I happened across a good discussion regarding carrels in library media centers. From a privacy perspective, they’re very nice and would serve to keep a student from becoming distracted. However, if a large group of students all need to focus on a teacher, they’re difficult to see over/around. In addition, they shield the screen from an authority figure that might not agree with the computer use taking place at a given time.
Do you like these in the K-12 environment? I assume our media center furniture will evolve as the end-user equipment migrates toward a more mobile device. However, there will likely continue to be use for desktops in the media center. Are there interesting ideas out there on the optimal arrangement, furniture, etc?