Excitement is quickly spreading about SmartSpaces. These technology-enhanced group study areas for Whitman students have been crafted with special attention to the demands placed on computing during group projects. Often, students find themselves either huddled around a single computer, taking turns typing, or trying to email/FTP files to each other. These physical and technological impediments hinder the intellectual and creative flow of group projects.

To solve these impediments, we have equipped each SmartSpace with a large, easy to see 42" flat panel monitor, connected to a robustly equipped Dell Computer. To further the groups' creative experience, each SmartSpace area features TeamSpot, a technology Whitman, Vassar, and Davidson Colleges are jointly piloting this Spring. TeamSpot allows students to easily connect their laptops (Mac or PC) to the SmartSpace Dell Computer. Once connected, students can either simultaneously work on the same document(s), or do work separately and join the pieces later. All the while, students can instantly drag/drop images, text, web pages, and other files on to each other's laptops, and/or on to the shared computer space. As our pilot of TeamSpot technology continues throughout the Spring, Technology Services encourages and welcomes students to share their experiences in using it (smartspace@whitman.edu).

January marked the opening of the first SmartSpace, in Olin 166. Two more SmartSpaces will open this month, in the Hall of Science, and Douglas Hall.

Learn more about SmartSpace.