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Why would anyone use the computer lab? How many undergrads actually do any computing for which $500 desktop computers in their dorm rooms would not be more tha

Why would anyone use the computer lab? How many undergrads actually do any computing for which $500 desktop computers in their dorm rooms would not be more than sufficient? Do the labs require special, non-OS software? In this day in age, that would be really weird. Even if classes are taught using Microsoft stuff, the basic tools are all free anymore. I recall reading that universities are doing away with dorm phone lines -- between cell phones and VOIP, students have no use for them anymore.

jlees 18y ago
This links in a lot with the other computer lab thread, but for some CS teaching the software setup is particularly arcane, and classes are taught in the labs themselves, using that setup. You can't really avoid them, setting it all up on your own machine, learning to use it without the practicals and so on is just pointless extra work.
nomoresecrets 18y ago
For the social aspect. There was a famous story about some University's computer lab (I forget the details) where they got fed up of the coffee machine. There was a perfectly good cafeteria close by where the students could get coffee. Plus they had to keep the machine stocked, service it, etc. It was just a pain in the ass, so they got rid of it. Within about a week, their TAs were swamped with demands on their time from students. They had to take on like 2 extra people to meet the demand. Turned out, that coffee machine was a social hub, and people would chat about their problems, ask each other for tips and advice, and solve a large percentage of their problems on their own. So they bought a replacement coffee machine. Now I'm imagining those students doing all the work on their computers in their dorm rooms on their own. Hmm. Sure, there's lots more connectivity these days and places you can ask for help, but when learning/starting out that sort of personal contact etc is quite useful.
JimmyL 18y ago
The basic tools may be free, but the more advanced things aren't. Many assignments require the use of packages like Matlab, Maple, and Pro/E - the idea being that we'll use these things in industry so we may as well get used to them in university. There are also a series of packages that are used that are free, but hard to find/maintain individually. It also comes down to standardization - if I'm marking circuit layouts, I want everyone to use the same version of Electric that I did, so it's easy for me to deal with fifty submissions. I want everyone to compile their code using the same environment, so that I can simply recreate that environment and know that the code should compile.

jlees 18y ago

This links in a lot with the other computer lab thread, but for some CS teaching the software setup is particularly arcane, and classes are taught in the labs themselves, using that setup. You can't really avoid them, setting it all up on your own machine, learning to use it without the practicals and so on is just pointless extra work.

nomoresecrets 18y ago

For the social aspect. There was a famous story about some University's computer lab (I forget the details) where they got fed up of the coffee machine. There was a perfectly good cafeteria close by where the students could get coffee. Plus they had to keep the machine stocked, service it, etc. It was just a pain in the ass, so they got rid of it. Within about a week, their TAs were swamped with demands on their time from students. They had to take on like 2 extra people to meet the demand. Turned out, that coffee machine was a social hub, and people would chat about their problems, ask each other for tips and advice, and solve a large percentage of their problems on their own. So they bought a replacement coffee machine. Now I'm imagining those students doing all the work on their computers in their dorm rooms on their own. Hmm. Sure, there's lots more connectivity these days and places you can ask for help, but when learning/starting out that sort of personal contact etc is quite useful.

JimmyL 18y ago

The basic tools may be free, but the more advanced things aren't. Many assignments require the use of packages like Matlab, Maple, and Pro/E - the idea being that we'll use these things in industry so we may as well get used to them in university. There are also a series of packages that are used that are free, but hard to find/maintain individually. It also comes down to standardization - if I'm marking circuit layouts, I want everyone to use the same version of Electric that I did, so it's easy for me to deal with fifty submissions. I want everyone to compile their code using the same environment, so that I can simply recreate that environment and know that the code should compile.