Where does Campus Learning become Online Learning? Emerging trends in learning space design and usage (abstract)
David Gunsberg, Lori Bowe, Richard Kerr and Merv Connell
(A panel discussion)
What makes a good space?
Julie: As academic everything needs to have been done so I can just teach and inspire students.
Lori: Students telling us needs to be adapted. So build barns, fill with props so students can adapt it to what they need.
Merv: Want to be the support person giving away $100 notes. “So the students want X, the academic wants it to work as it did yesterday, project mgmt add their constraints.”
Richard: Have to design for technologies that are constantly changing while building cycles take years. Flexibility implies moving seats around; adaptability requires moving things completely around. Typically buildings have small footprints which are harder to adapt.
Where is the line between on campus and online?
Julie: Can be teaching students in Tasmania on their lunchbreak or overseas on secondment and still studying. Want lectures to even be translated – foreign languages, Sign. An on-campus experience is great – provide simulated experience by bringing outside in.
Are you designing spaces for flipped etc?
Merv: Yes, but as Richard said, long lead-cycle. Get stuck in the middle of conflicting needs.
Richard: There’s no single pedagogy. Academics have different pedagogies.
Julie: Teaching = Tell them, show them, let them show you. But also lots of academics want to research but get forced to teach and need help.
Is recording a lecture and putting it online genuine online learning?
Julie: We’re far behind. Need to rethink – recording powerpoints isn’t online learning. Need to put an hour-long lecture into 8minutes or less – can be exciting, thinking “Maybe I can do it! Maybe I can do a picture instead of 10,000 words.” Keep them interested, that’s all they need.
Lori: Students learn online on a daily basis. They’ll take something designed for A and make it do B/C/D/E/F. Focus group at Griffith about bad teaching: are you going to show up? No, will ask someone who was there for the info and get a double-shift at work.
Merv: From same focus group: student says can find info elsewhere so only reason they come to class is to fill out paperwork. Despite that, they like being there – when appropriate / convenient for them.
Julie: Putting slides online can be a start – can make you think what you could do better. Also realising need to work more as a team with IT people (who shouldn’t be in a different location).
[Linkage here to Forging productive partnerships between learning, teaching, library, and IT]
Lori: Students want to leave their mark. If they say “I want red beanbags” and we get them that means a lot to them.
Merv: Whatever we do, make it as easy as possible. They’ll find the easiest way, often we just need to get out of the way.