U of M Learning Spaces: Physical, Virtual, and Mobile
Access a UMConnect recording of the seminar, or subscribe to the podcast or vodcast.
By Cristina Lopez and Aimee Whiteside
How might social and physical spaces on campus support learning? New projects and new research at the University of Minnesota explore the ways in which the thoughtful design of space—and the learning activities that take place in them—can promote student-centered learning.
During this TEL Seminar session, experience the use of innovative, flexible, mobile learning devices designed for today’s students. Faculty, staff, and student panelists will demonstrate teaching and learning opportunities, and discuss the associated challenges as they implement innovative learning spaces to conduct new forms of scholarship.
Seminar
October 15, 2008
12:00–1:30 p.m.
105 Cargill Building (St. Paul)
Moderators:
Ann Hill Duin, OIT • Robert McMaster, Undergraduate Education, SVPP
Panelists:
Robin Wright, College of Biological Sciences • Aimee Whiteside, OIT • Earl Schleske, OIT• Steven Manson, Geography
Bibliography
The following readings may help you prepare for the TEL seminar.
Alexander, Bryan. “Going Nomadic: Mobile Learning in Higher Education.” EDUCAUSE Review 39, no. 5 (September/October 2004), 28-35.
This provocative article asks the reader to consider what will happen when students bring their mobile devices to campus and integrate them into their educational lives. Not quite mobile learning, not quite wirelessness, ubiquitous computing describes “wireless, portable, mobile and multiple units joined in what the Dutch GIPSY project calls a ‘device ecology.’” Access to information—on-demand and on-the-go—is only one of many advantages of this environment. For example, Alexander envisions “learning swarms,” or ad hoc, temporary learning communities that form around events such as a film, book, or conversation. How will our “sedentary campuses” adapt to swarming students as they explore new opportunities to learn, mobile devices in hand?
Chism, Nancy. “Challenging Traditional Assumptions About Rethinking Learning Spaces.” In Learning Spaces. Ed. Diana G. Oblinger. EDUCAUSE, 2006. http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/PUB7102b.pdf (accessed October 2008).
The book Learning Spaces provides a comprehensive exploration of the intersection of space, technology and learning, with some chapters focused on principles and practices, and others devoted to case studies. In this chapter Chism notes, “The advent of distance education courses has done much to dispel the idea that learning happens only in the classroom, yet the reality of how dated our standing assumptions are continues to unfold.” Articulating those assumptions will lead to fruitful discussion about how to redesign classrooms in order to promote learning, and to consider how learning might take place in campus spaces that currently are overlooked.
Johnson, Chris, and Cyprien Lomas. “Design of the Learning Space: Learning & Design Principles.” EDUCAUSE Review, 40, no. 4 (July/August 2005), 16-28. http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0540.pdf (accessed October 2008).
Traditional space design on campuses privileges space needs rather than teaching and learning needs. Johnson and Lomas propose a new approach to learning space design that builds into the process learning principles and the active participation of those who will use the spaces most: instructors and students.
