The document summarizes a presentation about principles for designing personal learning spaces for learners and teachers. It discusses trends toward more distributed and blended learning spaces and proposes seven principles for learning space design: comfort, aesthetics, flow, equity, blending, affordances, and repurposing. It provides examples of different types of physical, virtual, and blended learning spaces that embody these principles, including learning commons, outdoor spaces, and personal learning environments.
Workshop: Learning Spaces - National University of Singapore
1. Owning the Place of Learning:
Principles for Designing Personal
Learning Spaces for Learners and
Teachers
TeL 2013 - Technology Enhanced Learning
Towards an Engaging & Meaningful Digital Future
NUS, Singapore
October 7-8, 2013
Professor Mike Keppell
Executive Director
Australian Digital Futures Institute
Director, Digital Futures - CRN
1Tuesday, 8 October 13
2. Overview
n Provide an overview
of distributed learning
spaces
n Examine seven
principles of learning
space design
n Explore affordances of
learning spaces
n Design personal
learning spaces
2
2Tuesday, 8 October 13
3. Schedule - 9:30 - 12:30
n 9:30-10:45
n Trends and challenges
n Defining Space
n Distributed spaces
n Principles
n 10:45-11:15 Break
n 11:15 - 12:30
n Analysis of spaces
n Evaluating our current
space
n Affordances
n Next steps
3
3Tuesday, 8 October 13
7. University of the Future
n Democratisation of
knowledge and access
n Contestability of markets
and funding
n Digital technologies
n Global mobility
n Integration with industry
7
7Tuesday, 8 October 13
9. Trends
‣ People expect to be able to work, learn, and
study whenever and wherever they want.
‣ The abundance of resources and
relationships will challenge our educational
identity.
‣ Students want to use their own technology
for learning.
‣ Shift across all sectors to online learning,
hybrid learning and collaborative models.
‣
9
9Tuesday, 8 October 13
10. Challenges
n Seamless learning – people expect to be
able to work, learn, and study whenever
and wherever they want.
n Digital literacies – capabilities which fit an
individual for living, learning and working in a
digital society (JISC)
n Personalisation - our learning, teaching,
place of learning, technologies will be
individualised
n Digital scholarship will be the norm.
10
10Tuesday, 8 October 13
12. Spaces for Knowledge
Generation
n Physical, blended or virtual ‘areas’ that:
n enhance learning
n that motivate learners
n promote authentic learning
interactions
n Spaces where both teachers and
students optimize the perceived and
actual affordances of the space
(Keppell & Riddle, 2012).
12
12Tuesday, 8 October 13
13. What Spaces are You
Currently Using for
Learning?
13Tuesday, 8 October 13
15. Distributed Spaces
n Growing acceptance that learning occurs in
different ‘places’
n Proliferation of approaches emerging
including ‘flexible’, ‘open’, ‘distance’ and ‘off-
campus’ that assist the ubiquity of learning
in a wide range of contexts (Lea & Nicholl,
2002).
n Growing acceptance of life-long and life-
wide learning also have a major influence on
distributed learning spaces.
15
15Tuesday, 8 October 13
16. Physical Virtual
Formal Informal InformalFormal
Blended
Mobile Personal
Outdoor
Professional
Practice
Distributed
Learning Spaces
Academic
16
16Tuesday, 8 October 13
17. n Book Chapter: http://
www.slideshare.net/
mkeppell/distributed-
spaces-for-learning
Distributed Learning
Spaces
17
17Tuesday, 8 October 13
18. Seamless Learning
Continuity of
learning across a
combination of
locations, times,
technologies or
social settings
(Sharples, et al,
2012).
18Tuesday, 8 October 13
22. Seven Principles of
Learning Space Design
n The SKG project has established seven principles of
learning space design which support a collaborative
and student-centred approach to learning:
n Comfort: a space which creates a physical and
mental sense of ease and well-being
n Aesthetics: pleasure which includes the
recognition of symmetry, harmony, simplicity and
fitness for purpose
n Flow: the state of mind felt by the learner when
totally involved in the learning experience
22
22Tuesday, 8 October 13
23. Seven Principles of
Learning Space Design
•Equity: consideration of the needs of cultural and
physical differences
•Blending: a mixture of technological and face-to-face
pedagogical resources
•Affordances: the “action possibilities” the learning
environment provides the users, including such things as
kitchens, natural light, wifi, private spaces, writing surfaces,
sofas, and so on.
