Why does place matter?

In this paper, through the use of two vignettes, we present a viewpoint on the concepts of `space' and `place' in an computing context. The first vignette is about a Technicians' Room, where the computer support staff and network infrastructure of a school are located. Although the room's purpose is to provide computing services and technical support to the school, five students are frequently in the room during their free time. The second vignette illustrates an apprenticeship scheme to train computer support engineers. By utilising existing literature, we develop a model to aid in the description of the kinds of learning that occur in these places and argue that, by better understanding the role of space and place, we can improve our understanding of practice in an academic context.