Got your game face on for the most watched TV broadcast? Perhaps you’re hosting a Super Bowl party that die-hard fans and those just in it for the commercials are going to watch? Or maybe you’ve just seen the new 60 inch TVs in the Corban library. Well, students will need to prepare to watch the game elsewhere because the new technology additions to the library will be used for academic purposes only.
“This won’t be a ‘watch a big TV’ type of thing,” said Instructional Technologist Dan Rapoza.
Students have a new opportunity to practice presentations in library because Corban applied for the Juan Young Trust grant.
“The basic premise was that they would possibly award grants to schools that were encouraging collaboration using technology,” Rapoza said.
Say you’re working on a project with other students. Before these TVs, if students wanted to see what everybody else has been doing, you would have to email back and forth but with this technology students can find more ease when collaborating with friends.
“In these rooms, you’ll be able to bring your own laptop in and connect wireless to the TV,” Rapoza said.
The TV allows for three other students to connect as well. The screen will automatically split so that everyone can see what everyone else has on their computers at the same time.
“In one of the study rooms, we’re also adding a touch overlay. So the TV in there will have a Windows 8 computer connected to it,” Rapoza said.
The computer in this room will basically work like a “huge tablet.” Students will be able to collaborate better by being able to touch the screen at the same time.
“We went with the Library because students often study together in there, and this goes right along with that,” Rapoza said.
Once everything is ready, instructions will be put in the room to make operating it as easy as possible.
“The idea is that folks could walk in on the fly and just start using [the TVs],” Rapoza said.
How many students will be eager to use these TVs is still unclear to many.
Katie Wilson, library student assistant, is curious to see how the new addition will “affect the study environment.”
“I believe it will be a positive impact but it will be interesting to see what happens once they start being used,” added Garrett Trott, the reference/instruction librarian.
According to Rapoza, the hope of the staff is that these TVs will be tools for students to work together. Also, many workplaces outside of Corban are beginning to use this type of technology so it is important for students to be exposed to it.
“We think that offering students a chance to use it ahead of time will give students a bit more relevant experience when they go out in the world,” he said.
So, maybe these new additions to the library won’t have much of an impact on Super Bowl Sunday, but the goal of the staff is that the new additions will have significant assistance to the collaboration of students on group assignments.