With nearly 80 percent of college students owning laptops, it’s easy to assume that student computer labs, those large, colorless rooms filled with rows of desktops, are no longer needed. No so, according to a small survey conducted by Jim Bostick, a technology-services administrator at Virginia Commonwealth University.
He asked colleges if they were seeing a decline in demand for the labs. Out of 11 colleges that responded, eight said they saw no change or an increase in demand. College officials said students found computer labs attractive out of concern that their laptops might be stolen; because they needed the software available on the college-owned computers; because they didn’t want to cart heavy laptops around; and because they needed to use the labs’ printers.
Even so, one of the eight institutions, the University of Virginia, said it was considering replacing its computer labs with laptop docking stations throughout the campus.
An article in the current issue of Educause Review argues against the elimination of computer labs. Their role is evolving, says the magazine, from a “room with technology to a multifaceted space utilized for collaboration, socialization, and computational research.” —Andrea L. Foster
