resultgoogle

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):OST2012,IFIPAICT395,pp.
121–130,2013.
IFIPInternationalFederationforInformationProcessing2013AligningOpen,Physical,andVirtualSpacesintheCISSandboxMarkFrydenbergBentleyUniversity,ComputerInformationSystemsDepartmentWaltham,MAUSAmfrydenberg@bentley.
eduAbstract.
Asstudentsoperateincreasinglyindigitalenvironmentspopulatedbysocialmediatools,theyneedtoleveragethemeffectivelytoaccessonlineresourcesandstayconnectedtothephysicalenvironmentswhichtheyinhabit.
ThispaperreportsonapractitionerresearchprojecttoreconfigureatraditionalComputerInformationSystems(CIS)tutoringlabatabusinessuniversityintothe"CISSandbox.
"ThephysicalfacilitylaunchedwithanalignedonlinepresenceintendedtoengagestudentsandcontributetotheirlearningaboutCIStopics.
Thepaperpresentstherationale,design,andimplementationofthesecollaborativetools,andtheirimpactonthestudents'andtutors'educationalexperience.
QualitativeanalysisfrominterviewswithSandboxstaffandquantitativeanalysisofdatafromapreliminarysurveysuggeststhatcreativelydrawinguponcollaborativetoolsandmethodsenablestheintegrationbetweenphysicalandvirtualspaces.
Keywords:SocialMedia,CollaborativeLearning,LearningSpace,Socio-TechnicalSystems,ComputerLab.
1IntroductionDigitalstudentsassumeunlimitedonlineresources[1],engagewithsocialmedia,andlearnthroughcollaborativeandinformalsettings[2][3].
Theytendtomixvirtualwithphysicalspacesandneedcreativespacesinordertodeveloptheirowninnovativeandtechnologyskills.
Astoday'sworldrequiresrelianceonsocialtechnologiesandbeingconnectedtotheInternet,itisimportanttoforlearningspacestoprovidetheseonlineopportunitiesforconnectiontoaugmentthephysicalspaceswherestudentsinteract.
Theopportunitytorenovateauniversitycomputerlabforthefirsttimeinoveradecadeintoacollaborativelearningspacealsopresentedanopportunitytobuildasupportingonlinepresencebasedonsocialmediaandsocialnetworkingtools.
Thispaperdescribeshowthisvirtualenvironmentcomplementsthenewlyrenovatedphysicalspace.
Inresearchingthedesignofphysicalandvirtuallearningspaces,thesequestionsguidedthisstudy:122M.
FrydenbergWhatstrategiesmaybeemployedtotransformacomputerlabtoaphysicalandvirtualcollaborativelearningspaceHowcansocialmediaandWeb2.
0collaborationtoolscreateanonlinepresencethatwillpromotelearningbothwithinandoutsideaphysicalcomputerlaboratoryspace2FromaPhysicaltoaVirtualLearningSpace2.
1RethinkingPhysicalLearningSpacesFigure1showstheformerlabpriortorenovations.
Itisapproximately900squarefeet,housed36desktopcomputersaroundtheperimeter,andalongtableatthecenteroftheroom.
Networkingequipmentismountedonthebackwall.
Fig.
1.
BeforetheRenovationRebrandedastheCISLearningandTechnologySandbox,thenewfacilitymarksatransitionfromtheindividualizedcomputerlabwherestudentsfacethewalls,toaninformalspacewherelearningtakesplacearoundtablesorinaloungesetting.
Inengineering,"asandboxenvironmentconsistsofacontrolledsetofresourcesfortrying…newapp[lication]swithouttheriskofdamagingcriticalpartsofthesystem.
"[4]Thenewnamepromotesdiscovery,learning,andasenseofplayfulnesswithinabusinesscontext.
Theincreasingnumberofstudentswhoownlaptops,tablets,andothermobiledevices[5]pointedtotheneedtoprovidemoredeskspaceandfewerdesktopcomputers.
