Dive Brief:
- A study by the Georgia Institute of Technology of its high-tech Clough Commons learning center has revealed multiple ways students learn through informal groups or meetings.
- The decade-long study involved “mobile ethnography” techniques, with students using a mobile app to record what they were doing five times a day at the center and to photograph their surroundings, Campus Technology reported.
- The research also illustrated how the presence of students attracted other students for informal learning.
Dive Insight:
The $85 million Clough Commons opened in August 2011 — a 220,000-square-foot building accessible 24 hours a day, connected to the university library, with five floors, classrooms for as many as 330 students each, small classrooms, distance learning classrooms, study rooms, WiFi, common areas designed for learning and as many as 700 students, a Starbucks open 20 hours a day, and rooftop garden, where students can take recess breaks. Students have used the Georgia Tech library 15% more since the Clough building opened.