Freewrite

What are your goals for graduate school? What are your goals for this class? How do you see them intersecting?

I'm interested in the design process, specifically how innovation can be applied to learning. I also believe that learning spaces are critical for achieving learning objectives. I am keen to gain an insight into the pros and cons of learning spaces and how spaces may be better designed given financial/physical limitations. My goals for this class, therefore, involve learning to design spaces that are aligned better with learning objectives.

Dan Thanks Neha, I like your emphasis on learning objectives as the basis for designing spaces. Many learning spaces are designed not with learning objectives at their core but with functional or operational objectives at their core (can people get in and out, can we clean them, is there a flow to the space, etc.) This is okay for many settings but I think where learning is the goal, we need to be explicit about what our objectives are and then design so that peopl will get there.

Dave If you go after your learning goals with the same gusto that you went after your goals in your photo, I have no doubt that you will achieve them! I too believe the space can have an incredible impact on the process and even outcome of a given learning situation. I look foward to exploring these concepts together throughout the quarter.

Annie A Neha, I love the photo from Holi! One of my big takeaways from this class last year was to not constrain my group's thinking to physical/financial limitations (which was super hard!), but to make the first step of the design process to think big, gigantic ideas (and later whiddle down to reality). It's been amazing to me how broadening away from the limitations we're used to thinking within has led groups to really unique (and feasible) ideas.

Barnard I like the pic also. I think you have a good start at being creative, thinking differently, and thinking about learning from the perspective of the learner. Combine that with your good sense of aestheticism, and I'm sure you will meet those goals. I've already started seeing things differently thanks to you and colleagues through Brainstorming India. Thanks.

What have I learned in graduate school?

A tough question to answer. Perhaps I can safely say that I have learned how to learn ... to take initiative and go out to satisfy my thirst for knowledge as and when I like. I have learned, also, that everyone is different, and often - there is no right or wrong answer. I've learned to look deeper within myself and recognize my strengths and weaknesses better. Given my varied experiences in Computer Science and now Education, I consider myself fortunate to have had the chance to see varying disciplines of study and the strengths of both.

I have also learned to work in groups better. Especially in my program (LDT), people come from so many diverse backgrounds, that it becomes necessary to make an effort and understand diverse modes of thinking, to connect with people better. It also becomes more interesting to work in groups where people have different strengths, because then one can tap these strengths to their fullest potential to produce a high-quality end-product.

In general, I like that I am surrounded by people who have a thirst for knowledge, an endless desire to know more, learn more. Graduate students are not complacent about where they are, what they are doing - they are constantly trying to push the boundaries. This is a self-feeding loop - the more one pushes, the more one pushes. And being around this kind of community helps in building motivation within oneself.

Trip to the Intel Computer Clubhouse

My visit to the Boys' and Girls' Club in East Palo Alto was a great learning experience. It was the first time this year that I had a chance to go out and observe other learners in their environment - an environment very different from the graduate school environment I have become comfortably ensconced in. There were children running about, playing on the computer, playing on the white boards, playing outside. While there were a couple of children actually making an effort to "learn" - by playing language-learning games on the computer, by themselves, this was a small percentage. 

I've often wondered if there is merit to playing computer games, because it often seems like an evil - an unnecessary distraction, a potential addiction. However, in a disciplined environment where children have a controlled amount of time on these computers, perhaps it has its benefits. For one, it builds on motor skills ... and while this may not be a substantial positive, it is something. In a world dominated by computers and computing power, comfort in working on a computer is definitely a necessity. Moreover, when children play together, even if the focus is really the computer game, it may give them fodder for conversation - a reason to connect with other children. Thus, there is the positive side effect of greater collaboration, possibly increased cooperation among teams.

I found myself comparing the children and their experience that I was witnessing to my experiences as a child, growing up in India. While my family may have been relatively well to-do, I was computer illiterate for a lot longer than children in the West. I seem to have caught up with the times though, after moving here myself, so I couldn't help wondering whether now was the time for these children to become tech-savvy, or - more old-fashionedly - if greater emphasis may be laid on tech-independent interactions between children. I don't know if there is a right answer, but it is definitely something I (and others, I am sure) think about a lot.

All the photos are here - Intel Computer Clubhouse Visit

 Dan - Great images here excellent job documenting what you saw, I'm glad this visit was good for you and I appreciate your reflections in the final paragraph.  I twill be interesting to revisit these questions in a few years and to see to what degree did participating at the ICC help these students with their learning more broadly.  I also liek your insights about unintended side effects of computer gaming - my impression is that the space really supports the emergence of these unintended consequences.

The CS Math Library

This is perhaps one of the oldest libraries on campus, although I have not been to all that many. It is a small library, and evokes a feeling of nostalgia as you walk in. The computers look old and out of date. The shelves have journals that go back many, many years. Even the chairs and tables look very old. I liked that it was so old-fashioned.

I can't imagine that there are ever too many students in this library - it seems to be a place frequently mostly by graduate students in math and computer science. Although I had visited it earlier (many years ago), I decided I would revisit to see if anything had changed. But it was all the same :).

Despite it's old-fashioned-ness, I do feel that the layout suits the purpose of the visitors very well. They are happy to sit in isolation from the crowd, working on their own. Most of them have their own laptops, such that the computers needn't really be updated. It would perhaps help to have better machines for faster look-up, but the visitors often know what they're looking for as well.

Overall - a blast from the past, but it works :).