Therenovatedfacility,whosephysicalfootprintdidnotincrease,isshowninFigure2.
StudentsgatherinformallyinanareawithcomfortableseatingandaGoogleTV(1),engageintutoringattableswheretheycansharetheirlaptopscreensonalargemonitor(2),worktogetherondiagramsontheSMARTboard(3),projectscreensontheSMARTboardorthebackwallwhengivinginformaldemos(4),AligningOpen,Physical,andVirtualSpacesintheCISSandbox123Fig.
2.
AftertheRenovationusenetworkingequipmentoroneoftwelvedesktopcomputerswithspecializedsoftwareforCIScourses(5),andexplorenewtechnologiessuchasanearlyreleaseofWindows8onatouchscreen(6).
ThisdesignrecognizessuggestionsfromtheJointInformationSystemsCommittee[6]whichadvisesthatphysicallearningspacesbeflexible,toaccommodatebothcurrentandevolvingpedagogies;future-proof,toenablespacetobere-allocatedandreconfigured;bold,tolookbeyondtriedandtestedtechnologiesandpedagogies;creative,toenergizeandinspirelearnersandtutors;supportive,todevelopthepotentialofalllearners;andenterprising,tomakeeachspacecapableofsupportingdifferentpurposes.
SeveralofthesetraitswerealsofoundinrecentlyredesignedphysicallearningspacesatRutgersUniversity[7],UniversityofSouthCarolina[8],UniversityofMissouri[9]andotherAmericanuniversities,butnoneofthesespacesalsolaunchedwithanaccompanyingvirtualpresencetopromotelearning.
2.
2CreatingaVirtualPresencewithSocialMediaToolsTheCISSandboxisstaffedby6graduateand12undergraduatestudents,alsocalledtutorsorlabassistants,whoseresponsibilitiesbridgesupportingboththephysicalandvirtuallearningspaces.
Inthephysicalspace,theyperformmentoringandtutoring,andmonitorequipment.
Extendingtheirrolestosupportavirtualspace,theyblogregularly,createtutorialvideos,anduseweb-basedcollaborationtoolstosupportaninternalknowledgebase.
TheCISSandboxextendsbeyondaninformallearningspacelocatedinthebasementofauniversityclassroombuilding;itlivesonlineasanevolvingecosystemformedofseveralintegratedsocialnetworking,socialmediaandweb-basedcollaborationtools.
"Developingspaceswherestudentscancollaborateoutsideclassprovidessupportforanincreasedemphasisonteamwork,bothinandoutsidehighereducation.
"[10]Abedinstudiedsocialpatternsincomputersupportedcollaborativelearningenvironmentsandfoundthatnon-taskinteractionstakeplaceincomputer-supportedcollaborativelearningenvironments,oftenastheresultofinteractingwithpeersinanonlinesocialenvironment.
[11]124M.
FrydenbergSocio-technicalsystemsevolvingcomputer-basedscontent.
[12]Thesystemtechnologyandenvironmenetworksandsocialmeditechnicalsystems.
WheelerthecombinationofWebreflectivelearningspaces.
TdescribetherelationshipsbFigure3,usedinthedailyoFig.
3.
Socio-TecEachoftheonlinetoolsThepublicfaceoftheCISSeditedbystudentworkersreflectingtheirowninteresTwitterposts(3)occasionaCISSandbox,andaddaEventBriteallowsvisitorsdigitalsignagetodrawstudTutorsuseYouTube(5)explanationsrelatedtocouSkype,orinaGoogleHaprovidingvirtualsupporttophysicallocation.
Uponentering,studentsTutorscompleteanonlineOriginallythetutorformw1http://cis.
bentley.
sconsiderbothsocialandtechnicalfactorsincreatsystemsthatbenefitfromsocialmediaanduser-generaincludesthenetworkofusers,developers,informatentsinwhichitwillbeusedandsupported.
