The College of Engineering (CoE) breathed new life to the traditional library by introducing the Learning Commons (TLC), the newest high-tech academic and research space on campus last March 18 at the CoE Library II along Velasquez Street.
The TLC is envisioned as an alternative venue for learning for the students that goes beyond the traditional notion of individual, rigid study. Using the “one-stop shop” concept, it’s a central venue for access to information housed within the library and beyond. It also aims to be a central gathering place for students to study and dynamically engage in shared learning.
Located at the first floor of the building, the facility is the latest manifestation of the CoE’s collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) under the Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) consortium.
According to CoE dean Rowena Cristina Guevara, the TLC is the brainchild of CoE II head librarian Sharon Ma. S. Esposo and is based on Lev Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory, which states that stating that learning is enhanced in groups rather than individually.
At the heart of the TLC is eight ERDT-sponsored e-journal/database subscriptions, each with its own dedicated portal.
These databases are: ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), the ACM Digital Library (http://portal.acm.org/dl.cfm), IEEE Explore (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/guesthome.jsp), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standards and Journals (http://www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/index.shtml), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) journal database (http://www.pubs.asce.org/journals/), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) journal database (http://www.asmedl.org/) and SpringerLink (http://www.springer.com/).
These subscriptions, costing some P7 milllion annually, gives the students access to the latest in research and technology and puts them head to head with other engineering education institutions around the world.
While use of the TLC is available exclusively to students from the CoE, the e-journal subscriptions are open to all UPD students. The subscriptions to ScienceDirect and IEEE Explore will eventually be opened to the whole UP System.
Aside from the eight dedicated portals, the TLC is also equipped with a wireless LAN system that runs on a daily basis, complementing the doubled bandwidth allocation that the CoE managed to secure for its students.
This Internet connection can be accessed through the 38 iMac stations installed inside the TLC for multimedia projects, including video editing.
Other equipment available inside the TLC are also intended to facilitate group learning and interaction: five powerful PCs for collaborative group work; three Kindle Readers for e-books; two Podcast stations; interactive multimedia room equipped with multimedia projector; interactive board and state-of-the-art television that may be used to view video materials, conduct lectures and group discussions.
—Anna Regidor