A Virtuous Circle of Student Engagement: The Tech Corner

Authors

Brian R. Schuck, University of Nevada Las VegasFollow
Susan B. Wainscott, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Meeting name

American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition

Meeting location

Orlando, Florida

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

6-26-2016

Abstract

How can a culture of student innovation and interdisciplinary creativity be fostered when library facilities and / or budget do not accommodate a maker space? We allowed students to help develop a new collection of devices and equipment, the Tech Corner, launched in early 2016. We seek to provide ready access to unique, easy-to-use devices that support creativity, curricular work and recreation but may be too expensive for our average student to purchase. Student focus groups helped design the branding, marketing, and a starter collection of items that include virtual reality headsets, digital art brushes, tablet-compatible MIDI keyboards, digital microscopes, cameras, and pocket projectors. Liberal loan periods encourage off-campus, longer-term use, and circulation is limited to student account types. We plan to refresh the collection annually with new, student-recommended devices.
We are building a virtuous circle of student engagement in a variety of ways. Students who complete a survey about each device receive promotional items and are registered in a prize raffle. Users are encouraged to share what they create for displays on our website and in library buildings. A website allows students to learn about the items, see how other students have used them, complete the survey, and sign up for email news. Polls circulated throughout the academic year via the website and social media will allow students to suggest and vote for new collection items. Assessment will include circulation statistics for this and other media items, survey feedback, and use-case submissions.

Assessment data is in the attached supplemental file.

Disciplines

Higher Education | Library and Information Science

Comments

Title on presentation is "The Tech Corner: A Virtuous Circle of Student Engagement"

Poster presented at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Supplemental file includes assessment data from this project.

Repository Citation

Schuck, B. R., Wainscott, S. B. (2016, June). A Virtuous Circle of Student Engagement: The Tech Corner. Presentation at American Library Association Annual Conference & Exhibition, Orlando, Florida.

Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/libfacpresentation/145