[13]Soatoolsplayasignificantroleinthecreationofsocr[14]usestheterm"learningspacemashups"torefer2.
0andsocialmediatoolstocreatecollaborativeThispaperusestheterm"socio-technicalinfrastructure"etweensocialmediaandsocialnetworkingtools,shownoperationoftheSandbox.
chnicalInfrastructureforManagingtheCISSandboxlistedpromotesthephysicalspaceoftheCISSandboxSandboxisitsWordpressblog1(2),showninFigure4.
Iswhoregularlyposthomeworktipsaswellasartictsininformationtechnology.
Facebookstatusupdatesallyreportonnewblogpostsorspecialhappeningsinsocialdimension,asstudentslikeorfollowthefaciltosignupforspecialevents.
Prezi(4)isusedtocredentsintothephysicalspace.
)tohosttheiroriginalinstructionalvideosdemonstratursetopics.
LivechatwithatutorbytextwithMeebongout(6)isavailableviaalinkfromtheSandboxblooff-campusstudentsandthosewhoareunabletovisitwhovisittheCISSandboxswipeinwiththeirIDcarformrecordingtheirtutoringactivitieswithstudentswasimplementedasaGoogleForm,andlaterreplacedwedu/sandboxtingatedtionocialcio-rtoand"tonin(1).
Itisclesandthelity.
eatetingoorlog,therds.
(7).
withAligningacustomwebapplication,wformwiththenamesofsfacultywithinformationabtypeofquestionstheyaskemoretutorsatbusierhours.
Googleapplications(8Sandbox.
AGoogleSite(wSandbox.
There,labassidocumentingtechnologyinformation.
Theyalsoshawithinthewiki,describingreportsonaninternalsitewhateachlabassistantdochronicle'sastudentworkeTutorskeeptheirhoursoallstaffautomaticallypopuGooglegroupencouragesdistributionlistisoftenusandshareinformationabouGooglegroupandthecalSandboxstafftoeasilyreviBybloggingontopicstutoringonline,andsharingextendsthereachofthephyFig.
4.
TheCISSandboxblogWiki(right)housesinstitutiona3ResearchMethoTodeterminetheeffectivenvoluntaryonlinesurveywaswhohadvisitedtheCISSanofthe608students,or23%,gOpen,Physical,andVirtualSpacesintheCISSandboxwrittenbyastudentassistant,toautomaticallypopulatestudentswhorecentlyswipedin.
Thesereportsprovboutstudentsintheirclasseswhocameforhelpanded,andprovideusagestatistics,enablingthescheduling)facilitatetheadministrativemanagementoftheCwiki),showninFigure4,istheinternalfaceoftheCistantscontributetoanevolvingknowledgebaseintheroom,policiesandprocedures,andrelaareweeklystatusreportsontheirown"miniblog"patheirworkontutoringandspecialprojects.
Sharingstaallowstheirco-workersandsupervisortostayawareoing.
Inaddition,itformsapermanentrecordthateaer'scontributionovertime.
onasharedGoogleCalendar,whosecollectivecontentulatestheschedulepageandfrontpagesidebarofblogeasycommunicationbyemailbetweenassistants.
Tedtodisseminateannouncements,askforshiftcoverautSandboxorcampushappenings.
Boththefeedfromlendarareembeddedonthefrontpageofthewikiew.
ofinteresttotheirpeers,creatinginstructionalvidegtheiractivitiesonsocialmediasites,CISSandboxsysicallearningspaceintoanonlinelearningspace.
g(left)isthepublicfaceoftheCISSandbox.
TheCISSandalknowledge,policies,andproceduresforinternaluse.
odologynessofthephysicalrenovationanditsvirtualcounterparsofferedattheendoftheFall2011semestertoallstudendboxatleastonceduringitsfirstsemesterofoperation.
respondedtothesurvey.
39%werefemale,61%male.
125thevidethegofCISCISbyatedagesatuseofasilytforg;aThisage,theforeos,staffdboxrt,aents142126M.
