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Learning foams: A new way to think about learning atmospheres
As engaged educators we think about the atmosphere of the classes we facilitate. How can I design welcome activities to foster an atmosphere of belonging? How can I use icebreakers to nurture an atmosphere of relaxation or fun? How can I disrupt the monotony of online classes to provoke an atmosphere of intrigue, or inspiration?…
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The future of education: Is it in the Basement?
Having shiny new EdTech tools is all well and good. Brilliant even. That is, if we assume that all have equal access to this tech-power, which as we know, is not the case. As we saw in the pandemic, our places, our learning spaces differ enormously. As educators and students, we need to talk about…
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Chaos and calm in the lecture theatre: Transforming the lecture by creating and sustaining interactivity at scale part 2
In part 1 of this blog post, I looked at the debates surrounding the epistemological efficacy of the lecture, in the context of the economic, logistical and scale benefits that they generate for higher education institutions. In this second part, I will further explore the rationales for moving away from the lecture as a mode,…
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Making space for connected learning: an ecosystem approach to designing teaching spaces in higher education part 2
The first part of this blog post interrogated the structural rigidity that emerges from physical classroom design and made the case that connected learning requires a different design and emotional response from teaching spaces to be successful. This final part looks at how teaching space needs to shift the dynamics, functions, and relationships within the…
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Scaling up: Learning space design to support large (inter)active workshops
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the way space is used in education, forcing educators to innovatively support learning in a range of hybrid spaces that seek greater integration of the physical and virtual, or bring the relational more fully into online settings. Supporting this range of modes at scale presents challenges in terms of equity…
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Making the most of the spaces we have: Design principles for successful hybrid and hyflex learning
Hybrid and hyflex learning are lasting legacies of our years of pandemic education. For educators at scale, with cohorts spread across the world by closed borders, these modes of delivery are a necessary response to ensure a safe return to campus and the ongoing online education of vulnerable and offshore students. Hyflex learning in particular…
