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Vickie Nelson
vmn@uoregon.edu
Looking for a place to practice a presentation or work with friends
on a group project? Head over to 175 McKenzie Hall and give the new Information
Services Collaboration Center a try.
Over the summer 175 McKenzie has undergone a metamorphosis. What has
emerged is a bright, inviting center with flexible space and comfortable
furniture that can be easily rearranged. Students are welcome to work
together here on group assignments and other projects. New wiring provides
readily available power and network connectivity.
CIO Don Harris says he has seen centers like this done on a larger scale
and he wanted to see what could be achieved with a smaller footprint.
Information Services staff planned the center with flexibility and comfort
in mind.
Complete with bright new paint--including an eye-catching red wall--the
Collaboration Center features new tables and chairs that are all on wheels.
Partitions--also on wheels--make the space easily reconfigurable.
Whether you need space for two or ten or more, you can quickly create
the type of area you need. Use the partitions to make intimate nooks
and crannies with facing desks, or stack the partitions to the side to
turn the room into a more open environment with conventional rows.
The Collaboration Center also welcomes people working solo. Individuals
can sit back in one of our comfortable armchairs, put their feet up and
study for a test or work on their laptops.
Another part of Harris' vision for the center was to provide a "sandbox" for
technology, a place where faculty and other staff can try out different
pieces of equipment and spend the time to explore them thoroughly before
making purchasing decisions.
The first major acquisition for the Collaborative Center, a 60-inch Smart
Board interactive whiteboard, lets users write, erase, and perform mouse
functions with fingers, pens, and an eraser. You can also project a PowerPoint
presentation, Word document, or Excel spreadsheet and let your study
group critique it, capturing the group's suggestions with the Smart
Board as you go.
The Collaboration Center is a work in progress. Plans include adding
laptops and PC tablets, a flat screen plasma TV and a rear projection
plasma TV, both with smart overlays, and setting up videoconferencing
between the center and the EMU Computing Lab.
The Collaboration Center, which also stocks computing-related books,
CDs, and training videos, is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Call 346-4406 for additional information.