iCenter--A Shift in Learning

Jennifer Brickey

ET—Educational Theory

Hay, L. (2012). Experience the "Shift": Build an iCentre. Teacher Librarian, 39(5), 29-35. Retrieved from http://edition.pagesuiteprofessional.co.uk//launch.aspx?eid=5e332207-1bc6-4a7d-8ce1-01b678060ecf

In Australia, libraries are undergoing a transformation. With the assistance of the Australian Government’s Building the Education (BER) funding program, libraries and other educational facilities in secondary schools have experienced a “shift” in layout in design (p. 29). This “shift” includes creating “a high-end multimedia production facility that acts as the information-technology-learning hub” called an iCenter (p.29). An iCenter sounds like a Learning Commons with a Genius Bar; students, teachers, administrators, and parents have access to a central location where they can have their technology and learning needs met all in one swoop. The iCenter aims to put the learning goals of the school before technology; the iCenter is meant to support the learning agenda through technology. An aspect the iCenter does not address is the book factor. From its very name, it would seem as though books lack a role in the iCenter; however, an iCenter’s purpose is determined by its stakeholders. Hay offers reflective questions to ask stakeholders when developing a rationale for an iCenter approach. Hay also provides specific examples of iCenters currently open in Australia and a framework for those schools interested in pursuing the iCenter model: “form, function, and brand” (p. 34).

Although the iCenter seems like a smart, efficient, and practical idea, I can’t help but feel that Australia’s progressive movements in education and libraries leaves the United States looking rather inadequate in the same areas. Yes, American education places an emphasis on technology, but as seen with the recent LAUSD one-to-one iPad fiasco, it’s clear that students, teachers, administrators, and parents lack the tech-support that Australia’s iCenters offer.

Blume, H. (2013). Who pays if L.A. Unified students lose or break iPads, Los Angeles Times.  Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-ipads-lausd-20130926,0,5826726.story