The authors finish by stating that the point of incorporating nature into the campus is not to create a pretty landscape that appeals to potential students but to create an environment solely focused on furthering academics. How does one differentiate between a landscape developed to aesthetically appeal and an landscape developed to aid students?

The GSU courtyard is a good example of a enclosed space surrounded by tall buildings. The courtyard is a space where many students hangout and travel from one part of campus to another.

These types of affordances are not available to many universities such as Georgia State which are located in the heart of cities. Does the lack of access to nature affect the GSU student body in terms of academics? How would we quantitatively prove that more access to nature equals better results? How is nature quantified?

The author seems to be implying here that the only things that can be considered "inherently intriguing" must be objects from nature, but I think that ignores plenty of man-made things that I find to be "inherently intriguing." For example, you could look at a pocketwatch and be facsinated by the internal mechanics, or look at graffiti and wonder who created it. What I'm saying is: basically anything can be "intruiging" if you look at it from a perspective of wonder, not just "green" things.

The authors have spent the last four paragraphs using academic jargon to say "plant green stuff". I'm sure there is more nuance to their position but most of their conclusions are not proven through data. They are inferring a relationship through a small sample size of data.

I searched Gulwadi's background through this link: http://www.uni.edu/csbs/sahs/interior-design/faculty-directory/gowri-betrabet-gulwadi

She is credible in regards to the topic of this article because she has a Doctorate degree in Environment-Behavior studies.

I searched Scholl's background: on the following link:

http://www.uni.edu/coe/departments/school-health-physical-education-leisure-services/faculty-staff/kathleen-g-scholl

" teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Outdoor Recreation Management, Outdoor Education, Research and Evaluation, Philosophical Foundations, and Social Psychology of Leisure. Dr. Scholl integrates practical experiences for her students to apply current best practices to outdoor recreation planning and programming. "

She appears to be credible since she teaches graduate courses on the subject of "Outdoor Recreation Management" and "Outdoor Education".

Isn't Georgia State a set of "closely clustered buildings"? I think the author meant to say closed compound. Although Georgia State fits the description, its location in the middle of downtown Atlanta actually thrusts the students right into the face of the real world. Rather it could be argued that spread out campuses like UGA seclude the student from the outside world.

I'm sure most of us can agree that the available technology hinders our ability to pay attention. One minute I might be typing notes and the next minute I might drift off into Reddit. At this point we have to ask ourselves; is the good derived from the available technology outweighing the negative effects?

Holistic is define as:"characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole."

So holistic learning spaces refer to the cohesiveness of the learning experience provided by all areas of the campus (in my understanding).

The idea that college campuses should be "attentional learning" resources, appears to be the main idea of the article. What does the author mean by "attentional learning"?

By which they mean not only visual but also spatial interactions which distract form directed learning.

Or cities themselves. I'm looking at you GSU!

Perfect description of the Langdale quad.

I would like to see the sources for this claim as it proposes an interesting idea.They are saying our minds literally switch gears subconsciously, and allow "gears" (by which I assume the authors mean either neural pathways or regions of the brain associated with studying) to cool off. Research does show that different area of the brain react differently to certain stimuli, and I would have liked to know which portion nature effects.

AKA Stress. In this regard its not only students, but most humans who need to interact with "nature" once in a while to cool off.

Some times I wish GSU had this plan, it would sure make going from Sparks to Aderhold a lot easier!

Now i'm confused on what context he is stating that "scarce resource", which to me means that he doesn't want people to use too much of it and that he desires others to not use it excessively. On the contrary, open space should be the main focus with consistent use and rapid production of such. Open space is not a scarce resource, but should be used by any and all who desire to. What do y'all think? Am I taking this out of context or...?

During post- World War 2, the G.I Bill was created in order to aid in veterans to return to colleges, universities, and trade schools. The education and training provisions only lasted until around 1956 where it was then ended. It is just something to think about to place people into the context of the time. It was not just a sudden rapid increase of students, but was from veterans returning home and attend school.

S:http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/gi-bill

Could the sheltering of the students within these close-knit buildings be a form of restriction that we have been learning about? I mean they say that colleges desired to promote freedom among students, but in contrast decide to keep them enclosed from the "lures" of the outside world. Are we at Georgia State restricted by the space in which we live in and could we not even be aware of it. Think of the courtyard and compare it to the description given.

Honestly I think that at this point he is stating the obvious. He is saying that quiet places are where students have the ability to refresh themselves and that public areas can give the opportunity to create a community. These are things that one can learn just on the playground in building ties with others. We all know it subconciously, even when we don't realize it. Also, does this really need to be done near park trails and high ecological areas? Could it be done on a campus like Georgia State without these resources? Does this mean that students at Georgia State are not living up to their full potential because of the city atmosphere?

There is a set way of learning and it is only now that we are starting to improve our methods. There are new tactics of learning, new website that can help, and visual aids that can make learning more fun. I believe that society is straying away from the traditional form of lecturing, even though it is still common, to something a bit better and easily obtainable to students.What do y'all think, are there new teaching methods being set into place and do you all think that it is working?

This might be true for student attention. What the author is trying to say is that students can get side tracked very easily. Speaking from personal experience, I believe this may be somewhat true, I am doing three other things right now other than this. Procrastination is not a new thing though, its just more apparent in our generation.

Georgia state encompasses this and more into the campus. There is a water feature found in the courtyard, there are trees down avenues and in common spaces, there are spaces between buildings that add to a more open appeal. The cool thing is that unlike some cities, Georgia State has several parks and green spaces everywhere so that students can find some escape from the hustle and bustle. Our campus, for being an urban school in downtown Atlanta, has got this base covered.

