Understanding learning environments

SHAPING ECOSYSTEMS FOR LEARNING: PRINCIPLES AND AFFORDANCES

Module 2

2021

Oficina de Educación

Virtual USTA

Understanding learning environments MODULE 2 SHAPING ECOSYSTEMS FOR LEARNING: PRINCIPLES AND AFFORDANCES

AUTHOR DIANA MARGARITA ARAQUE TORRES

Oficina de Educación

2021

Virtual USTA

DIRECTIVOS SANTO TOMÁS Fr. José Gabriel MESA ANGULO, O.P Rector Fr. Eduardo GONZÁLEZ GIL, O. P. Vicerrector Académico General Fr. Wilson Fernando MENDOZA RIVERA, OP. Vicerrector Administrativo y Financiero General Fr. Javier Antonio CASTELLANOS, O. P. Decano de División de Educación Abierta y a Distancia Pedro Antonio Vela González Decano de Facultad de Educación AUTOR DISCIPLINAR Maestría en Ambientes Bilingües de Aprendizaje - MABA 22 de febrero de 2021 Understanding Learning Environments Part 2: Shaping ecosystems for learning: Principles and affordances Autor: Diana Margarita Araque Torre ASESORÍA Y PRODUCCIÓN Mg. Carlos Eduardo Alvarez Martínez Coordinador Oficina de Educación Virtual Mg. Wilson Arley Sánchez Pinzón Asesor tecnopedagógico, corrector de estilo y diseñador instruccional Prof. Diego Fernando Jaramillo Herrera Diseñador gráfico Oficina de Educación Virtual Universidad Santo Tomás Sede Principal - Bogotá

Universidad Santo Tomás

SHAPING ECOSYSTEMS FOR LEARNING: PRINCIPLES AND AFFORDANCES

Module 2

Universidad Santo Tomás

Universidad Santo Tomás

CONTENT OF MODULE 2 Problematization - Situation of learning - Context

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Questions framing

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Instructional analysis (Module topic map - Unit)

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Methodology to address the content of the resource

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Introduction – Presentation

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Shaping ecosystems for learning: Principles and affordances

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2.1 Principles to design learning environments Teacher-centered learning

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1. Why is learning design important? 2. Why should we care about learning spaces and design?

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3. What principles should be considered when design learning environments? 16 4. How can technology support learning and transform educational spaces? 2.2 e-learning ecologies and Affordances

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1. What do “learning ecologies” refer to?

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2. How can e-learning ecologies bring about change?

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Bibliography / Webgraphy

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Pages

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PROBLEMATIZATION SITUATION OF LEARNING - CONTEXT CONTEXT: (ANALYSIS OF PROBLEM OR CASE) A mid-size bilingual school, located in a culturally diverse city, seeks to improve the quality of its educational processes and offer students better opportunities for learning using their resources and spaces in the best way (e.g. technology and infrastructure), but also create connections to nearby communities. However, they recognize certain concepts and considerations should be analyzed and discussed first and correlated them to the latest changes in 21st century society. Therefore, the schoolteachers and board of directors, in cooperation with the local council’s education department, decide to research about learning environments to understand in what ways they could improve. Therefore, they would be able to stablish a reference framework that allows them to decide what are the components and considerations to build effective learning environments. Consequently, they would be capable of executing changes or make decisions that benefit the students' learning and the school’s mission.

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QUESTIONS FRAMING How could the design of learning environments enhance students' learning?

INSTRUCTIONAL ANALYSIS (MODULE TOPIC MAP - UNIT) MODULE 2. SHAPING ECOSYSTEMS FOR LEARNING: PRINCIPLES AND AFFORDANCES 2.1 PRINCIPLES TO DESIGN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 1. WHY IS LEARNING DESIGN IMPORTANT? 2. WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT LEARNING SPACES AND DESIGN? 3. WHAT PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN DESIGN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS? 4. HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT LEARNING AND TRANSFORM EDUCATIONAL SPACES?

