Learning spaces

Sociocultural accounts of education emphasise that learning occurs in and through mediated interactions with the world; technology in education mediated those interactions, and commonly strives to create distinctive experiences centred upon particular spaces. Yet, until relatively recently, most ana...

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Main Authors: Bligh, Brett, Crook, Charles
Other Authors: Duval, Erik
Format: Book Section
Published: Springer 2017
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43526/
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author Bligh, Brett
Crook, Charles
author2 Duval, Erik
author_facet Duval, Erik
Bligh, Brett
Crook, Charles
author_sort Bligh, Brett
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Sociocultural accounts of education emphasise that learning occurs in and through mediated interactions with the world; technology in education mediated those interactions, and commonly strives to create distinctive experiences centred upon particular spaces. Yet, until relatively recently, most analyses have typically underemphasized those spatial aspects of how technology in education functions - how tools come to be used in particular spaces, intersect and challenge spatially embedded practices, and might be thereby designed "with space in mind". In this chapter, we set out some bases for a "spatial turn" in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) research. We argue that those of us working in that field need to better understand both technology and learning as spatial phenomena; that we must better conceptualise the design of technology and the spatial contexts of use; and that we should become more directly involved in designing and evaluating Learning Spaces themselves - thereby coming to view space as an integral part of the "technology" that might mediate learning. We emphasise the difficulties in conceiving how space and learning are related, and sketch six different models that view the development of spaces and learners as intertwined in increasingly complex ways. We conclude by considering some particular types of Learning Spaces and related issues such as apparent informality and flexibility; by considering pertinent directions in research on the design and evaluation of educational spaces; and by celebrating some of those strands of work within the TEL research field that do already strive to account for the spatial implications of technology.
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spelling nottingham-435262020-05-04T18:48:22Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43526/ Learning spaces Bligh, Brett Crook, Charles Sociocultural accounts of education emphasise that learning occurs in and through mediated interactions with the world; technology in education mediated those interactions, and commonly strives to create distinctive experiences centred upon particular spaces. Yet, until relatively recently, most analyses have typically underemphasized those spatial aspects of how technology in education functions - how tools come to be used in particular spaces, intersect and challenge spatially embedded practices, and might be thereby designed "with space in mind". In this chapter, we set out some bases for a "spatial turn" in Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) research. We argue that those of us working in that field need to better understand both technology and learning as spatial phenomena; that we must better conceptualise the design of technology and the spatial contexts of use; and that we should become more directly involved in designing and evaluating Learning Spaces themselves - thereby coming to view space as an integral part of the "technology" that might mediate learning. We emphasise the difficulties in conceiving how space and learning are related, and sketch six different models that view the development of spaces and learners as intertwined in increasingly complex ways. We conclude by considering some particular types of Learning Spaces and related issues such as apparent informality and flexibility; by considering pertinent directions in research on the design and evaluation of educational spaces; and by celebrating some of those strands of work within the TEL research field that do already strive to account for the spatial implications of technology. Springer Duval, Erik Sharples, Mike Sutherland, Rosamund 2017-05-31 Book Section PeerReviewed Bligh, Brett and Crook, Charles (2017) Learning spaces. In: Technology enhanced learning: research themes. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 69-87. ISBN 9783319025995
spellingShingle Bligh, Brett
Crook, Charles
Learning spaces
title Learning spaces
title_full Learning spaces
title_fullStr Learning spaces
title_full_unstemmed Learning spaces
title_short Learning spaces
title_sort learning spaces
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/43526/