Bailey Library’s Technology Learning Center has started an expansion project that will be completed throughout the spring semester.
The expansion will include the addition of multiple private study rooms equipped with collaborative tables, a lounge area with a TV for viewing sports and news, and a classroom demonstration area with a large SMART Board.
While the TLC already features three Mac and nine Dell laptops with dual monitor displays, they will be receiving more Dell and Mac laptops as part of the expansion, according to TLC Intern Perry Jackson.
According to Matt Morgan, TLC Student Specialist, the collaborative tables, which seat four people, feature 32-inch touch screen monitors embedded in the tables, and additional 32-inch monitors for students to connect personal laptops to.
“The touch screen display is capable of responding to 32 touches at once,” Morgan said.
The TLC currently has one book scanner, but is getting two more as part of the expansion.
“The scanner will save any book or document to a flash drive as a PDF or Word file,” Morgan said. “If a student lost the file for a paper, but had the hard copy, the scanner could take that hard copy and turn it into a Word document to save them the hassle of retyping the entire thing.”
The call for an expansion of the TLC came in June 2012, when the TLC Advisory Board tasked the Library with providing more staff and space for TLC operations, due to the high demand.
Rita McClelland, TLC Supervisor, said the TLC will be taking over the area where the microfilms were previously stored.
“The [microfilms] are now stored in the basement of the University Union. If someone needs to view one, we have runners that will bring them back over to the library, or we can email a PDF version of the document,” McClelland said.
According to McClelland, the renovations are still in the beginning stages.
“The electricity is currently being done, and painting and flooring come next,” McClelland said. “We’re hoping to be done by early March, but there is no set deadline. It will definitely be finished over the course of this semester.”
McClelland said that she is looking forward to the traffic to come to the TLC after the expansion because they are always busy now, and they have not advertised their services very much.
Jackson said that the TLC had 1534 consultations in the fall 2012 semester alone, 126 of which were Microsoft Office consultations.
“The majority of consultations we get are on printing, but we cover a wide range of other topics,” Jackson said. “We’re a service, not just a resource.”
The TLC was created in the fall of 2011 with the purpose of providing students with an opportunity to increase technology skills. Located on the first floor of Bailey Library, the TLC has Dell laptops, Mac laptops, desktop computers, scanners, a television, and a SMART Board for students’ educational use.
The TLC employs Communication and Computer Science majors who are trained to assist students with technology-based questions.
The TLC assists students with video editing, web page design, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, scanning, formatting resumes and portfolios, photo editing, and SMART Board presentations.
The TLC has also implemented an assessment to gauge how the Student Specialists are performing.
“We implemented a mystery shopper program,” Jackson said. “A mystery shopper here works just like they would at a Best Buy or any other store.”
A mystery shopper simulates a typical work order to a TLC student specialist who doesn’t know if they are a mystery shopper, or an actual student. The mystery shopper later fills out an assessment form. These forms are sent to the entire TLC Student Specialists staff, and it features a ‘kudos’ and a ‘potential improvement’ section that are utilized as a learning tools for the staff.
The TLC created a survey using Survey Monkey that they plan to link to their webpage for additional assessment options.
Other services the TLC covers include topics such as: printing, scanning, Microsoft Office, Adobe software, other software, network issues/WiFi, Media/Video/Cameras, D2L/Citrix/H-Drive, programming, SMART Board, Mac, dual monitor, mobile devices, TLC tours, troubleshooting equipment, and many others.
The TLC is open during all regular library hours, and students can walk-in or make an appointment when looking for assistance.
The TLC also offers technological supplies for students to sign out, which include digital still cameras, video hard drive cameras, Sony camcorder with projector and digital HDD video camera, a USB Flip video camcorder, digital and cassette audio recorders, microphones, tripods, flash drives, keyboards, VHS player, Boom Box with cassette player, slide viewers and projectors, DVD burner, Scientific calculators, and headphones.
