The Imagined Space of The Web 2.0 Classroom — from CampusTechnology.com by Trend Batson

“Web 2.0 and new media have influenced the design of physical classroom spaces, just as they have offered new virtual spaces for interaction.”

Influence Education Through Design Thinking — Robert Jacobs

I have been thinking and reading a lot about Design Thinking. In his book Change By Design, author and IDEO CEO Tim Brown says that a prerequisite for creative cultures, “…is an environment—social but also spatial—in which people know they can experiment, take risks, and explore the full range of their faculties.”

He goes on to say that, “They physical and the psychological spaces of an organization work in tandem to define that effectiveness of the people within it.”

12-13 years sitting in a chair. Do you think the type of chair students spend the majority of their youth influences behavior? It is possible that the type of chair might impact the approximately 13,000 to 14,000 hours spent sitting in it?

The pinnacle of educational design seems to be the plastic chair. Does that chair say something about our educational system?

From DSC:
I post this because I do think that the learning environments that our students are in affect their motivation, creativity, performance and more. However, being a part of a smart classroom team, I realize that budgets don’t always allow us to create the “Google” (or other types of) working environments that we might seek to create. Nevertheless, if you are reading this posting and you have a chance to do something creative, fun yet classy/professional, I say “Go for it!”

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Tips & Tricks for Effective Lecturecasting — from ProfHacker.com by Ethan Watrall

Lecturecasting is all the rage these days.  And whether you are lecturecasting specifically for a class (either online, face-to-face, or any combination thereof), or are putting your lectures out to the wider public on a platform such as iTunes U, it takes a lot of work to get your lecturecasts to the point where they are effective vehicles for your content.

How do we know when a learning space enhances learning?

Webinar:
Perceptions and Proof: The Assessment Experiences at Georgia Tech and Butler Community College
Presented by Charlie Bennett and Tom Erwin.
Tuesday, February 16 at 1:00 PM EST

Event Abstract:
Charlie and Tom will speak from their first-hand experiences to address the question, What “proofs” exist that the use of space can create a more engaging teaching and learning model?

Their in-depth talk will include views on:

  • the challenges with the space and the politics involved
  • The participants that helped shift learning spaces
  • The outcomes achieved
  • The insights from post assessments

About the Presenters:
Charlie Bennett has worked at the Georgia Tech Crosland Library for 13 years. He has been the Commons Coordinator for the East Commons since it opened in 2006. Tom Erwin is Chief Information Officer for Butler Community College. He is an active member of EDUCAUSE and a frequent speaker at its events.

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A Better Way to Manage Knowledge

We give a lot of talks and presentations about the ways and places companies and their employees learn the fastest. We call these learning environments creation spaces — places where individuals and teams interact and collaborate within a broader learning ecology so that performance accelerates. During these discussions, it’s inevitable that somebody raises their hand. “Wait a minute,” they say, “isn’t this just knowledge management all over again?”

The New Reality: Constant Disruption

We now face something entirely different. Today’s core technologies–computing, storage, and bandwidth–are not stabilizing. They continue to evolve at an exponential rate. And because the underlying technologies don’t stabilize, the social and business practices that coalesce into our new digital infrastructure aren’t stabilizing either. Businesses and, more broadly, social, educational, and economic institutions, are left racing to catch up with the steadily improving performance of the foundational technologies. For example, almost forty years after the invention of the microprocessor, we are only now beginning to reconfigure the digital technology infrastructure for delivery of yet another dramatic leap in computing power under the rubric of utility or cloud computing. This leap will soon be followed by another, then another.

From DSC:As an educational technologist, I can instantly relate to the blazingly-fast speed they are referring to. The questions are:

  • How do we set up the best learning ecosystems given such rapid pace of technological change?
  • How long will those elements last (and/or what principles/tips/tricks can we employ to have things around long enough for a solid ROI)?
  • How do we best equip our students?

For one thing, we must all learn to be very, very flexible…and adaptive. Change truly is not an option if you want to be marketable and relevant. And, you MUST BE PLUGGED INto a network or networks.

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© 2024 | Daniel Christian