Campus Technology Magazine’s May 2013 edition has an article on Designing Collaborative Spaces from an architect’s perspective. There are some very good insights here on designing both formal and informal spaces.
[PDF Version of article]
-LKH
Category Archives: Learning Spaces
Here’s How Collaboration Happens
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Students collaborating in the Digital Computer Lab building on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus.
A quick post today because this scene caught my eye as I was coming back into the building after lunch. I have a habit of looking down to the lower level of DCL where we have several tables and chairs in an open workspace. One of the tables is an interactive media table meant to attract students for collaborating using a large monitor and multiple laptop plugs to share the display. In the last year I have never caught any student or group of students sitting at that media table with the display on or a laptop attached to the table connectors. However, I quite frequently see students sitting at the other old, plastic tables (and on other non-furniture items) working together. Today, though, was by far the largest group I’ve seen. I had to snap a photo.
In this photo I see lots of paper and pens, 2 laptops, 3 students actively using mobile devices, and 3 other mobile devices idle on the table. I am most blown away by the amount of paper I see, and all the backpacks. That’s how collaboration is happening around here today.
125 Classrooms Getting Comprehensive Renovation Over Next 5 Years
The Instructional Space Improvement initiative is a $70M, 5-year project that will bring some substantial improvements to learning spaces on the Illinois campus. A recent article in Inside Illinois shares the details of the huge project and features photos from the flexible learning pilot spaces in Henry Administration Building. The HAB classrooms are used as examples of some of the innovation the campus hopes results from this kind of comprehensive renovation.
If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you are well aware that this project on flexible learning classrooms is near-and-dear to my heart. Based on the CITES Faculty Development Lab I designed in 2006 to showcase a flexible learning environment and conduct a pilot study on student engagement, faculty support and learning space design, the HAB rooms were funded by the Library IT Fee Committee to increase support of the highly collaborative pedagogy and increasing dependence on digital educational resources, such as etexts, that the Rhetoric Program required.
A snapshot of the article teaser on the Inside Illinois website. This photo shows one of the renovated Henry Administration Building rooms.
I am thrilled to see that learning spaces and innovation in our classrooms are becoming top speaking points at the highest levels of our administration, and I am even more thrilled to offer a place for every interested person to gather to learn and share a vision of learning spaces for our campus’ future. Join the Informal Group on Learning Spaces every other week to get in the conversation.
Photo Set of Flexible Learning Classrooms @ Illinois
HAB Photos Spring 2011, a set on Flickr.
Rooms 148, 152 and 154 in Henry Administration Building are general assignment classrooms utilized by the Rhetoric department. The Rhetoric Program Director, Dr. Catherine Prendergast, received a grant from the Library/IT Fee to renovate these classrooms to meet her program needs and pilot a new approach in classroom design that brings flexibility and new models of technology implementation to general assignment classrooms.
Supporting a curriculum that is highly collaborative and relies on a digital eBook platform, this space is designed to enable easy transitions into group work modes, multiple displays for better student access to technology, improved sight lines to engage with the electronic materials, and an easy-to-use control system for the instructor to manage the classroom.
Spring semester 2011 was the first semester these rooms were used. As we learn from the experience in all stages of design, construction, and teaching in flexible spaces, we are better able to work with faculty and students to meet the needs that technology, new approaches to teaching and learning, and emerging curriculums bring to the daily life of our campus community.
Some Reading on Learning Spaces
This morning was the first fall semester meeting of the Informal Group on Learning Spaces. We had a great turnout with 21 folks representing all parts of campus there, and some new faces. We shared updates on the Student Collaboration Space Pilot Project, Lincoln Hall Renovation, DKH renovation, Residence Hall changes in their libraries, Engineering’s Virtualization pilot and CARE (Center for Academic Resources in Engineering) project, Lab managers group, and the fall theme for the Teaching Academies (impact of spaces and technology on teaching practices). We are finalizing topics for our next 4 meetings, but some suggestions at today’s meeting were: Presentation and demo on library collaboration space with Steelcase, demo and presentation from AllSteel, tour of BIF, tour of EWS and CARE (computer labs), late November review of projects to start preparing for spring action. The topics for the rest of the Fall meetings will be announced by September 22, our next informal group meeting.
One theme that stuck with me from our meeting this morning is how important it is to have students and faculty engaged in the process of designing learning spaces. The day before this meeting, EDUCAUSE released a paper from Texas Wesleyan University that describes the process and outcome of a faculty and student designed learning space. I shared this with the group, and subsequently have seen many other media sharing this story. As we strive to fulfill this desire of engagement from our faculty and students, it is inspiring to read about the successes that are possible. In that spirit, I’d like to share some reading (and listening!) sources that have crossed my network recently.
And a blog that every person involved with teaching and learning at our school should read is by an undergraduate student doing pre-service work to become a secondary education math and science teacher. Her post, “I am a 21st Century Learner”, was tweeted to @EdTechForum with the question, “Why can’t I act like one?”. Good question, Julie, good question.
Flexible Learning Space Open House in Henry Administration Building
Snapshot of Flexible Learning Classroom in HAB
Friday, February 18 marked the Open House for the first flexible learning classrooms in our campus General Assignment Classroom pool! More than 50 people turned out to to see the transformation in person, meet the faculty who imagined the space, the staff who put it together, and feel the impact that these new classroom environments have on our undergraduate students.
Rooms 148, 152 and 154 in Henry Administration Building are general assignment classrooms utilized by the Rhetoric department. The Rhetoric Program Director, Dr. Catherine Prendergast, received a grant from the Library/IT Fee to renovate these classrooms to meet her program needs and pilot a new approach in classroom design that brings flexibility and new models of technology implementation to general assignment classrooms.
Supporting a curriculum that is highly collaborative and relies on a digital eBook platform, this space is designed to enable easy transitions into group work modes, multiple displays for better student access to technology, improved sight lines to engage with the electronic materials, and an easy-to-use control system for the instructor to manage the classroom.
Spring semester 2011 is the first semester these rooms are being used. As we learn from the experience in all stages of design, construction, and teaching in flexible spaces, we are better able to work with faculty and students to meet the needs that technology, new approaches to teaching and learning, and emerging curriculums bring to the daily life of our campus community.