Frydenberg3.
1FacilityUsageSwipedatashowedthat60December2011.
Thisismsemesterayearearlierprior129studentssharedhowFig.
5Duringitsfirstsemesterblogatleastonce.
Figure6listsseveraltecrespondentswhousedthemFig.
StudentsusethesetechnWhilenearlyallofthestudor49%usethelargemonitoinstructorsofprogramming2Previouslystudentssignediofsignaturesinanotebook.
08uniquestudentsvisited2804timesfromSeptembermorethantwicethenumberofvisitsduringthesartotherenovation.
2woftentheyvisited,asshowninFigure5.
5.
FrequencyofVisitstotheCISSandbox,85ofthe126studentssurveyedsaidtheyhadvisitedchnologiesavailableintheCISSandboxandthenumbemduringtheFall2011semester.
6.
TechnologyUseintheCISSandboxnologiesforbothclassroomandextracurricularlearnientssitatthegroupstudytables,apparentlyonly69of1orsforcollaborativework.
Thismaybeduetothefacttgcoursesprohibitstudentsfromdisplayingcodeoninonpaper,sothisvalueisanestimatebasedoncountingpartoametheerofing.
142,thattheagesAligninglargescreenswhengettinghit.
StudentsgenerallyuseassignmentthattheirpeersintroductoryITcoursegiveSMARTBoard,GoogleTindependentlyexploredthebegintodeveloptheirownToattractadvancedandofferedseminarsteachingduringtheFall2011semesforMashable,aproviderpresentedaboutthecomactivities,manychampionlearningaboutbothcourse-oftenresultedincreatingbl3.
2AligningtheCISSaUsersaccesstheCISSandonlinetutoringspaces,socsectiondescribeshoweachTheSandboxBlog.
Thetherenovationsofthephysinformvisitorsabouthappetopostapproximatelytwiceforstudents,andtechnoloWindows8,thexBoxandKwaytounderstandifthesepotherstudentsvisitingthevarietyofcategoriesduringgOpen,Physical,andVirtualSpacesintheCISSandboxhelpwithhomework,sootherstudentsarenotabletocothewirelessnetworkingequipmentwhenmakingupcompletedearlierintheclassroom.
SomesectionsofeextracreditassignmentsforstudentswholearntouseTVs,orWindows8machines.
SeveralstudentassistaeMicrosoftKinectSDKtoconfiguresoftwaredemosapplications.
dinterestedstudentstotheSandbox,MicrosoftevangelstudentstocreatexBoxgamesandmobileapplicatiter.
DuringtheSpring2012semester,analumnusworkofAPIsforwebandmobileapplicationdevelopmmpany'swebservicesandcareeropportunities.
Thnedbythestudentsthemselves,createdoccasions-relatedandextracurriculartopicsintheCISSandbox,logpostsandmultimediaartifactsonline.
andbox'sPhysicalandVirtualSpacesdboxvirtualspacesviatheSandboxblog,chatroomscialnetworkingsites,andaYouTubevideochannel.
Tofthesealignswithandextendsthephysicalspace.
CISSandboxWordpressblogstartedasawaytochronsicalspaceonlineandcontinuestoevolveasawebsiteeningsaswellasablogwherelabassistantsareencouraeamonthaboutfrequentlyaskedtutoringquestions,hogyinterests.
Forexample,labassistantslearningabKinectpostedaboutthesetopics.
Unfortunately,thereispostscontributedtohigheruseofthesetechnologytoolsCISSandbox.
Figure7showsthenumberofpostsigtheblog'sfirstsixmonths.
Fig.
7.
BlogPostsbyCategory127opypanthetheantsandlistsionskingment,heseforandandThisnicleetoagedhintsboutsnosbyina128M.
FrydenbergAsnapshotfromGooglegeneratedafollowing,withitsfirstfourmonths.
ItrecefewervisitorsonweekendsFig.
8.