2.2 E-LEARNING ECOLOGIES AND AFFORDANCES 1. WHAT DO “LEARNING ECOLOGIES” REFER TO? 2. HOW CAN E-LEARNING ECOLOGIES BRING ABOUT CHANGE?

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METHODOLOGY TO ADDRESS THE CONTENT OF THE RESOURCE

This module uses problem-based learning as the didactic strategy to achieve the learning purposes evidenced by the learning outcomes suggested in the course syllabus. This module follows questions to cover facts and central knowledge, followed by examples, discussions, some cases or additional content that include videos, pictures and podcasts. It aims to make you Integrate and apply skills and knowledge for responding to challenges of bilingualism and learning environments. Later you will evidence knowledge and skills in the activities proposed in the learning guide.

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Taken from: https://unsplash.com/photos/NkGGF6BvU88

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INTRODUCTION – PRESENTATION This module aims to help you estimate the aspects and considerations that allow learning environments to meet the learners’ needs. You will recognize the guiding principles for learning design through a series of guiding questions referencing the milestones and challenges in education and learning environments by means of pictures, videos, or suggestions for further reading. In that way, you will be able to identify the conditions and needs of particular contexts where these principles are implemented. Therefore, you will look at learning as living matter inserted in an ecosystem with multiple layers and intricate systems. Towards the end, you will have a better understanding and wider perspective of learning environments design which allows you to envision in what ways students´ learning could be enhanced, taking into consideration different perspectives and factors.

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SHAPING ECOSYSTEMS FOR LEARNING: PRINCIPLES AND AFFORDANCES 2.1 PRINCIPLES TO DESIGN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

1. WHY IS LEARNING DESIGN IMPORTANT? Learning design refers to a creative process that occurs within a wider eco-system of people. This includes specific actions or processes, systems as well as common places where individuals and components are dependent or rely on each other. As the individuals, components and environments change quite rapidly in recent times, technologies available turn into valuable assets to support learning, by assisting processes, organization and creativity, but also, allowing learning activities to be enhanced. As a result, learning is possible in new and different ways that better fit the needs of learners and their contexts, which becomes even more important day by day. When it comes to define Learning Design, several authors provide concepts and varied connections or suggestions of how well-structured it can be. However, Maina et al. (2015) in the book The Art and Science of Learning Design, explain Learning design should be seen as a wider concept, studied from different perspectives. This means, there´s no single definition or approach and it also changes constantly as it evolves naturally in an ecosystem of people. They suggest we should take learning design as:

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A process by which practitioners aim to achieve educational aims in a given context. An art: a skilled craftsmanship and creative practice. A science: a critical and reflective inquiry informed by theory. Ethically driven: education strives to make the world better, hence Learning design is tasked with understanding what “better” means, and how to get there. Change-oriented: responding to a changing world, realizing that doing the same as before will not achieve the same results – but doing things differently can achieve better results. Iterative: considering the current state of affairs, perturbing it with innovations, observing the changes that ensue and repeating. Interleaving problem-setting and problem-solving: as we change the environment in which we operate, our understanding of that environment changes, and consequently so do our desires within it. Humble: acknowledging the limitations of real-world settings and acknowledging our limitations as actors within those settings. Based on the previous considerations is easy to feel confused and, at the same time, several other factors come to mind such as the particular needs and features of communities or environments. Therefore, as you can see below, there´s one new question arising in the horizon:

Learning Design? Where should I start?

THE BIG QUESTION ON LEARNING DESIGN SOURCE: MARGARITA ARAQUE

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To answer that question, we must first get the whole picture. This means getting acquainted with the key factors that influence the learning design process, including technology as a new milestone that will take us to a technology-enhanced practice. For that reason, we look at the following diagram, updated from the effective practice in a digital age: a guide to technology enhanced learning and teaching (JISC,2007), where 5 key factors are interconnected: Learners, learning environment, intended learning outcomes, other people and, activity in the center. In the diagram, activity is at the center, connected to four points. The connections generated among these points create new aspects to consider because they feed and are fed by the activity.

