Cuckoo clocks, hearing aids and 8 track tape recorders are just a few of the audio technologies to be presented at a poster session Fri. June 24 and Mon. June 27 in the Georgia Institute of Technology Library East Commons.

More than 20 students from Dr. Paulette Richards’s Technical Communication class will present technical process descriptions from 1:20 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. on a wide scope of audio technology ranging from musical instruments and radios to smart phones.
 
“Technical process descriptions explain how things work, which is another skill that scientists need to have in order to explain to their colleagues and the public what their work is about,” said Richards, a Brittain Fellow in the School of Literature, Communication and Culture. “After all, if people don’t understand how a technology works or see any benefit in using it, they will not spend money to adopt it.”

This assignment fully embraces the LCC’s multi-modal or WOVEN approach to communication by requiring students to create text, design graphics and engage viewers with knowledgeable responses to questions.

Richards and other Brittain Fellows routinely have their students make great use of the LEC and occasionally the Library West Commons for class galleries, displays and presentations of various kinds. Over the past year, LCC faculty hosted a total of 16 events in the LEC and Library West Commons.

“The library has a mission to support the teaching, research and learning activities of the Georgia Tech community,” said Charlie Bennett, commons coordinator.

Faculty members and student groups are encouraged to hold events in the Library. Zone 1 of the LEC, a group-study area with tables and seating for 50 students, transforms to accommodate film screenings, lectures, panel or roundtable discussions and limited theatrical performances.

In addition to highlighting student research and artistic pursuits, the LEC offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary learning by allowing the public to attend events like Richards’s poster session.

“One of the cool things about the library is that we offer a public platform for student learning where they can interact with their peers in a comfortable, neutral ground.”

For more information on the Audio Technologies Poster Session or the LEC, visit the Georgia Tech Library online at www.library.gatech.edu/.