Planning student laboratories---what isn't new?

摘要

Columbia University Center for Computing Activities (CUCCA) is in the process of planning its second computer lab. The lessons we learned in designing and operating our first lab did not necessarily help us in the second. However, in searching for issues that are common to planning any computer lab, we have found ways to plan for the unexpected: changing technology, new faculty requests, even a change in location. Instead of basing our planning on new considerations that differed from our first lab, we ended up defining issues that are common to any lab and creating a framework to accommodate the myriad of changing constraints that make every lab unique.