•Repurposing: the potential for multiple usage of a space
(Souter, Riddle, Keppell, 2010) (http://www.skgproject.com)
23
23Tuesday, 8 October 13
38. Virtual Learning Spaces
nVirtual learning spaces
provide unique
opportunities that are
unavailable in physical
learning spaces
nThese affordances or
‘action possibilities’
allow a richer range of
learning interactions
38
38Tuesday, 8 October 13
43. Academic Learning Spaces
Physical, blended or virtual
‘areas’ that:
n enhance academic ‘work’
n that motivate academic
‘work’
n enable networking
n Spaces where academics
optimize the perceived and
actual affordances of the
space.
43
43Tuesday, 8 October 13
44. Discursive Spaces
n Intellectual and
discursive spaces focus on
the contribution to public
discourse in areas such as:
n e.g. presentations, media,
advising, translating research
into practical benefits,
community involvement, etc
n MOOCs?
44
44Tuesday, 8 October 13
45. Epistemological Spaces
nEpistemological spaces
focus on the “space
available for academics to
pursue their own
research interests” (p.
76).
ne.g. labs, libraries,
collaborations and
networking with
university colleagues
45
45Tuesday, 8 October 13
46. Pedagogical and
Curricular Spaces
nPedagogical and
curricular spaces focus on
the spaces available to trial
new pedagogical
approaches and new
curricular initiatives.
ne.g. physical and virtual
sandpits, working groups,
meetings, etc
nMOOCs?
46
46Tuesday, 8 October 13
49. Ontological Spaces
n Ontological spaces focus on ‘academic being’
which is becoming increasingly multi-faceted
beyond the research, teaching and community
commitments. In fact “the widening of
universities’ ontological spaces may bring
both peril and liberation” (p. 77).
n MOOCs?
n e.g. diverse roles may include: academic staff
developer, professional developer, manager,
administrator, facilitator, teacher, researcher,
evaluator, presenter, writer, editor, consultant,
project manager, change agent and innovator.
49
49Tuesday, 8 October 13
52. Outdoor Learning Spaces
These pathways, thoroughfares
and occasional rest areas are
generally given a functional
value in traffic management
and are more often than not
developed as an after thought
in campus design. As such the
thoroughfares and rest
areas are under valued (or
not recognized) as important
spaces for teaching and
learning (Rafferty, 2012).
52Tuesday, 8 October 13
57. Mobility
n “Learning when mobile
means that context
becomes all-important
since even a simple
change of location is
an invitation to revisit
learning” (ALT-J Vol 17,
No.3 p.159)
57
57Tuesday, 8 October 13
58. Mobile Learning Spaces
n With its strong emphasis
on learning rather than
teaching, mobile learning
challenges educators to
try to understand
learners’ needs.
n Intersection of
education, life, work
and leisure” (Kukulska-
Hulme, 2010, p.181).
58
58Tuesday, 8 October 13
63. Personal Learning Spaces
‣ Personal Learning Environments (PLE)
integrate formal and informal learning
spaces
‣ Customised by the individual to suit their
needs and allow them to create their own
identities.
‣ A PLE recognises ongoing learning and the
need for tools to support life-long and life-
wide learning.
63
63Tuesday, 8 October 13
70. Connectivism
‣ Knowledge has changed to
networks and ecologies
(Siemens, 2006).
‣ Need improved lines of
communication in networks.
‣ “Connectivism is the assertion
that learning is primarily a
network-forming process” (p.
15).
70
70Tuesday, 8 October 13
72. Action Possibilities
n Learning commons
n Specific outdoor space
n Your mobile phone
n Your tablet/ipad
n Virtual synchronous space
n Virtual asynchronous space
n Choose your own space
72
72Tuesday, 8 October 13
73. Conclusion
n A global revolution is taking place in tertiary
education. The traditional concept of the lecture
room is being redefined as digital and
distance education becomes the "new
normal" (Mark Brown, Dominion Post).
n It is time that we begin changing our thinking
about the ‘place’ of learning for both learners
and staff.
n We need to let go of the tradition of universities
as being a ‘singular place’ where learning and
teaching occurs.
n Distributed learning spaces are the future.
73
73Tuesday, 8 October 13
74. Access and Equity &
Equivalence of Learning Outcomes
ethical obligations
Student Learning Experience
traverses physical, blended and
virtual learning spaces.
‘place’ of learning is diverse
Constructive Alignment
learning outcomes, subject,
degree program, generic
attributes
Discipline Pedagogies specific needs of disciplines
74Tuesday, 8 October 13