Guest blog for WISE (Qatar) on re-designing spaces for learning — from the professional blog of Stephen Harris, Director & Founder of the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning – www.scil.nsw.edu.au

Excerpt:

My focus is the key importance of spatial awareness in redesigning spaces for learning. I hope the second decade of this century will be marked by an awareness that redesigning spaces will be as important to change processes, as describing the new skills deemed necessary for learning and career creation in the last decade. I will focus on our journey of change as a case study for education redesign.

The benefits are well captured in this equation:
180 students + 6 teachers + one agile space + collaborative learning + BYOD (bring your own device) = engaged learners + zero behavior issues.

 

From DSC:
I originally saw this at:

ExoPC and Panama team up to bring ‘tablet desks’ to students— from HuffingtonPost.com and The classroom of the future: Panama wants to give students “tablet desks” — from tabtimes.com by Doug Drinkwater

.

.

The teacher controls the interactive board using an user friendly interface

.

Adobe Photoshop Controller for EXOdesk
Adobe Photoshop TM Controller for EXOdesk makes it possible to control Photoshop TM from an EXOdesk in order to boost your productivity.

.

What’s happening in the workplace? — from metropolismag.com by Jan Johnson

.

The evolving office in 2012, equipped with Allsteel’s collaborative furniture collection, Gather

 

.

Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Steelcase, and IDEO Collaborate to Innovate on the Future of Meetings and Work
Marriott Hotels & Resorts Launches “The Future of Work Innovation Co-Labs” To Offer Enhanced Hosted Work Experiences for Gen X and Gen Y Global Travelers.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Los Angeles, Calif. – The nature of work is changing: it’s mobile, fast-paced and global. While most people demand choice and control to work when and how they want, wherever they are, working remotely doesn’t always offer consistent options when it comes to access, comforts and convenience. Marriott Hotels & Resorts, the flagship brand of Marriott International (NYSE:MAR); Steelcase, the world’s leading workplace experience provider; and global design and innovation consultancy, IDEO, today announced a collaboration to design, create and test innovative concepts and solutions for the future of work and meetings in hotels. The collaboration comes to life this week as a showcase of these potential solutions is unveiled at the Marriott Hotels & Resorts Global General Manager Conference in Los Angeles.

 Also see:

 

360.steelcase.com -- The Next Office from Steelcase

 

The new Steelcase space in Strasbourg

Also see:

Also see:

 

 

  • .The Pitfalls of sitting too close — from sales-jobs.fins.com by Kelly Eggers
    It sure sounded like a good idea. When Tuft and Lach Law, a small law practice in St. Paul, Minn. opted for open, shared office space, they didn’t expect to hate it. After all, numerous academic studies have shown that workers are more productive in open offices and, in the trendsetting tech industry, open plans are standard. For the law firm, it didn’t work out that way. “We had a receptionist and secretary sharing a workstation,” said Thomas Tuft. “The one with the biggest voice could be heard on the other’s phone calls and in attorney offices by clients on the phone with the attorneys.” If two people had to take a call simultaneously, they were forced to whisper..
    ..
  • Creating Learning Spaces Through Collaboration – The Library is a 3rd Place to Consider — from Aaron Cohen Associates
    .
  • Space-saving dome shaped bookshelf built into workspace ceiling – – from PSFK.com

 .

Space-Saving Dome Shaped Bookshelf Built Into Workspace Ceiling

 

A sample image from University of Exeter item re: learning spaces

.

The refurbished Forum Library
opens 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Addendum on 5/24/12:

.

.

.

Coworking spaces team with universities to bridge the gap between classroom and practice — from gigaom.com by Jessica Stillman

Excerpt:

With tuition costs mounting, the national student loan burden growing and employers complaining about a lack of certain job skills, no one is really in love with the current university education system. But with frustration comes creativity, as initiatives of all sorts attempt to dream up a better way. Should we go back to an apprentice system? Is online learning the answer? How about re-imagining universities as coffee shops?

