A FAB-ulous problem. In mid December 2016, we were given 2.5 days to allocate $30,000. It had to be used for our "OILS Commons" as it was then referred to. I proposed that we get a 3D printer, FabLab and maker stuff. Everyone seemed to be amenable to this idea. All that remained was to find $30,000 worth of stuff to purchase. In 2.5 days. A fabulous problem to have. A slow start. My colleagues came up with a few books they wanted. I listed a few odds and ends that seemed useful to have, In the space of 4 hours, we had allocated about 10% of the $30,000. So I emailed colleagues: "Pretend you had to spend $30,000 by Friday and you wanted to buy things that you could use in the study of learning. What would you buy? We may need to spend some funds, and I'd love to have time to plan and carefully select interesting technologies that we could then study, in terms of how they support learning. Instead, I am crowdsourcing. We have a learning lab but it has no possibility of high voltage, no special ventilation feasible, and no water available. Our learning lab has a ceiling camera (we call it the flying fish, as it is a birds eye view wide angle lens), and reconfigurable tables/chairs. I want to use this space to do studies of how people work with objects and sketching as they design. But the room is used by all OILS faculty, and could be used for a range of purposes. It is small, but works for small seminars of about 8-10 people. I was thinking about getting some basic maker space supplies, such as a 3D printer with an enclosure (like this: http://www.3dprintclean.com/). With the constraint of the room not being well ventilated and no water, I don't know how feasible 3D printers and laser cutters and so forth actually are. So, here is my question for you: What sorts of things/software, etc would you buy, that would let us study learning, especially with interesting tech? Also keep in mind that I have a smallish slush fund that could cover consumables in future." And I posted on facebook. Too many ideas. And we got lots of suggestions. And lots of links. I was budgeting for things I had never heard of based on the recommendations of trusted colleagues, friends of friends, and complete strangers. Pretty soon we were making tough decisions about what to NOT buy. Productive constraints. It was clear from the beginning that we could not change the space in meaningful ways. We could not add water or ventilation. The building is historic. And we had this awkward column near the back of the room to deal with. And the room is smallish, with floor to ceiling windows on one end and already had some furniture. And the room needed to retain its ability to support a range of activities, including classes in the evening.
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VanessaDesigner and researcher, researching designing. Archives
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