macro and APUSH classes were able to connect. 

Excellent.  Technical side - check.  Then he continues:

I have a question regarding PDF's and what would be the best way for students to use them on a computer. 

Fair question...How best to use, navigate and annotate static content.

Anecdote #2: Vocal Music teacher requests,

Am thinking of where students should send recordings when I’ve had them all record themselves singing one of our choir pieces. 

Wow!  Great question...There’s a specific learning need met by a 1:1 environment – recording the individual voice.

Anecdote #3: Math Teacher writes,

...It is changing the way that we do our graphing calculators (let the students be responsible for learning the tech), too. And it is very empowering. I am witnessing teachers in my own department adopting a more advanced online presence that implements multiple cloud services, each with a specific purpose…

I am feeling pretty good right about now...then he continues...

So…, how do we sustain this in the long term? 

And there it is… the dust hasn’t even settled and the question of sustaining momentum come up.  I have been a little torn on this.  I thought JD and I could sit back, at least for a month, to regroup and rest a bit.  I truly expected a slower grasp of enthusiasm and sense of adventure in change. I thought we'd still be building some momentum. I am forced to accept the error of my thinking.

So how to we sustain for the long term?  This summer, at the International Colloquium for Jesuit Secondary Education, I listened to Daniel Villanueva, SJ (@danivillanueva)  lay out what is probably going to be my focus for the next three years.  He spoke of moving technology from systems of support to systems of advocacy.  Right now, Brebeuf is in a system of support.  We have structure to support learning – BlackBoard Engage as learning management system.  Google Docs to support production of documents, spreadsheets, presentations… the business of being a student.  We have Rediker Administrators Plus and Admissions Plus to support the business of our academic and admissions processes.  We have a wireless network to support 6 or so operating systems. The next step is to move beyond these supports and into advocacy.  Advocacy as in morally and ethically working to influence social, political, economic decision making.  In Jesuit terms – developing men and women for others in our students and faculty/staff.  Men and women who will use their talents, resources and technologies to promote equality of education (local, state, global).  Men and women who promote excellence in teaching not only within our walls but into the national scene.  Men and women who fight for justice, who engage in dialogue and act with solidarity with the poor.  In his keynote, Dani spoke of the power of social media at World Youth Day in 2012.  Empowering young people to speak with the voice of social media.   The adults created the system of support (wifi hotspots, starter blog, couches) and the students created advocacy structuring dialogues on justice via Facebook, Twitter and blogs.  As I have written before, point the way and get out of the way.  

Moving from systems of support to systems of advocacy will sustain the remarkable momentum we have going.   We have the support systems in place.  Now we can turn our eyes to the power of these systems in our student’s hands.  Not sure exactly how this will play out... but it’s exciting to think about!

  

Block-Down

Over the past week, I have had the privilege to join meetings of independent and public K-12 and high ed  IT types gathered to discuss new initiatives. All discussed similar topics involving 1:1 initiatives, learning management systems and faculty development.  Who better to vent, joke and problem solve with than those who share your context and experience? In a Jesuit vision, gathering to reflect is a great thing.

                                      (These are real teachers reflecting ... their site was not blocked)

What disturbs me enough to blog is the continued mentality of "block-down" in schools.  IT departments are still obsessed with blocking student access to web and now apparently even hardware in 1:1 plans.  At both meetings, I heard of iPads with cameras intentionally deactivated; YouTube and other video blocked and apps removed from devices; dashboards used to filter every search engine, tool and resource a student can use. I actually heard, "We don't let them do what they want to do."

Really?

We wonder what happened to student curiosity and sense of inquiry... Well, we blocked it. By the time student reach 4th grade they have been blocked so many times they simply stop trying. We ask ourselves why students aren't inquisitive.  They were, about 3000 blocked web pages ago.

We wonder why students only do what we explicitly tell them, step by step. I'll tell you why...We gave them a device meant to open the world and we blocked video, browsing and communication tools. We gave them cook book activities with all the ingredients mapped out (we called it a digital curriculum) and required them to go step by step to create the uniform product for a grade. Of course they want step by step directions...we've trained them well.

But what if... Taking into consideration the context of student lives, we give them the freedom to experience knowledge on their own terms? What if we allow them to access tools freely, evaluate the tool best suited to meet their learning need and let them use the tool? What if we allow them to take photos of pollution in a stream? What if we allow them to type their paper in Word, Pages, Google Docs, Open Office, Notetaker HD?  What if we let them watch a YouTube video on the water cycle on their phone during lunch? What if we let use a pencil, pen, stylus to take notes?

If you are considering handing out devices for learning... I beg you...let students use them for learning. They learn in a myriad of ways. Do not block-down and crush that sense of inquiry. Allow students the freedom to access, evaluate and use the tool most appropriate for them. The idea of access, evaluate, use is the heart of BYOT. And once I made that leap, I can't imagine a learning environment that operates any other way.