Excerpt from http://blog.eriin.com/tags/collaborative-workspace/

Essentially, Kennel is a collaborative workspace for creative entrepreneurs in Singapore. Set facing the fringe of a forest, with ceiling-to-floor glass windows spanning across the entire space, we like to think that Kennel lets you switch easily between the bustle of Dempsey Hill and the calm serenity of nature. We also love that the walls are covered in Ideapaint, with markers readily available around the entire space for you to write anything on the walls. It is clear that the space was designed for creativity and collaboration to thrive!

.

An alternative to incubators: the co-working space — from venturebeat.com by Genevieve DeGuzman

An alternative to incubators: the co-working space
.

NTT videoconferencing system transplants faces onto mobile telepresence screens

 

From DSC:

  • Another innovation that aids web-based collaboration.
  • Make that one more movement up the disruptive innovation curve (of online learning).

 

 

As an addendum on 3/4, check out:

Paper by 53.com

Description (from iTunes)
Paper is where ideas begin. It’s the easiest and most beautiful way to create on iPad. Capture your ideas as sketches, diagrams, illustrations, notes or drawings and share them across the web.

Mobile creation done right.
Paper was designed from the ground up for touch and creating on the go. No fussy buttons, settings or other distractions. Paper works the way you think, like a familiar notebook or journal. Have all of your ideas with you in one place.

Essential tools, settings-free.
Productivity meets beauty. No settings. Always beautiful—like great tools should be. Just pick up a tool and instantly begin to Sketch, Write, Draw, Outline and Color. Draw comes free with Paper.

Purchase additional tools from the in-app store:

  • Sketch. Ideas start here. The pencil blends from light to dark for sketching scenes, objects, and thoughts in rough form.
  • Write. Words never looked so beautiful. Write messages, add captions, or create lists with this quality ink pen.
  • Outline. Think bold. Graph insights, create a storyboard, or outline a presentation with this marker. Black lines stay black.
  • Color. Give color to your ideas. Move from a light wash to deep, rich color in one stroke with this watercolor made easy. You’ve got to try it.

Expressive Ink Engine.
Our custom ink engine reacts to your movements to optimize each tool for the process of creation. Get a range of expressions from a single tool without fussing with settings for great handwriting, beautiful coloring, and sketching that just works.

Retina Resolution.
Built for the new iPad’s brilliant display. With a full 2048×1536 canvas, see stunning details in your creations you couldn’t before—like pencil texture and watercolor edge bleed.

Paper the web.
Share your ideas instantly. Stream pages to Tumblr, send them over email, or share pages with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

 


Also see:

Excerpt:

Let’s be real about this. You can’t do everything on an iPad. As Shawn Blanc pointed outthe other day, you can’t make iOS apps on it, for example. But you might be surprised by how much real work you can do on it with the right tools. If your work requires generally office-like capabilities, there are definitely iPad solutions.

Here are five road-tested apps for getting things done on an iPad. It’s not meant to be a complete list, but it’s meant to be a flexible one. These are tools that are not tied to any particular method of working. They’ll help any digital worker stay sane and accomplish things, and you might find that the iPad is a surprisingly nice device to use for them.

Five ways to make corporate space more creative — from hbr.org by Scott Witthoft and Scott Doorley

Connecting Two Worlds: Collaboration between Higher Education and Corporate Learning -- from Elliott Masie

Per today’s Learning TRENDS from Elliott Masie — #717 – Updates on Learning, Business & Technology:

College & Corporate Learning – Collaboration Article: I have written the cover story article for EDUCAUSE – on “Collaboration Between Higher Education and Corporate Learning”.  There are so many areas where corporations and colleges are facing similar challenges and opportunities – from pushing the Learning Management Systems, to changing faculty teaching modes to getting research on the efficiency and impact of various learning technologies.  Yet, there is very little structured collaboration between our two worlds.  EDUCAUSE represents the technology directors of several thousand colleges and universities and we will be working closely with them to bridge the gap.

