1. It’s All About Them: What We Know About Student-Centered Design
Evaluating Penn State’s Knowledge Commons Joe Fennewald Knowledge Commons, Penn State
Panel Presentation
It’s All About Them: What We Know About Student-Centered Design
Re-Think It Conference 2015

2. Tombros McWhirter Knowledge Commons
Penn State University Libraries
54,000 square feet
$11,360,000 total estimated cost

3. Knowledge Commons Usage Report (Fall 2014)
7, people approached library service desk needing help
1, people ed or phoned library staff for help
reference questions
10,398 group study room reservations
156,399 logins on computers
multimedia workshops taught
1, consultations provided by multimedia specialists
4, videos made resulting in 197 hours of recording
6, received help with their personal electronic device
2, computer and printer questions answered by a IT Lab Consultant

4. 7,107 Contacts 6,666 Contacts 1,152 Contacts Library IT Services
s2,2222ment
IT Services
statement
Multimedia
7,107 Contacts
(Fall 2014)
2,016 (Fall 2010)
6,666 Contacts
(Fall 2014)
4,050 (Fall 2010)
1,152 Contacts
(Fall 2014)
375 (Fall 2010)
SmartArt graphic with pictures on red background
(Intermediate)
To reproduce the SmartArt graphic on this slide, do the following:
On the Home tab, in the Slides group, click Layout, and then click Blank.
On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click SmartArt.
In the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box, in the left pane, click Picture. In the Picture pane, double-click Title Picture Lineup (fifth row) to insert the graphic into the slide.
Click each of the four picture placeholders in the SmartArt graphic, select a picture, and then click Insert.
Select the graphic. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Size group, enter 5.92” in the Height box and 8.75” in the Width box.
Also under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click Align, and then do the following:
Click Align to Slide.
Click Align Center.
Click Align Middle.
Select the graphic, and then click one of the arrows on the left border. In the Type your text here dialog box, enter text.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select all of the text boxes above the pictures. On the Home tab, in the Font group, select Gill Sans MT from the Font list, and then select 26 pt. from the Font Size list. Click Font Color and select White, Background 1.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select all of the text boxes above the pictures. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shapes group, click Change Shape, and then under Rectangles, click Round Diagonal Corner Rectangle.
Also under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click the Format Shape dialog box launcher. In the Format Shape dialog box, click Fill in the left pane, in the Fill pane, click Gradient fill, and then do the following:
In the Type list, select Linear.
In the Angle box, enter 0.3°.
Under Gradient stops, click Add gradient stop or Remove gradient stop until three stops appear in the slider.
Also under Gradient stops, customize the gradient stops as follows:
Select the first stop in the slider, and then do the following:
In the Position box, enter 0%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 77, Green: 28, and Blue: 27.
Select the next stop in the slider, and then do the following:
In the Position box, enter 50%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 136, Green: 50, and Blue: 48.
Select the last stop in the slider, and then do the following:
In the Position box, enter 100%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 77, Green: 28, and Blue: 27
Also in the Format Shape dialog box, click Line Color in the left pane, in the Line Color pane, click No line.
Also in the Format Shape dialog box, click Shadow in the left pane, in the Shadow pane, click the button next to Presets, and then under Outer, click Offset Diagonal Bottom Left (first row).
Press and hold CTRL, and then select the three text boxes below the pictures. On the Home tab, in the Font group, select Gill Sans MT from the Font list, select 24 in the Font Size box, and then click Font Color and select White, Background 1.
Also on the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Align Text Left.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select the three vertical lines in the SmartArt graphic. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click the Format Shape dialog box launcher. In the Format Shape dialog box, click Line Color in the left pane, in the Line Color pane, click Gradient line, and then do the following:
In the Type list, click Linear.
In the Angle box, enter 90°.
Under Gradient stops, click Add gradient stop or Remove gradient stop until two stops appear in the slider.
In the Position box, enter 46%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 40, Green: 15, and Blue: 14.
In the Transparency box, enter 0%.
Click the button next to Color, and then under Theme Colors click Black, Text 1 (first row).
In the Transparency box, enter 100%.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select all three pictures. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shapes group, click Change Shape, and then under Rectangles, click Round Single Corner Rectangle.
Under Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Picture Styles group, click Picture Effects, point to Shadow, and then under Inner, click Inside Diagonal Top Right.
Also under Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Picture Styles group, click Picture Border, and then click No Outline.
To reproduce the background effects on this slide, do the following:
On the Design tab, in the Background group, click Background Styles, and then click Format Background. In the Format Background dialog box, click Gradient fill, and then do the following:
In the Type list, click Radial.
In the Direction list, click From Center.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 153, Green: 57, and Blue: 55.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 114, Green: 42, and Blue: 40.

