Celebrate the newly-renovated Commons, a collaboration of the University Libraries and the Office of Information Technology (OIT). Drop by our open house on Tuesday, January 22, on the second floor of Hodges Library.

Games, prizes, party favors, refreshments, and music will be ongoing from 2:00 until 4:30 throughout the Commons. Be present for the welcoming remarks at 3:00; a drawing for prizes such as a Dell 926 All-In-One Printer and a 1GB flash drive will follow a brief ceremony.

The Commons is a place for students to interact, get technology support and research assistance, and work on course assignments. To help enhance student learning and research, the Commons provides state of the art technology and resources.

The newly expanded and renovated Commons features brightly-painted walls, upholstered booths, comfortable arm chairs and sofas interspersed among almost 200 computer workstations. Here students can checkout a laptop, snuggle into an easy chair, and access the internet or a remote printer over our wireless network. They can create a video or practice a multimedia presentation in our Practice Presentation Room, be tutored in statistics or writing skills, or have their personal computers scanned for viruses and spyware.

On a busy day, the Commons hosts as many as 2000 visitors. Most services are available 24 hours a day, five days a week.

Celebrate the newly-renovated Commons, a collaboration of the University Libraries and the Office of Information Technology (OIT). Drop by our open house on Tuesday, January 22, on the second floor of Hodges Library.

Games, prizes, party favors, refreshments, and music will be ongoing from 2:00 until 4:30 throughout the Commons. Be present for the welcoming remarks at 3:00; a drawing for prizes such as a Dell 926 All-In-One Printer and a 1GB flash drive will follow a brief ceremony.

The Commons is a place for students to interact, get technology support and research assistance, and work on course assignments. To help enhance student learning and research, the Commons provides state of the art technology and resources.

The newly expanded and renovated Commons features brightly-painted walls, upholstered booths, comfortable arm chairs and sofas interspersed among almost 200 computer workstations. Here students can checkout a laptop, snuggle into an easy chair, and access the internet or a remote printer over our wireless network. They can create a video or practice a multimedia presentation in our Practice Presentation Room, be tutored in statistics or writing skills, or have their personal computers scanned for viruses and spyware.

On a busy day, the Commons hosts as many as 2000 visitors. Most services are available 24 hours a day, five days a week.

Jenn Fishman, Assistant Professor of English, Gavin Luter, Baker Center Coordinator, and Christina Goode, START Program Coordinator, will discuss how the Commons uses videoconferencing to connect UT students with scholars and researchers around the world at the 8th Annual Megaconference
November 8 at 3:45 pm.

The presentation will be broadcast live from the Commons; the public is invited. Other presentations from the Megaconference, an award-winning international convocation with hundreds of participants, can also be viewed live in the Commons (and from most campus desktops); for a complete schedule and instructions how to connect, see http://digitalunion.osu.edu/megaconference/ or call Chris Hodge (974-7505).

The sky is falling at Hodges Library! Or maybe it is just ceiling tiles in the Commons.

The Commons is undergoing major renovations this summer. Changes include reconfiguring the space by knocking down and building walls, adding more ports and power to support computer workstations, reconfiguring the lighting, painting, and installing new carpet and furniture.

The Commons first opened in Fall 2005 in what had been the Reserves room in Hodges Library. In Fall 2006, the Commons expanded into the former Periodicals room. While the Commons had staff support, computer workstations, and other necessary equipment, the physical space had not changed since Hodges was built in 1987. With these new renovations, the Commons will better meet the needs of students, faculty and staff.

Commons services have scattered to accommodate the construction. Computers, laptop checkout, the practice presentation room, media services and the Studio are part of the Summer Commons, located in the Media Center on the second floor of Hodges. OIT HelpDesk and Computer Support have moved to 103 Aconda Court. Library reference help can be found in the Reference room on the first floor of Hodges. For more information, see the Summer Commons service locator.

All Commons services will resume when construction is complete. You can keep up with the changes in the Commons by visiting our photo blog at commons.utk.edu/photo.

OIT will facilitate a clicker exchange on Wednesday, September 6 and Thursday, September 7 from 9:30 am -10 pm in The Commons room 220.

The clicker is a device that students use to submit their responses to questions posed in class.

The Generation 2 clicker developed by eInstruction, UT’s vendor, was not included in bookstore orders placed by faculty for course use this fall. Although both Gen1 and Gen2 clickers are fully-functional for classroom use, eInstruction is providing a clicker exchange for any student that purchased the Gen1 during the fall 2006 semester and would like to have the Gen2.

Students must present a valid UT Bookstore receipt dated July 24-September 6 2006 in order to make the exchange.

Please contact Dr. Christina Goode if you have any questions or concerns at x46470 or cgoode@utk.edu.

Whether it is the long lines of students that first catch your eye, the rows of computer terminals, clusters of study space, or just the light filled rooms-the Commons is different this year.

The Commons, a collaborative effort between the University Libraries and Office of Information Technology (OIT), first opened last fall in Hodges Library Room 235. The Commons is now located in two rooms on the second floor of Hodges, 235 and across the hall in 220.

Commons Room 235 is the location for equipment checkout (laptops, scanners, headphones and more), SMART board training and practice presentation space, the Stat lab, and a computer lab.

Commons 235 also has after-hours drop-off and referral service for the Digital Media Service from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. You can also check out books in the Commons and have library materials retrieved from the closed stacks, Sunday through Thursday midnight to 7 a.m. and Friday and Saturday, 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Commons Room 220 offers library reference services, OIT HelpDesk services, the Student Computer Repair Center, a Department of English Writing Center, and a computer lab. Commons 220 is the previous location of Library Periodicals, which are now located on the first floor of Hodges Library in room 120.

The OIT HelpDesk moved to Commons 220 this semester from its dual locations in Commons 235 and Aconda Court. The HelpDesk answers questions about email, Internet usage, password resets, Blackboard, wireless and many other topics for students, faculty and staff.

The Student Computer Repair Center is also new to Commons Room 220. The Student Computer Repair Center troubleshoots desktop and operating system problems for student-owned computers.

The Writing Center in Hodges Library relocated from the Reference Room to Commons 220 this summer. Services are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. The Writing Center also has a second office in HSS room 212.

For more information on The Commons services and hours, visit http://commons.utk.edu.