This sign on a computer in the Paul A. Elsner Library at Mesa Community College caught Beth‘s eye and garnered a number of comments, including one from theangelremiel that seems to mark one of the most elusive aspects of Library 2.0.
they know that none of their classes require gaming
Excerpting the above as a simple declarative may not be fair, but it gets to the point. Let’s say they “know” (that is, let’s say they think they know) that none of the courses requires gaming. Making that claim cuts out the student’s role in her own education and asserts that the only things that matter are those in the course syllabi.
What of the questions students may ask? What of the group study opportunities afforded by IM? Are students only allowed to study contemporary culture from a distance, reading about it in “approved” journals?
Our students know the limits of our knowledge, do we?
The problem isn’t in having computers dedicated to academic use (and for academic users), the problem is in narrowly defining “academic.” Heh, and are there any limits to what counts as “research?”