Many people are familiar with Lawrence Lessig’s Creative Commons as a reasonable and constructive way to address copyright concerns in a digital age. In perhaps a nod to Lessig, Bryan Sinclair describes the notion of a Commons 2.0 from an academic library’s perspective. He sees it as something that
brings together a wide range of elements to foster student learning in new and creative ways. It is not a static computer lab; rather, it incorporates the freedom of wireless communication, flexible workspace clusters that promote interaction and collaboration, and comfortable furnishings, art, and design to make users feel relaxed, encourage creativity, and support peer-learning.
Besides collaboration, another element that catches my eye in this description is his phrase, flexible workplace clusters. As mobile technology adoption continues to grow, flexibility seems central to any plans for designing academic work spaces. For him, this means moving away from a hardware-centric approach that relies on rigid rows of desktop computers to a more flexible, modular approach that features things like kidney-shaped tables to promote collaboration and docking stations to accommodate laptops and mobile devices. And not to downplay the theoretical, he notes how this kind of design applies constructivist principles where learning is decentered and co-constructed.
Image credit: Brandy Shaul