Welcome to my page!

 

In graduate school, I hope to gain a solid understanding of the field of education and its potential for change.  I am interested in improving public communication of ideas through designing better interfaces between human learners and content, whether through visual (graphics and arts), spatial, or system re-design.  My goal in this course is to be able to identify holes in existing public spaces and to optimize the quality of human interaction in these spaces through visuospatial design.  This course will advance my overall goals with a specific emphasis on education.

 

Dan - I like your notion of thinking of space as interface with the potential to change the way people intersect with content.  Visual cues and design are a significant piece of that as are manipulatives that might eb a part of public learning experiences.  I'd encourage you to pay particular attention when we talk about zoos and other public spaces where learners (and even experts) need a lot of scaffolding to make sense of what it is they are seeing.

 

Rolf - Carrie, I'm so glad you're interested in public spaces - that happens to be a major interest for me - and what I plan to pursue next year. In addition to visual, spatial, and systems thinking, I'm also interested in technology - how mobile phones can enhance face to face interaction and learning in public spaces. I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts this quarter.

 

 

What have you learned in grad school? How do you know it?

 

I've learned quite a bit in grad school, so I will just cite a few examples.  In all of them, it really only struck me that I had learned and understood the material when I was able to transfer them to new situations and other courses.  1. In Milbrey McLaughlin's Policy Analysis course, I learned about the issues of the California High School Exit Exam and its impact on arts education through doing a final project with a few team members.  I later shared my knowledge of this issue in an Economics of Education class when the professor asked us to name pros and cons of high school exit exams. 2. Gili Drori's Organizational Behavior class taught me to view organizational dilemmas using four frames (structural, human resources, political, symbolic), which I later applied to an analysis of a university case study in another class. 3.  I was really fascinated by the "Backwards Design" concept in Denise Pope's Curriculum Construction course and was able to apply it to not just curriculum design, but also design of learning spaces (this class!). 

 

 

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Here's my first project: a proposal for redesigning the lobby area of a Stanford undergraduate dorm to take advantage of missed learning opportunities, based on insights from my observations and interviews with dorm residents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Observation at the Yang and Yamasaki Energy and Environment Building

 

 

Stepping into the Yang and Yamasaki Energy and Environment Building, I immediately sensed the intentionality of the design aesthetics and desired to learn more.  I noticed that I was surrounded on all sides by red walls, with enormous lines and nodes drawn over the red background such that visual structure appeared to extend beyond a space that the walls could contain.  My eyes were soon drawn to a nearby description that had been printed on the same background and design as the walls, almost as a cue to draw my attention.  Upon reading the blurb, I learned that the motive for the building’s unique visual design was to model the many networks of students and professionals intersecting and collaborating within the building.  Each sub-unit of the building had essentially the same design in terms of the furniture and “network lines” decorating the wall canvases, but they were distinct in color.  As I toured the area, I felt as though I was walking through a never-ending maze of near identical rooms, each a subtle variation on a theme.  My opportunity to apply the description I had just read to the context of my immediate surroundings made learning and understanding the message much easier.

 

Despite the impressive visual design and conceptual unity, it is unclear to me who the audience is intended to be, nor is it obvious how much visitors are expected to know before entering.  This is partly due to the blatant absence of educational information about the actual environmental (“green”) aspects of the building, which it is known for.  It appeared to me that the primary message was to convey how the interior design of network imagery was inspired by the existing collaborative usage of the space, rather than communicating the unique functional qualities of the building.  Even the picture gallery on the basement level lacked any sort of description; in fact, I walked up to what I thought was a blurb describing the pictures, only to be greeted by an emergency exit map.  Given the lack of obvious educational material on the functionality of the building, perhaps the user is assumed to be already familiar with the environmental functions and purpose.

 

What we saw that day inspired meaningful conversation among our group members about how similar ideas could be used and applied to our own project.  For one, we were fascinated by the visual network idea; one of the major challenges in designing a school space at LPCH is to include bedridden children into the learning community.  A solution to this might be to project a large map of the hospital onto the classroom walls with nodes for all children enrolled in the school, whether through bedside or classroom learning.  Additionally, the nodes could be lights that turned different colors depending on when the children were “signed on” to the school at any time of day.  This would not only help teachers instantly see which children were available for bedside teaching, but also visually convey a broader network of a truly inclusive learning community, one that extends well beyond the classroom to children in every division and room in the building. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dan- Thanks Carrie.  I especially liked your reflection on the roles of signage and your expectation that one sign would be about the building but instead it was an exit plan.  Your comments about the distance between visual unity and audience awareness are very insightful.   The audience is very difficult question because it changes over time more than we might think.  They have an external audience in the green community that they need to make a big splash with and a relatively small but stable audience of faculty and a much larger but much more fluid community of students.

