Rating 8/10
Pros:
Skyview’s environment is really great! Teachers, students, and visitors alike often comment on the peacefulness of the library and how beautiful it is with a whole wall of windows overlooking Pikes Peak. Couches and pillows are comfy, the bean bags are popular, and the tables and chairs are all movable and reconfigured on a regular basis to adjust to myriads of group activities. The broadcast lab sits adjacent to the library with easy access. The computer lab houses 30 computers that are slated to be replaced this January with new state-of-the-art desktops, which are all WiFi enabled and accessible to the teachers and students throughout the day. There is an online Google calendar on my desktop where teacher’s can organize testing and special projects with all the electronics labs so there isn’t overlap or miscommunication; we can all access it to see who is using which space. We can usually accommodate up to three groups working in separate areas of the library space without too much mayhem.
Cons:
The library feels “incomplete” to me. They painted lovely murals all over the school and ran out of money when it came to the library walls, so there needs to be more color and art on the walls. My aides and I work hard to decorate seasonally and I’ve recently created some great Minecraft art for one of the walls to replace posters. The space is really open, so there aren’t separate rooms for anything like a Makerspace or individual study and a much needed enclosure for the computer lab. Plugs are hard to find behind books for charging devices. I would also like to see fewer tables and more couch seating as kids much prefer that over the hard chairs and tables; I like having them around the library reading happily this way.
Skyview’s environment is really great! Teachers, students, and visitors alike often comment on the peacefulness of the library and how beautiful it is with a whole wall of windows overlooking Pikes Peak. Couches and pillows are comfy, the bean bags are popular, and the tables and chairs are all movable and reconfigured on a regular basis to adjust to myriads of group activities. The broadcast lab sits adjacent to the library with easy access. The computer lab houses 30 computers that are slated to be replaced this January with new state-of-the-art desktops, which are all WiFi enabled and accessible to the teachers and students throughout the day. There is an online Google calendar on my desktop where teacher’s can organize testing and special projects with all the electronics labs so there isn’t overlap or miscommunication; we can all access it to see who is using which space. We can usually accommodate up to three groups working in separate areas of the library space without too much mayhem.
Cons:
The library feels “incomplete” to me. They painted lovely murals all over the school and ran out of money when it came to the library walls, so there needs to be more color and art on the walls. My aides and I work hard to decorate seasonally and I’ve recently created some great Minecraft art for one of the walls to replace posters. The space is really open, so there aren’t separate rooms for anything like a Makerspace or individual study and a much needed enclosure for the computer lab. Plugs are hard to find behind books for charging devices. I would also like to see fewer tables and more couch seating as kids much prefer that over the hard chairs and tables; I like having them around the library reading happily this way.