If the walls could talk [1654] Home : Annual Conference 2017

Public Group Active 5 years, 6 months ago

Wed, Sep 6 2017, 1:00pm – 2:20pm

Authors: James Clay

Room: Library Rm (1)

Theme: Learning Spaces

Type: 20-minute session

Description

If the spaces we use for teaching and learning could speak to us, what would they say? The places and spaces across colleges and universities are some of our biggest investments. But are we using them effectively to enhance and enrich the learning journey? Does the environment in which we learn have impact on the learning journey?

There is an institutional memory within those walls that is inaccessible and lost every time the learners and teachers leave the room. The room doesn’t remember what worked well or what could have been better. The spaces, if they could store experiences and feedback, would know what worked well, and what didn’t, for different learning activities. What if, we could we use data gathered from teachers and students, as well as space usage, to inform and improve teaching and learning?

The hyperbole around AR, VR, artificial intelligence and the internet of things as created a cynical bubble among some staff and institutional decision makers, especially those that have been burned by previous tech fads. But it may be time to put aside the cynicism that this kind of hype generates and look seriously at how we can take advantage of these emerging technologies to improve the student experience, research and the management of our campuses (Clay 2017)

If the walls, our learning and teaching spaces, could talk, what could they tell us, and how would it change what we do?

This 20 minute interactive discussion, will challenge delegates to reflect and discuss a series of short scenarios on how data gathering, analytics and appropriate technological interventions could be used to enhance and improve teaching and learning. Participants will be asked if this approach of using data gathering, analytics, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence be used to enable innovation and effectively drive and manage change. In a similar vein to learning analytics (Sclater 2017) what are the ethical questions we need to ask and answer when looking at learning space analytics.

We will present up to six scenarios and ask the delegates to vote and respond to them.

These scenarios may include;

•using environmental data to improve learning

•using historical activity data to inform teaching practice

•delivering appropriate interventions based on analysis of existing experiences

•using the Internet of Things to inform teaching and learning practice

•using artificial intelligence to plan lessons and room layouts

•using artificial intelligence tools to influence and support learning, teaching and assessment

The session will include an introduction to the topic and there will be a summary at the end of the twenty minute session.

Delegates will go away with an understanding of some of the issues that arise once we start making our learning spaces “smart” and “intelligent”.

References

Sclater, N. (2017). Code of practice for learning analytics | Jisc. [online] Jisc. Available at: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/code-of-practice-for-learning-analytics [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017].

Clay, J. (2017). Could we use artificial intelligence to help manage learning spaces and improve teaching and learning? | Intelligent campus. [online] Intelligentcampus.jiscinvolve.org. Available at: https://intelligentcampus.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2016/11/07/could-we-use-artificial-intelligence-to-help-manage-learning-spaces-and-improve-teaching-and-learning/ [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017].

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