GCC’s Sandbox stirs up tech education

As part of Glendale Tech Week, Glendale Community College officials said the school’s Sandbox lab is changing the way students learn, solve problems and interact with each other in the classroom, using new technology and learning in a setting similar to a real-world work environment.

“Students start to recognize what they need. This changes lives,” said Brett Miketta, assistant professor of computer science/information systems at the college. “This is not just an academic pursuit of ‘Let me build a database.’ All of the sudden, you put them on a path toward success.”

Miketta and Rory Schlueter, business division chair, outlined on Friday the goals of creating this student workspace.

“Sandbox, in the tech community, means a place you can try things out without fear of ruining a production system,” Miketta said.

The Sandbox, which opened in February, allows students to familiarize themselves with new technology so they don’t have to contend with learning new technology when they start a job.

“This gives them a leg up on the technology, so they can just focus on the challenges of new position,” Schlueter said.

Located on the third floor of the San Rafael Building, the Sandbox was shaped by students and based on the design of Bentley University’s Sandbox Lab.

It is an open space, offering much more than a typical computer lab, including Sharp 80-inch Mobile Interactive Touch Monitors to be used in a variety of ways, including watching lectures remotely, creating presentations or viewing the sunset over Huntington Beach.

Makerbot 3-D Printers and 2-D laser cutters are available for student use, as well as Raspberry Pi Kits, which are mini single-board computers that give students an inside look at how basic computers work.

Even the furniture is conducive to a comfortable learning environment. Rather than traditional stationary desks and upright chairs, the Sandbox has mobile furniture, making for a casual atmosphere that allows students to gather, learn, talk and collaborate.

“It’s not a quiet zone. Here, you can touch things, talk, play music, eat, drink, move furniture. Here, (students) can do whatever they want, within reason; this is their lab,” Miketta said. “We try not to interfere because students self-organize and learn best in their own environment.”

Meanwhile, Sandbox doesn’t ignore the outside world. “Because we have no windows, we (also use the monitors) to project video images of the beach. You can get your own surf report and see there’s a greater world out there,” Schlueter said.

Rodrigo Duran, a business management student, said he agrees that the Sandbox is a welcoming place.

“You have more freedom to speak here. You have to be quiet in the library, but here, you can say whatever you want. (There’s) a lot of technology you can use to your advantage, like with that TV, you can make it a PowerPoint (presentation), and prepare and present here for class,” he said.

“It’s nice here because we don’t have to worry about reserving a room at the library and then you waste time waiting around for the room to open,” said Sarah Garcher, a student studying for her Real Estate Broker license.

Miketta said most students don’t necessarily study or learn effectively in silence.

“The kids now live in their own multimedia world. They have the ability to tune out what they don’t want to hear. They come here not only to study, but to tune into what else is going on on campus,” Miketta said.

The innovation doesn’t stop there, as Miketta explained they are also changing their approach to teaching. The focus on student-centered learning also incorporates hands-on projects to demonstrate concepts as well as “flipped” lectures, in which professors implement free online lectures from renowned schools such as Harvard and Stanford.

This way, students receive the same high-level education and use class time more efficiently. Instead of going to class to listen to a lecture, they are able to access the lectures from home and bring to class questions about what what they don’t understand.

Application-based student-centered projects across all CS/IS 101 classes are also helping students learn how to apply their education to the real world. In one assignment, students research their education and career courses to compare how much they spend in time and money, with consideration of the job market in their desired field to get an idea of their future in order to help decide how want to invest their time.

“Rather than getting a degree first and figuring it out from there, you really have to choose a major where you can find a job. It’s reality upfront and what can you actually do over ‘pie in the sky,’” Schlueter said.

“It’s a better way to match job demand with student talent. I think a lot of people learn by doing. We encourage maximum use of technology to recognize there are many ways to solve a problem,” Miketta said.

For more information about Sandbox, visit sandbox.glendale.edu.