5. Group Study Rooms Computer Stations statement
During Fall 2014, there were 22,903 room reservation requests.
Of these, unable to fill 1,443.
On average students spend
50 minutes longer at computers
with larger monitors and work
surfaces.
SmartArt graphic with pictures on red background
(Intermediate)
To reproduce the SmartArt graphic on this slide, do the following:
On the Home tab, in the Slides group, click Layout, and then click Blank.
On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click SmartArt.
In the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box, in the left pane, click Picture. In the Picture pane, double-click Title Picture Lineup (fifth row) to insert the graphic into the slide.
Click each of the four picture placeholders in the SmartArt graphic, select a picture, and then click Insert.
Select the graphic. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Size group, enter 5.92” in the Height box and 8.75” in the Width box.
Also under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click Align, and then do the following:
Click Align to Slide.
Click Align Center.
Click Align Middle.
Select the graphic, and then click one of the arrows on the left border. In the Type your text here dialog box, enter text.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select all of the text boxes above the pictures. On the Home tab, in the Font group, select Gill Sans MT from the Font list, and then select 26 pt. from the Font Size list. Click Font Color and select White, Background 1.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select all of the text boxes above the pictures. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shapes group, click Change Shape, and then under Rectangles, click Round Diagonal Corner Rectangle.
Also under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click the Format Shape dialog box launcher. In the Format Shape dialog box, click Fill in the left pane, in the Fill pane, click Gradient fill, and then do the following:
In the Type list, select Linear.
In the Angle box, enter 0.3°.
Under Gradient stops, click Add gradient stop or Remove gradient stop until three stops appear in the slider.
Also under Gradient stops, customize the gradient stops as follows:
Select the first stop in the slider, and then do the following:
In the Position box, enter 0%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 77, Green: 28, and Blue: 27.
Select the next stop in the slider, and then do the following:
In the Position box, enter 50%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 136, Green: 50, and Blue: 48.
Select the last stop in the slider, and then do the following:
In the Position box, enter 100%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 77, Green: 28, and Blue: 27
Also in the Format Shape dialog box, click Line Color in the left pane, in the Line Color pane, click No line.
Also in the Format Shape dialog box, click Shadow in the left pane, in the Shadow pane, click the button next to Presets, and then under Outer, click Offset Diagonal Bottom Left (first row).
Press and hold CTRL, and then select the three text boxes below the pictures. On the Home tab, in the Font group, select Gill Sans MT from the Font list, select 24 in the Font Size box, and then click Font Color and select White, Background 1.
Also on the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Align Text Left.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select the three vertical lines in the SmartArt graphic. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click the Format Shape dialog box launcher. In the Format Shape dialog box, click Line Color in the left pane, in the Line Color pane, click Gradient line, and then do the following:
In the Type list, click Linear.
In the Angle box, enter 90°.
Under Gradient stops, click Add gradient stop or Remove gradient stop until two stops appear in the slider.
In the Position box, enter 46%.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 40, Green: 15, and Blue: 14.
In the Transparency box, enter 0%.
Click the button next to Color, and then under Theme Colors click Black, Text 1 (first row).
In the Transparency box, enter 100%.
Press and hold CTRL, and then select all three pictures. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shapes group, click Change Shape, and then under Rectangles, click Round Single Corner Rectangle.
Under Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Picture Styles group, click Picture Effects, point to Shadow, and then under Inner, click Inside Diagonal Top Right.
Also under Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Picture Styles group, click Picture Border, and then click No Outline.
To reproduce the background effects on this slide, do the following:
On the Design tab, in the Background group, click Background Styles, and then click Format Background. In the Format Background dialog box, click Gradient fill, and then do the following:
In the Type list, click Radial.
In the Direction list, click From Center.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 153, Green: 57, and Blue: 55.
Click the button next to Color, click More Colors, and then in the Colors dialog box, on the Custom tab, enter values for Red: 114, Green: 42, and Blue: 40.

