Learning Commons

House MD digital content playlist. Discover where learning takes place.

[housemddigitalplaylist]

Photo courtesy Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology

[housemddigitalplaylist]

A Brief History of the Beginning of Libraries

The library is a place many high school students go to check out movies and many college students use as a second home. As it turns out, so did some of the Sumerians (minus the movies, of course)! The first library yet discovered existed in temple rooms in some ancient Sumer village sites. These libraries looked nothing like the libraries that exist now, but still played a massive role in citizens' lives. Mostly, these libraries consisted of only a few tablets and were written in cuneiform script. The main use of the library was record keeping. Although times have changed and libraries no longer have the sole purpose of record keeping, the importance of the library has not changed. After all, where else would you go to get some peace and quiet?

Sources:  http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/05/06_tablet.shtml

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ECBkVPQkNSsC&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_libraries

[vintagelibraries]

Men and women looking up books through the card catalogue at the Congressional Library, 1941.

[vintagelibraries]

Librarian behind desk in Reading Room of the Newburyport Free Library, 1943,

[gjmueller-deactivated20181226]

How ‘flipped classrooms’ are turning the traditional school day upside down

What if you took the traditional school day and flipped it on its head, not literally, of course, but having lessons offered at night at home and homework done by day in the classroom?

That’s the experiment under way at Clintondale High School just outside Detroit, an area still reeling from the economic and social ills of the nearby city. The school serves many low-income families and faces tight budgets and declining enrollment.

[housemddigitalplaylist]

Classes at home, homework all day? sounds very Learning commons-esque

[bookporn]

Reference Library c.1936 by CS Minto 

via Tales of One City 

[housemddigitalplaylist]

I recently visited my high school, which for almost all students provokes a mixture of dread and excitement. 

I felt solely dread. I come from a rather small town, and our library in my high school is PRETTY pathetic. And when I say pretty pathetic I mean it is very small, filled with books from the 80s no one checks out and it is never open. 

On my visit back home, I sat with one of my lovely past english and discussed everything under the moon, including my (hopeful) (future) major in information. It was this part of the discussion that I explained why the school should invest in updating the library. 

Why is it what our high school libraries look like the one above and less like our libraries in the UGLI? Isnt the point of high school to prepare students with the necessary tools to be successful in college or in the workforce? If so, why are we not be taught to learn in a self-directed environment like we learn to do in college. 

I understand that learning communities are expensive, and if anyone understands the challenges of going to a poor school, I know (my senior year, my school ran out of paper... how does a school run out of paper? And they still managed to assign homework!) But at least from my experience, students hang out in the halls of high school after the bell has dismissed everyone to go home, why not made a really awesome space for students to collaborate and study together after school? 

This type of learning is a growing model - colleges as well as many small businesses  are cultivating spaces for communication and collaboration. Learning to be successful in these environments shouldn't start in college, rather we should be having this great experiences in HS. 

-Lucy Smith

[jmcquigge-blog]

It’s time to go digital! Let’s start with flashcards!

[uiowalearningcommons-blog]

The University of Iowa Learning Commons is opening in 11 days!!!!! Come check us out!

You will find 18 brand new private group study rooms. 16 of these rooms can hold up to six people and the 2 group study rooms located in the south lobby that can each hold up to 12 people. Even better, these two rooms can be combined to hold a class of 24!

You can reserve one of these rooms immediately by using the display located right outside each room.  University of Iowa students can reserve a group study room for up to two hours twice a week!!

Students can display and share content with your study group by connecting your laptop to the LCD monitor using one of the HDMI or VGA hookups. Students can also write on the floor to ceiling class walls with markers! 

[edtechhub]

15 Wonderful Chrome Extensions for Student Researchers and Academics

via Educational Technology and Mobile Learning http://ift.tt/1b0Z1lb

[dccreativeblog]

http://www.contemporist.com/2013/05/22/qihoo-360-headquarters-by-david-ho/

[sashakhawaja-deactivated2016030]

In need of a new study spot!

I’ve been spending a lot of time studying at starbucks lately, but i want someplace new.

Its impossible for me to focus at the school library, commons, and i definitely can’t study at Lat. lol

I used to study at borders all the time, and now they’ve closed them all down:’(

What to do :|

i just wish i lived by the beach. I swear i’d pull up a beach chair on the sand everyday and happily read through my entire textbook without a problem.

[salt-waterbuddha-blog]

[uispeccoll]

Gif Making tonight in the Learning Commons

Laura Hampton, graduate assistant and Tumblr gif maker here in Special Collections, will be teaching gif making in the Learning Commons Food for Thought Café tonight at 12:30AM as part of the “Late Night in the Learning Commons.”

[beautifullearningspaces]

When local authorities wanted to “transform education for the children of Croxteth”, a suburb of Liverpool in England, they turned to Morgan Sindall and amazing architect Martin Shutt to create a “state of the art learning facility” in consultation with teachers, students and community members. When the designs were done they included a semi-circular room that looked tailor made for the work of 4-D Creative. They designed the space “with giant projection and an interactive floor. Next up dame a swirling ceiling feature complete with twinkling fibre optic lights. We also fitted some light globes for an extra wow factor”. Wow is right.  

[housemddigitalplaylist]

Free live online workshops taught by world-class experts. Learn photography, Photoshop, software, design and more. All workshops available live for free. 

[housemddigitalplaylist]

[housemddigitalplaylist]

Designing Colleges For More Than Just Connectivity

Once we make sure the settings for higher education are totally wired what comes next? Educational design that emphasizes connection and collaboration...