Dear Monique and Roberta,

I recently redesigned the Language Resource Center at Swarthmore College into a studio learning space.  We've just finished our first year and it's been very successful.  In addition to the Language Center Design book, I looked very closely at and presented ideas from a volume edited by Diane Oblinger of Educause on Learning Space Design.  That volume deals not specifically with Language Resource Centers, but with formal and informal learning spaces of various kinds and folds in lots of research and reference material.  It has chapters on Space as a Change agent and Rethinking Learning Spaces.  

http://www.educause.edu/LearningSpaces

I think there's no better place to experiment with learning space design than a staffed lab like the LRC and a set of faculty who are heavy users of media and technology.

Good Luck!

- mike


Begin forwarded message:

From: "Ledgerwood, Mike" <[log in to unmask]>

Date: May 3, 2012 12:43:06 PM EDT

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: Re: Request for information on future directions for Multimedia Language Centres

Reply-To: CALICO's CALL discussion list <[log in to unmask]>

If I might humbly recommend to this list the new "Language Center Design"

volume published by the International Association for Language Learning

Technology, I think those in Monique's position (and hello Monique from

Alabama!) will find it very useful (and, in the interest of fairness, need

to say I have a chapter in it as well).  The volume is very inexpensive

and available from "Lulu".  It just so happens my own University is in the

same situation as York.  I bought three copies of the volume and had all

of the language faculty read it before we brought in a consultant to talk

to the faculty about language centers Prof. Lance Askildson of Notre Dame

University (who also has chapters in it and who will be the host of next

month's CALICO with IALLT conference.)  For those going to that conference

who are in the same situation I would strongly urge you to tour his Center

at ND.  If you cannot attend that conference the videos he created for his

center that can be found on his web site at http://cslc.nd.edu/ will give

you a good idea of his facility.

Very best to all.

Mikle D. Ledgerwood, Ph.D.

Professor of French and Linguistics

Chair of World Languages and Cultures

Samford University

[log in to unmask]

(205) 726-2747

Past President of the International Association for Language Learning

Technology

Graduate Faculty in Technology and Language Learning, State University of

New York at Stony Brook