6. Head Knowledge Commons

7. Reactions, comments, thoughts . . .

8. Reactions, comments, thoughts . . .
“There is really nowhere else we could have such a meeting. Given that we really try to have a quiet environment yet the privacy to discuss our drafts without disturbing other students who are studying.”
“The rooms give us privacy and freedom to have open conversations. I cannot think of a place on campus where we can have such virtual meetings with our clients.”

9. What did we want to know?
Why the Library? Wouldn’t this be as effective anywhere else on campus?
Do students behave differently when a computer lab is in a library?

10. Library, IT, Multimedia Service Desks 24/5 61 Computers
Knowledge Commons, Penn State University Libraries
Pollock Computer Lab, Penn State University
Renovated 2012
Library, IT, Multimedia Service Desks
24/5
61 Computers
Food / drink allowed
14,916 Unique users (Fall 2014)
Renovated 2013
IT, Multimedia Service Desks
24/7
172 Computers
Food / drink restrictions
13,933 Unique users (Fall 2014)

11. ‘Quick’ Ethnography Seating Sweeps / Field Observations
Service Desks Transactions
Interviews
Computer Use / Google Analytics
‘Quick’ Ethnography

12. Preliminary Findings (Similarities):
Behavior is similar
They spread out their belongings; frequently use a seat for their backpack
Charge their devices while working
Are often wearing headphones
Have food/drink out (even if there is a sign prohibiting this)
Take breaks either by resting their head on the table, watching a video, or walking around the space
Regular users feel as though they belong to the space. Students are not likely to switch spaces once they find a space that meets their needs.

13. Preliminary Findings (Similarities):
Computers in both locations are heavily used
Students liked the 21” monitors and large work surfaces
Amount of time per log in is similar (67 minutes Pollock, 76 minutes KC)
For students who go to the library website the behavior is similar once on the website.
Students like to separate their non-academic and academic work in the space they use and their devices (i.e., laptop for leisure, desktop for work)

14. Preliminary Findings (Differences):
Pollock has more male students
Students in Pollock appear to be visiting libraries’ web sites specific to class assignments or resources likely needed for classes.
Students in Pollock claim resources, such as printers, as a more common reason for using the space than students in the KC
Students using the KC had a greater sense of ownership of the space (‘third space’)
Personal belongings were often left unattended
They searched the library’s web site to find out when it closes or when the coffee shop closes
Students were more likely to approach to ask for help from the ITS Lab Consultants, Tech Tutors, or Multimedia Specialist in the KC than Pollock

15. Lessons Learned from Data Triangulation (the Researchers’ Perspective):
To avoid drowning in the data always keep in mind the research questions.
Stay organized. You will have an unbelievable amount of data before you know it and an organization system that each researcher is comfortable using is invaluable.
Communicate effectively. You will likely have several people involved in data gathering and analysis. Each person brings different perspectives and have different understandings.
Collaborate with people who have different skill sets and levels of expertise
Train – people come with different background and experiences. One person may be comfortable interviewing but not observing. Train people in how to properly engage in these data collection methods.

16. Next steps: Working on what we collected Continue the conversation:
Joe Fennewald
Head Knowledge Commons
PSU.EDU