To flesh this theory out, ART is the idea that one can repair mental fatigue by looking at or being in nature. This can be done by going to the park or just seeing some grass and flowers. Nature requires less brain function, thereby allowing the brain to rest and repair itself. It kind of hard to do this in Atlanta but I did Centennial Olympic Park for my site for unit one and that place has all of these elements so if you need a break, its literally like a 10min walk away.

S:http://www.ecehh.org/research-projects/attention-restoration-theory-a-systematic-review/

These ingredients are what make happiness. I have learned from reading Eckhart Tolle that someone can be given all they want in the world but that their ego will get in the way of happiness. You can give a student more computers, fancier water fountains, larger screens, but in order to create student well being and health, social connections need to be made. green spaces are a space in which this can be done and results in a lot of success. I love Eckhart Tolle and he has books and many more lessons so I recommend checking him out.

S:https://youtu.be/S4OOnlMmTKU

This day was started in reference to the Santa Barbara, California oil spill in 1969. The movement was started by Gaylord Nelson in order to teach people about air pollution, water pollution, and to just raise awareness of the issue.The date of April 22 was meant to be the day between spring break and final exams. on that day over 20 million people rallied to streets and businesses and ever since it has been an annual occurrence.

S:http://www.earthday.org/about/the-history-of-earth-day/

Its very interesting that the author would bring this up. Colleges, or at least some, are attempting to become more "green" on campus because of the vastness of space and people. Georgia State, although not doing a crazy amount, is making attempts to do as such. For instance, there is a program in the panther dining where people can volunteer time to collect excess food and donate that to local homeless shelters. Although this reduces food waste, it requires volunteers which can be difficult to find sometimes. If a community wants change, then change will happen (a concept that works for everything btw).

This is interesting as people socialize, learn, and spend more time on campus, they feel more part of the community. I guess that this is the same as someone who brings their children to the park everyday feels connected to the others who do the same. They feel unified in their shared spaces and apart of something more than themselves.

This is definitely true! Think about how different the Georgia State campus would be without hurt park, the fountains, the student center benches. There would be a lack of socializing and outside of the classroom learning. Personally, I sit out near the student center during mornings to talk to friends and socialize, that would all change without a dynamic open space.

This is not what Felsten claims!!!! Check it out yourself just in the abstract of the article! (below) The study asked students essentially about what they were attracted to. To jump to the conclusion from this study that their "attention" was "restored" by the nature they "liked" perceiving is silly!

["In the present study, college students, instructed to imagine themselves cognitively fatigued, rated the perceived restorativeness of indoor campus settings that varied by view of nature: some had no views of nature, some had window views of nature with built structures present, and some had views of simulated nature depicted as large nature murals. Students rated settings with views of dramatic nature murals, especially those with water, more restorative than settings with window views of real, but mundane nature with built structures present. Students rated settings that lacked views of real or simulated nature least restorative. The findings suggest that large nature murals in indoor settings used for study breaks may provide attentionally fatigued students with opportunities for restoration when views of nature are unavailable or limited in restorative potential."]

(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494408000996)

A whole paragraph of a thesis!

But what happens to them when they don't get to hand the homeless guy who stands at the intersection of Decatur and Peachtree a mocha because it's a cold cold day and you have an extra 3 bucks? Maybe that's a different kind of deficit...?

How does this resonate (or dissonate) with the discussion of attention in chapter 8 of FYG?

It's important to define key terms. Without doing that here, anyone who has a problem with the discussion as it's been unfolding (like, maybe, me) would have trouble reading on. Now that I know how they define "nature" I can read to see if their argument holds in the context of how they define the terms.

Oh Good... Those redwoods in the quad... "nature"? Can the quad be said to be "natural space"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_deficit_disorder

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4665933

Some recent conversations surrounding this idea...

So being an "integrated community"-- a designed space that mingles students, faculty, homeless people, doctors, businessmen, city police, campus police, and others--isn't valuable as a "learning experience"? Hmmmm.... This seems strange to me.

I would hardly think that being smack dab in the center of the city itself, without the "green space" walls that define typical B&M universities, feels like a "lure."

Ah... exigency. This is the "gap in the research" these authors aim to address.

An American architect known for building well-known parks in America. For Example;Central Park in New York

http://www.olmsted.org/the-olmsted-legacy/frederick-law-olmsted-sr

Also known as Land-Grant College Act of 1862

Georgia State University is so far from that. I wish GSU was secluded and away from the city life and crime and maybe a lot of people would be able to focus and stay on track.

I completely disagree with this. I feel that technology has improved students learning. We get do research without having to go to the library, interact with our professors easier and had done away with some textbooks and easier organization. For Example All my classes are based on technology. From the class discussions, to homework and even quizzes.

The intended audience of this article is today's universities landscapers, students, educators/professors of education.

I never really thought about it, but I guess subconsciously it was true, before applying for college, my vision of what a college would look like was Hogwarts, from Harry Potter, not really sure why though.

Not sure what this meant, quick google search lead me to this article. Completely irrelevant, but seems to have something to do with the acquisition of language through modeling. Is that wat attentioninal learning means?

This is an appeal to logos for her argument, which they have yet to clearly state. The statistic itself is also interesting; has there been an increase in demand for education, or is it simply a result of the population increase? This article explores a similar topic in regards to demand for education.

This seems to be the main claim that she will try to resolve in this article. The sentence itself is really long, with a lot of moodifiers