The Techno-Café
Traditional PC labs offer poor environments for group work due to their layout and lack of relaxed working environment. The situation is improved by having a relaxed environment designed for creativity and communication. Therefore, the Techno-café will allow students to work together in a comfortable environment supported by flexible and time-saving technologies.
ALiC suggests that the format of University IT labs is far from what is required for today’s students. Labs in rows with large numbers of PCs in close proximity are not suitable to support multiple activities enabling students to communicate with each other and to conduct private study. Instead of creating a harmonious working environment these labs are counterproductive, being active inhibitors of thought, investigation and communication. By way of solution ALiC proposes the Techno-Café a solution consistent with many USA IT educational recommendations [Barone01, Berger01, Bowers01, Griswold04].
The Techno-Café provides a flexible working environment that is supportive of the requirements of modern computing in that it will provide a means by which students are supported by technology, but not driven or hampered by it. This flexible environment will allow multiple activities to be performed including:
- Teaching - A place supportive of IT enabling a more AL approach to teaching
- Thinking - A quite study area for individuals
- Programming - A place to code, for instance a set of PCs with dual monitors that have ample free space around to support document production and coding
- Testing - An area where there is the room and equipment available for hardware experimentation and testing
- Communication – Locations where group discussion is facilitated and places where students can email, use mobile phones etc. where they will not disrupt others
