Learning Spaces that Facilitate Student Learning — from facultyfocus.com
In the recent online seminar Redesigning Learning Spaces to Improve Teaching and Learning, Saunders discussed the seven factors to consider in teaching and learning space design:
- Institutional climate for teaching and learning change
- Learning outcomes
- Course design
- Student profiles and class size
- Instructional pedagogical skill/training
- Environmental/financial factors
- Technology/furniture
How well has your institution integrated technology? — from Tony Bates
RENCI pioneering the visualization industry with innovative interfaces — from InnovativeInteractivity.com by Tracy Boyer
“Today I flew through a digitally enhanced simulation of an ear canal, looked at 3D manipulations of static 2D images, and watched a seamless video projected simultaneously on four surrounding walls. The Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) is based in North Carolina and oddly enough it was my first visit to this extremely innovative and eye-opening interactive institute. Not only did it get me excited about information visualization, it gave me tons of inspiration for the future of immersive and interactive multimedia. Here is a great overview video of a similar tour group that went through RENCI. I experienced the first two visualizations that are shown here…”
Here’s my vision of what a Smart Classroom should look like in the near future (please click on the image below to see an enlarged image and to get some further details of my thoughts here):
Click image to see larger image w/ details
My thanks to Mr. Yohan Na for help with this graphic. The vision leverages the same idea as Steelcase’s Media:Scape product line:
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!”
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:
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.
