Media Distribution Lab Hart Hall
Computer Lab Management operates two media facilities. The Media Distribution Lab (MDL) at Hart Hall is one such facility which operates differently than other computer rooms. The MDL holds class materials such as video tapes, audio tapes, slide sets, and notes for students and faculty to checkout. Faculty typically put such materials on reserve at the MDL instead of the library since the facility has VCRs, audio players, and slide carrels that allow clients to view the material on the premises. There are also instructional software modules that students can view using any of the 16 iMac computers located in the room.
Part of the services offerred for all campus clients are computer and video based training for a list of software. Using these training materials, clients can learn how to use software from Microsoft Word to Adobe Photoshop.
Fig. 1
The MDL at 1101 and 1102 Hart functions as both a distribution center and as a classroom. Figure 1 shown above measures specifically the number of checkouts at the Media Distribution Lab at 1101 Hart and the number of logins to the computer stations.
The decline in 2004 in logins can be attributed to the heavy scheduling of the 1102 Hart computer classroom to classes that meet up to four hours at a time. This means a student used the computer for four hours rather than several students using the one computer over the four hour period. In addition, the decline in checkouts can be attributed to more materials available on line. The decrease in checkouts is not as significant as the drop in logins.
