Karen Han

April 23, 2001

CS377c

Architectural Pattern

Group Study Room **

Context

A conducive environment for group work supports the tasks common to collaborative work. Public locations such as the workplace and libraries contain rooms designed specifically for group work. In the school environment, students meet in a variety of locations, from public meeting areas to dorm rooms. However, one location specifically designed for group work is the group study room found in many libraries.

Problem

The majority of work areas within the school environment facilitate individual work but do not support group work. For instance, much of the library is designated as a quiet study area where individuals can either study alone or work quietly with other people (but to the chagrin of their neighbors). While several people can sit around a library table, the library’s quiet environment does not enable discussions which are a crucial component of collaboration. On the other hand, offices or dorm rooms often times do not provide enough space to accommodate for the entire group. Another option would be for groups to meet at cafes or other similar public areas but such locations usually do not have equipment such as whiteboards and do not guarantee privacy. Group work rooms offer the group features missing in these other environment—private room for the group, large table and space to accommodate a reasonable sized group, and equipment to enable effective communication.

Solution

Several conflicts exist in choosing the most appropriate position along each of the features axes. For instance, the room should be large enough to comfortably fit everyone in the group but not waste space. However, groups using the room will come in a variety of sizes. As a general rule of thumb, school project groups will have at most 6 people. Another decision to make is what type of equipment or technology should the room either provide or support. At the minimum, it should have a whiteboard (or blackboard) and outlets for laptops, etc.—I have seen groups at the Mountain View library bring in their own whiteboard because the group study room did not provide one. Having internet connection capabilities would be very useful, arguably essential, for today’s students. Technologies beyond that such as laptop projects and smart whiteboards which print out its display may offer benefits to the students but also run the risk of the complexity overriding such benefits. Because this group study room will be located within a public environment such as a library or department building, it should have a window to allow outside people see if the room is occupied. This window also provides a visual escape for the students in the group work room when they need a mental break.

Diagram

whiteboard

References

Collaborative work environments also exist in the workplace. Employees use the conference room for holding working meetings (both physical and virtual). While conference rooms serve a variety of functions and often support groups larger than a school project group, many of the tasks performed in these rooms are similar. Virtual collaborative areas such as NetMeeting must accommodate for both group work and the virtual aspect.

* Due to lack of access to digital camera, I was not able to include a picture of a group study room. One can view the real deal at Meyer Library or Mountain View Library (although the Mountain View rooms have several flaws).