GooglTheblogiscurrentlyncommunicationbetweenreassigningastudentmoderchangehasbeenrequestedaOnlineTutoring.
Tutorieffective[15][16]andthcurrentlybeinginvestigatethefirstfourmonthsofosurveyedwouldfindthissecampaigngotofftoaslowTwitter,only34likedtheFduringitsfirstfourmonthssemester,sometutorsencousessionsanddistributedbusnumbersto115followerssemester,butabettersoceffectivelyusingsocialnetw4tutorscreated15instructicourseforwhichapproximSeveralofthesevideoshad3Somefacultymadethesevstudents.
eAnalyticsshowninFigure8suggeststhattheblogh51%ofreturningvisitorsand48%ofnewvisitorsdureivesonaverage100hitsperday.
Visitsarecyclical,w.
eAnalyticsreportsonnewandreturningvisitorsnotopenforreaderstocomment.
Doingsowouldfoeadersandblogauthors.
Implementingthiswouldrequratortoreviewcommentsbeforetheyareposted.
Tandisanticipatedforafuturesemester.
ingviaSkypeandscreensharinghasbeenshowntohelogisticsofimplementingthisonaregularbasisd.
Severaltutorshaveinformallyusedthesetoolsduroperation,andsurveyresultssuggested62%ofstudeerviceuseful.
SocialNetworks.
TheSandboxsocialmestart.
DespitelinksontheblogtofollowonFacebookFacebookpageand14followed@CISSandboxonTwis.
AttemptingtoimprovethesenumbersduringthespruragedstudentstofollowtheSandboxduringtheirtutorsinesscardswithsocialmediainformation.
ThisraisedsonFacebookand48onTwitterduringthefollowcialmediastrategyisrequiredtoreachstudentsmworks.
YouTubeVideos.
DuringtheSpring2011semesionalvideosonExcelconceptstaughtinanintroductorymately400studentsareenrolledacrossmultiplesectiodover200andasmanyas255views.
3Thissuggeststhavideosrequiredviewing;othersdidnotmentionthemtothasringwithsteruireThisobeareringentsediaanditterringringthewingmorester,yITons.
atattheirAligningOpen,Physical,andVirtualSpacesintheCISSandbox129leasthalfofthestudentswatchedatleastsomeofthesevideos.
StaffalsocreatedvideosofspecialeventsintheCISSandbox,and"howto"videos(suchashowtohookupalaptoptoanexternalmonitor).
AllofthesevideoswereembeddedontheSandboxblogandareavailabledirectlyfromtheCISSandboxYouTubechannel.
4ConclusionTheCISSandboxhasgrownbeyondatutoringlab,toonewherelabassistantsandstudentscanalsoexploretheirinterestsintechnologyinpersonandonline.
ForstudentsutilizingtheservicesoftheCISSandbox,learningoccurredthroughin-personandonlinetutoring,andinformallybyreadingtheSandboxblog,watchinginstructionalvideos,orattendingextracurricularworkshops.
Forthelabstaff,learningoccurrednotonlyoncoursesubjectmatterthattheywerefacedwithexplainingtotheirpeers,butalsothroughtheirowninteractionswithsocialmediatoolsthatmakeuptheSandbox'ssocio-technicalinfrastructure,andsoftwareapplicationsandtechnologiesthattheyinvestigatedaspartofspecialprojects.
85%ofthetutorssurveyedcommentedthatworkingintheCISSandboxenabledthemtolearnaboutITtrendsandconceptsbeyondwhatiscoveredintheirclasses,andthattheydevelopedbeneficialsocialmediaandtechnologyskillsthatwillhelpthemintheirfuturecareers.
Theintegrateduseofsocialmedia,socialnetworking,andweb-basedcollaborationtoolsaspartoftheCISSandbox'sday-to-dayoperationsprovidesopportunitiesforbothlabstaffanduniversitystudentstointeractwiththeseapplications,andpreparesthemtobeproductivecontributorstothebusinessworldtheyareabouttoenter.
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