KEY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE LEARNING DESIGN PROCESS SOURCE: JISC AND HELEN BEETHAM

Link: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/learning-design-model3_0.jpg

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The following figure constitutes the learning design conceptual map created by Dalziel et al. (2016) in the Larnaca Declaration on Learning Design. This is the result of raising awareness of a need for a wider view of the educational context in which Learning Design occurs, and the wide range of considerations that might affect design decisions. It offers a neutral attitude to describe connections as there are no specific theories or approaches. Instead, it invites readers fill each section with the answers or perspectives suitable for any learning context. The map provides a view of how the different elements interact in the process of designing and implementing learning activities. Also, it provided evidence of other interactions that occur within and between the elements, recognizing the wide array of possibilities and considerations for learning design. In there, learning environments are positioned as part of the main aspects, along with the Educational Philosophy followed by theories and methodologies. It is in those relationships where learning is shaped; those are correlated with the teaching cycle and the core concepts of learning design, that also determine the implementation to result in learner’s responses.

SLEARNING DESIGN CONCEPTUAL MAP Source: Larnaca Declaration https://larnacadeclaration.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/part-4-a-learning-design-conceptual-map/

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For the learning environments: characteristics and values component, can be used to describe how the context for learning affects the design of teaching and learning activities. Besides, it reveals external factors, such as the government’s educational reforms that can play an essential role in the learning design. At the same time, states that institutions, educators, and learners denote foremost importance to understanding an educational context. From this section of the map, we infer learning environments in institutions describe physical and virtual characteristics and values that impact teaching and learning containing a set of particular affordances and constraints to be considered.

Formal education structures. University degree Focus: Testing in formal exams in order to pass courses for a degree.

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Informal education structures Community learning group Focus: Practical abilities/competencies, there is no external assessment/certification

In these examples, you can see how some explicit and implicit values and expected outcomes can influence the physical and virtual environments available for teaching and learning. Therefore, educational values (from institutions or communities) and interactions among educators and learners in a given learning environment, largely define how students learn and achieve their goals.

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2. ¿WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT LEARNING SPACES AND DESIGN? Schools and governments have increasingly recognized that the traditional classroom with teachers facing each other and students facing one direction throughout the class does not encourage innovative teaching practices. Likewise, policy makers, teachers, and researchers have recognized that working in groups, projects, and collaboration beyond the classroom represents the future, which poses the challenge to transform traditional ways of conducting teaching and learning. Nonetheless, it is only possible when inserted in learning environments with the appropriate design and setting. Caring about learning spaces design can be validated from different perspectives. For example, in the book Learning Spaces (2006), Oblinger explains that the spaces themselves are agents of change; in fact, it concludes that changing the spaces will change the practice. The author points out that the spaces designed a few decades ago do not reflect the needs of today's students and also addresses the role of technologies in connecting students, as students hope to have an ongoing connection to the world beyond the classroom. This is not only possible today but necessary. International reports from OECD like Can the physical environment have an impact on learning? (2010), highlights that the social and physical aspects of a learning environment can influence learning itself and these are to be part of an adaptive design approach. On top of that, affirms that the design of learning spaces should be supported by research and deep understanding of learning needs to maximize its impact. This means, standardized designs and mass-production perspectives should be left in the past. Another reason to care about learning space design involves the increasing access students have to their own technological devices, both inside and outside the classroom, and their expectations about how such innovations can change learning. However, the school environment has not necessarily changed at the same rate. Schools and educators in general, recognize that students have changed, they want to make use of technology to learn, express their creativity and be assessed in new ways. For example, students are used to accessing digital resources, they