 

Library Observation at the Bender Room of Stanford Green Library

 

After four years at Stanford, this was amazingly the very first time I have ever been to the Bender Room on the fifth floor of Green Library.  From what I’ve heard, the Bender Room is known to Stanford students as probably the most beautiful place to study – and perhaps fall asleep – on campus.  The space is large, classy and clean, with handsome couches and rows of wooden work-desks spaced neatly throughout.  High wooden bookshelves line the periphery of the room against the walls, along with a few shorter bookshelves spaced amongst the couches and other furniture.  The room overlooks the east entrance to the Main Quad, but from where students sit, only the leaves of swaying palm trees and highest rooftops can be seen. 

 

Upon entrance, it was unclear to me what the learning purpose of the room might be, if anything.  My curiosity was initially piqued by the beautiful photographs hung on the walls.  I discovered upon reading the titles underneath each piece that each photograph was taken of a famous library in the world – i.e. Library of Congress (Washington D.C., USA), Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria, Egypt), as well as others in France, United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.  The architecture captured in each was grand and breathtaking, rendering the Bender Room much more mundane.  By the end of my mini-tour around the room, I still desired to understand what the purpose of this exhibit was, besides the relatively superficial theme of libraries in general.  Are visitors expected to take action? To compare those libraries to the space at Green?  To discover more about other libraries? Or simply to appreciate the artwork?  

 

Similarly, I wondered why the books lining the shelves had been chosen for this room in particular.  I noticed at first glance that most of them were on topics related to social studies, but it was unclear whether these books could be checked out or whether they were merely for display purposes.  I eventually discovered a dark sign in the corner of the room explaining that all books in the room, donated by the Stanford Bookstore, were drawn from a wide range of classics as well as works by contemporary authors.  Half-satisfied by this new knowledge, I wished for more guidance on where to start reading and looking for interesting books within these shelves.

 

Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised by signs above each desk informing users to “get research help” via instant messaging, with hours of availability listed in small print and a website to visit.  The signs were small, simple, visually engaging, and informative.  They’re also conveniently at eye level when users are seated at the desks.  My impression is that this service is campus-wide and not specific to the Bender Room, since I recall seeing identical signs at Meyer Library. 

Provided what I’ve learned in my brief visit to the Bender Room, here are ideas for improving the space to enhance learning:

 

 

Observation/Needs Summary

 

A. Photographs are charming but 1) serve no learning purpose, 2) are located such that the majority students coming strictly to study would not notice them, and 3) serve mostly as decoration.

 

B. Books are not organized or displayed in a way that would engage users to learn about the collection, unless someone was looking for a specific call number.

 

C. “Instant Messaging” signs are helpful in that they provide information on how to get research help, but the link between “research” and the role of the Bender Room is missing.

 

D. Students in the room did not engage much with the space.  The only times people moved around were upon entrance/exit, and trips to take a look out the window.

 

 

Insights

 

A. Library photographs and “Instant Messaging” signs are located very near each other and might serve as complements.

 

B. The tops of waist-level bookshelves are completely empty and could be used more productively given that they are at viewing level. 

 

 

Possible Solutions

 

A. Combine photographs with reference service:

-          Photographs could be labeled with numbers and a symbol underneath (similar to museum displays), which students can use as a reference number to search for in the website that is provided.  The website can provide more information on each piece as well as the history and motive of the Bender Room.

-          Students may also make use of the existing instant messaging system to ask librarians about the photographs or books in the room.  The instant messaging system can be expanded to include not only general research tips but also special information about particular collections.

 

B. Use the empty shelf-tops to showcase spectacular books or to display information about specific genres (i.e. a World War II display).  This space could also be used to guide users to certain sections of the room using a map with labels for different genres/periods.

 

Conclusion

 

By taking advantage of what systems and spaces already exist, we can greatly improve the learning capacity taking place in the Bender Room, transforming it into more than simply a pretty study space.

 

 

 

 

( Image taken from http://www.stanford.edu/home/welcome/campus/libraries.html )

 

Dan - Great details here, thanks for including so much, I especially appreciate your ideas about how to take advantage of the infrastructure that is already there.