Related item/example added on 3/30/12:

 

My students don’t like group work — from Faculty Focus by Maryellen Weimer

meeting tables, meeting table, modern meeting table, modern meeting tables, cool meeting table, cool meeting tables, conference table, conference tables, cool conference table, cool conference tables, modern conference tables, modern conference table, cool conference room, cool conference rooms, modern conference room, modern conference rooms, conference room ideas, conference room design ideas

iPad-Docking Conference Table by Kogrodesing

 

.

 

meeting tables, meeting table, modern meeting table, modern meeting tables, cool meeting table, cool meeting tables, conference table, conference tables, cool conference table, cool conference tables, modern conference tables, modern conference table, cool conference room, cool conference rooms, modern conference room, modern conference rooms, conference room ideas, conference room design ideas

Purple Meeting Chairs with Low Table from Ior Group

.

meeting tables, meeting table, modern meeting table, modern meeting tables, cool meeting table, cool meeting tables, conference table, conference tables, cool conference table, cool conference tables, modern conference tables, modern conference table, cool conference room, cool conference rooms, modern conference room, modern conference rooms, conference room ideas, conference room design ideas

Ernst & Young Board of Directors Meeting Table by Kinzo


Some tools to consider:


.

Blackboard Collaborate has real-time polling features

.

Poll Everywhere -- real-time polling

.

From DSC:
By the way, faith-based organizations might want to consider using this tool as well.  Also, my thanks to Professor Randall Pruim, in the Mathematics Department at Calvin College, for bringing the options below to my attention. Note: Professor Pruim doesn’t necessarily recommend these tools — as both SMS Poll and Lecturetools.com require that students pay a subscription. However, I list these tools here in case you want to compare functionality/pricing/etc.

.

smspoll.net -- real time polling of your students

 

.

http://www.lecturetools.com/

.

Addendum on 2/2/12:

 

socrative.com -- engage the class using any device

NOTE:  Randy mentioned that Socrative requires access to the Internet (laptop or smart phone); there is no cell phone interface at this time. So you must have a web-enabled device.

.

Addendum on 2/21/12:

 

Addendum on 7/18/12:

TopHatMonocle.com
A web based clicker and online homework tool; polls and quizzes

No clickers to buy! Students can use any device to participate in class

  • For in-class and homework use
  • Questions, open ended discussions and interactive demos
  • Use with any presentation software, such as PowerPoint
  • Amazingly simple! Takes minutes to setup

 

Addendum on 11/15/12:

.

Excerpt from
Seven Concepts for Effective Teaching — from Astronomy Education Review by Andrew Fraknoi

CONCEPT 2: “COLLABORATION BEATS COMPETITION”
There is no need to make an introductory astronomy unit or program like the Survivor show on TV. In any learning environment, it can be better to encourage students to work together and to support each other. After all, most jobs and even intellectual enterprises today require participants to do effective teamwork. When you approach a class period like an Olympic trial, those who don’t “score high” get discouraged pretty quickly. However, if everyone’s input is solicited and valued, everyone feels part of the team and more open to learning. This is why good teachers find ways to draw in a much wider group of students than those who happen to raise their hands first.

Also:

Concept 1: “Learning is not a spectator sport”
Concept 2: “Collaboration beats competition”
Concept 3. “Everything takes longer than you think”
Concept 4: “Less is more!”
Concept 5: “New knowledge must connect with prior conceptions”
Concept 6: “Give and get immediate feedback”
Concept 7: “Don’t give walnuts to beggars who have no teeth!” [old Portugese proverb]

Collaboration Tools: Provisioning the New Learning Ecosystem -- Wesch, Davis, Jackson -- Feb 14, 2012

 

Educause Learning Initiative’s Annual Meeting
February 13–15
Hilton Austin, Austin, TX, and Online

© 2024 | Daniel Christian