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communicate (inside and outside the classroom) in a more immediate, spontaneous, and global manner; in contrast, classes and learning spaces are not flexible, communication in mostly led or one-sided and evaluations are still traditional, summative, and focused on test results. Fortunately, there is a broad consensus that schools want to demonstrate their ability to adapt and take into account the changing needs of students. Most educators and educational communities admitted that something must be done to improve teaching and learning in school and it starts by adapting learning spaces. This is a good way to demonstrate to teachers, students, and parents that positive changes are possible. A good example of this commitment is Indiana University. They seek to use innovative technology solutions for their spaces in order to encourage and foster a creative learning experience for their students. They suggest that: Learning space design requires a purposeful and intentional process that ensures that the spaces created contributes to an engaging and collaborative student learning experience. As a result, they created their own design process which serves as a good reference framework, it also incorporates some of the ideas stated earlier:

LEARNING SPACE DESIGN PROCESS IN INDIANA UNIVERSITY

Source: Indiana University https://learningspaces.iu.edu/design/index.html

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From this model, the university had created as set of standards and guidelines but also some relevant initiatives such as MOSAIC which supports innovative classroom design, research, and active learning in all IU classrooms. The MOSAIC learning experience emphasizes on collaboration, group work and movement. In the following blog, you will find the experiences and insight of a student who lived the Mosaic classroom experience and how it has brought a difference in the way she perceives learning, interaction and space.

Mary Clare Novak | Indiana University Bloomington Media School Junior Read her story here: https://blogs.iu.edu/mosaiciu/2018/04/11/mosaic-classroom-student-perspective/ Mosaic Initiative: https://mosaic.iu.edu/

THE MOSAIC CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE: A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Source: https://blogs.iu.edu/mosaiciu/2018/04/11/mosaic-classroom-student-perspective/

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3. WHAT PRINCIPLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TO DESIGN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS? “Designing for the future is not easy. We know that it will be a technology-rich and social future but we cannot anticipate all future requirements. When designing learning spaces, it is important that we build on what we already know to be good pedagogic practice and that we do not create barriers to doing things differently in the future.” Gill Ferrell, educational consultant Ideally, today’s learning environments should be able to support a range of activities, online and offline, collaborative and individual, whilst they motivate and inspire students, adapted to their changing needs and agendas. This means, institutions and governments are expected to incorporate these considerations in planning, designing and building any physical or digital learning infrastructure; also, consider independent, social and collaborative learning spaces adjacent to teaching spaces so that a continuous flow of learning ensues from formal classroom or lecture-based sessions to informal study. There are several interpretations of how learning environments should change. In fact, different fields such as politics, pedagogy, psychology, philosophy, or architecture have enriched the discussion and contributed from their own perspective. However, in this plethora of perspectives and voices, there has been a lack of consensus to take those ideas into reality. One significant voice to hear is Edward de Bono, the lateral thinking theory creator and recognized philosopher on education who suggested the following:

'You can analyze the past, but you need to design the future. Otherwise, it may be no better than the past.’ Edward De Bono – New Thinking for the New Millennium (2000, p. 125)

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The design of the most common types of learning spaces, such as classrooms and lecture theatres, has changed very little over the course of many centuries. The traditional layout of seats in rows dates back millennia to students receiving information from a lecturer and, later on, from a teacher reciting aloud, at a time when books were rare and expensive, and few people cold read. Desks were introduced to classrooms as reading and writing became more common and with further advances in technology, computers were placed on the desks. Sadly, neither the invention of the printing press nor the computer has had any significant impact on the design of learning spaces until very recently. Moreover, architects and administrators who are dealing with the design of spaces are usually biased from their own experiences in traditional environments. As the quote from De Bono illustrates, imagining the future is significantly more difficult than describing the past. The challenge for educators and school leaders, is to think in new ways rather than simply create lighter, cleaner, more comfortable versions of the traditional environments. At this point, we can argue that design of learning spaces is a core part of the learning experience. This requires any type of learning experience to follow certain educational principles articulated with the school’s vision inserted in a learning environment. In addition, the design includes all means to support learning as well as the proper conditions that allow any educational activity to take place. Such conditions and resources need to adapt the learners’ needs and their contexts, taking into account learning might occur in schools, but also in other community places or virtual environment. Several researchers have dedicated themselves to studying the classroom as a determinant space for the educational act. For example, the research carried out by Cano (1995) regarding physical space, proposed some principles or suggestions, as follows: Principle 1: The environment has to enable knowledge for all the people of the group and the approach of one towards others. Progressively it must make possible the construction of a cohesive human group with common objectives, goals and illusions. This principle highlights the need to interact with others, leaving the classroom or any other learning space as scenarios for socio-affective and cognitive development. Additionally, human development should be favored with cooperative relationships with others and with the environment. The valuable analysis made by Cano also showed evidence of the relationship between the spatial arrangement and the social phenomena that occur in a class and its activities. The enormous coincidence found between these two factors point them out as elements of great importance to achieve learning but also promote socialization. The following diagrams could evidence this statement:

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Example of the traditional Classroom arrangement

TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM LAYOUT.

Source: Use of swivel desks and aisle space to promote interaction in mid-sized college classrooms - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Traditional-classroom-layout_fig1_220016413

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In this type of classroom, communication is mostly one-sided, the interaction is academic and formal with emphasis on information; activities are, for the most part, individual and rather competitive and also delivered to everyone at the same time. The space arrangement seen in this example, in which students are facing the instructor with their backs to one another is common in colleges and universities. It tends to minimize student-student communication, causing teachers to be “on stage” most of the time because of the severely limited mobility of the teacher as well as the students. In addition, such seating arrangement is likely to leave students in the back rows less engaged than those seating in the first row, characterized by less interaction and support from the teacher.

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Example of the Active Learning Classroom (ALC) arrangement

ACTIVE CLASSROOM LAYOUT

Source: Margarita Araque

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This type of classroom is a space designed to promote engagement via flexible pedagogical approaches where communication is multidirectional, which means every participant can speak and listen. Activities are likely to be individual as well as collaborative with multiple possibilities to interact and learn from other people and resources, due to the open and less rigid arrangement. On top of that, activities can take place simultaneously or differ in time and space. Ultimately, allowing participants to make decisions over the learning process and interactions in the learning space. In contrast to the traditional classroom, in the ALC, the teacher spends less time “on stage” mainly because of the open spaces and pathways between tables, which are wider, numerous, and most of the time, non-linear. The lack of blocking furniture is also associated with more frequent interaction with students during the classes. Further research comparing the traditional classroom Vs. active learning classroom have provided empirical evidence that: 1) space shapes instructor behavior and classroom activities 2) instructor behavior and classroom activities shape on-task student behavior 3) space shapes on-task student behavior. These findings suggest that different spaces are better suited for different types of activities and teachers should consider adjusting their pedagogy to fit the space in which their course is held (Brooks, 2012). If you are interested in going deeper on the space distribution and design, there are several standards to help recognizing the conditions and types of environments for schools and other learning spaces. In Colombia, the current standards established by the Colombian Government and the Ministry of Education (Official document in Spanish) is described in: Norma técnica colombiana NTC 4595 – 4596. In this document, you can identify the types of learning environment and the regulations for each one, particularly for space requirements per student, according to the teaching purpose or age, as well as safety and comfort considerations.

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Norma técnica colombiana NTC 4595 – 4596 This standard establishes the requirements for the planning and physical design of new school facilities, aimed at improving the quality of the educational activities in harmony with local, regional and national conditions. Additionally, it can be used for the evaluation and adaptation of existing school facilities.

Principle 2: The school environment must facilitate contact with a variety of materials and activities that cover a wide range of cognitive, affective and social learning. As we have seen, researchers, educators and leaders recognize the physical and social environment has repercussions in learning. Then, we find that the intersection of those components takes us to the learning resources; these could be tangible items used in particular spaces that lead to experiences and eventually, to learning. When referring to learning resources we can include furniture, books, stationery material, technological devices, as well as pieces that allow experimentation and connections to nature.

