GroupSpace: Collaborative Work Spaces

A typical undergraduate student spends only 15-18 hours a week in the classroom. Far more time is spent in technology spaces such as those in libraries and residences, where learning, research, and course project collaboration take place. For example, courses in Stanford’s Program in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) and design courses offered by the Center for Design Research (CDR) both require group collaboration and problem solving among student teams. Survey results gathered from the 11,000 residential students also reveal a strong desire for collaborative spaces enhanced by technology designed to further group interaction. See also, “Student Computing Survey Results for 2003-2004” on in the Spring issue of Speaking of Computers.

The GroupSpace effort is a joint program between Academic Computing and Residential Computing. The program seeks to develop facilities and spaces for teams and other groups to work on projects. Currently, we have three spaces on campus, including one in Meyer Library, accessible 24-hours a day.

For more information, go to the groupspace.stanford.edu site.

What Is It?
The core of the GroupSpace functionality is the TeamSpot collaboration software. Leveraging the work of Stanford’s Interactive Workspaces (“iRoom”) Project (http://iwork.stanford.edu/), TeamSpot is a "mini-iRoom” collaborative workspace. The Meyer library installation features two 42" plasma displays powered by TeamSpot hosts, while the installations in the residences feature 23" LCDs. All spaces offer large workspaces with seating for multiple team members.

Meyer is centrally located, is a popular study location, and hosts computing and technical support facilities. GroupSpace is available to all Stanford students on a first-come-first-served basis, with the possibility of establishing a reservation system if demand becomes very great. To use the facility, students perform a one-time “single-click” installation of the software onto their Windows or Macintosh laptops. Quick-start “how-to” documentation is available on the GroupSpace page (http://groupspace.stanford.edu) and at the spot itself.

Benefits
GroupSpace offers a number of benefits. Please see the "Why GroupSpace" page for detailed information.

For More Information
For more information, see:

http://groupspace.stanford.edu/

You can also contact, Dave Futey, Associate Director of Academic Computing at groupspace@rescomp.stanford.edu.