The Geography Collaboratory is a place where undergraduate students, faculty, and librarians come together to enhance learning through synergistic exploration of course topics using electronic information skills. Collaborative learning, as an approach to active learning, engages students on a peer-to-peer basis with instructors and librarians. Learning substantive material through the use of electronic information skills helps students retain both substantive material and skills. A department-wide instructional framework for electronic information skills has been articulated to help geography faculty select skills appropriate to their courses. Four courses from the three non-geographic-information-systems departmental concentrations are part of this project: Geographic Understanding and Health, International Geographies of Production and Trade, Local Economies and Market Areas, and World Hunger and Resource Development. A group learning area composed of six conversation workpods for three to five students, each with a Pentium computer and 21` display monitor, form the configuration for collaboration. An SVGA projector and Pentium workstation support group project presentation displays. Individual work for group projects is carried out at scholar workstations_Pentium machines with 17` display monitors. Support for evaluation of this project comes from several units on campus, including the Faculty Council on Educational Technology, Undergraduate Education Office of Assessment, Center for Instructional Development and Research, and Classroom Support Services. All are interested in the unique computing configuration used for collaborative learning through electronic information skill development.