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CLASSROOM RESOURCES – (ALC – 3D VIEW) SOURCE: MARGARITA ARAQUE

Principle 3: The school environment must be diverse, in order to transcend the idea that learning takes place within the four walls of a classroom. Different scenarios should be offered, either built or natural, depending on the tasks undertaken and the objectives pursued. In reference to the intention of involving outdoor spaces as an extension of school activity, and the school itself can turn into open spaces and varied contexts, including virtual and community. This supports the idea of ubiquitous learning and recognizing the potential of learning in different settings, apart from the classroom. Relevant studies discuss such tendency and highlight the role of opening learning to varied spaces, such as the Luna Scott report (2015) about the future of learning. It examines what it takes to transform pedagogy and schools for the XXI century and suggests the need for varied scenarios for learning and significant changes to be done in the classroom layout to allow movement and flexibility. Here is the conclusion on learning spaces: New incentives need to be created to encourage learners to engage in ‘learning without constraints and without borders’. Today’s learners must recognize that learning and relearning can occur outside classrooms and schools throughout their lives. It is likely that these learners will require an introduction to learning options available to them now and in the near future. Fostering this commitment to lifelong learning will ensure that learners remain open to new developments and opportunities as they arise. (Luna Scott,2015, p.12)

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Principle 4: The school environment must offer different sub-scenarios in such a way that the people can feel welcomed, in accordance with different moods, expectations and interests. Educators and experts agree on giving relevance to moods and personal relationships within learning environments. Therefore, it is important to create spaces for relaxation and well-being, either individual or collective. This is related to the concept of school climate we studied in the previous module. To learn more about school climate and what some schools are doing to improve it, you will read an extract of an interview with Maureen Costello, Director of Teaching Tolerance, a program of the Southern Poverty Law Center conducted by NEA Today, the online news section for the National Education Association published in 2017.

Keeping Schools Safe, Happy Places for Everyone. How to create a positive school climate for all students. By: Cindy Long / Published: 01/03/2017

What are some school climate programs in place that educators can adapt for their schools at a low cost? There are a lot of them – Not In Our School, No Place for Hate , Day of Silence, and one of our programs, Speak Up at School, to name a few. These are all programs that encourage students to be “upstanders” rather than bystanders and to confront bullying and bias when they hear it. Another way to improve school climate is through restorative justice and classroom circles, where students and staff sit in a circle and talk through conflicts to reach mutually agreed upon resolutions. The programs are fairly easily adopted by getting the materials online or getting just one person to go to a training session and then lead a training session for the rest of the staff. Another great place to look is Welcoming Schools, which has lots of material online that help promote welcoming and inclusive school climates. The key, however, is not necessarily what program you adopt, but how to get everyone on board. A positive school climate must be a top priority for everyone—from the school leaders, to the teaching staff, to the support professionals who work with students on the buses and in the cafeterias and in the hallways. Everyone should have high expectations of the community. Everyone needs to pay attention and keep their ears to the ground. And everyone should make it clear that any student can safely come forward if they themselves have experienced or witnessed bullying or bias.

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There are a lot of them – Not In Our School, No Place for Hate , Day of Silence, and one of our programs, Speak Up at School, to name a few. These are all programs that encourage students to be “upstanders” rather than bystanders and to confront bullying and bias when they hear it. Another way to improve school climate is through restorative justice and classroom circles, where students and staff sit in a circle and talk through conflicts to reach mutually agreed upon resolutions. The programs are fairly easily adopted by getting the materials online or getting just one person to go to a training session and then lead a training session for the rest of the staff. Another great place to look is Welcoming Schools, which has lots of material online that help promote welcoming and inclusive school climates. The key, however, is not necessarily what program you adopt, but how to get everyone on board. A positive school climate must be a top priority for everyone—from the school leaders, to the teaching staff, to the support professionals who work with students on the buses and in the cafeterias and in the hallways. Everyone should have high expectations of the community. Everyone needs to pay attention and keep their ears to the ground. And everyone should make it clear that any student can safely come forward if they themselves have experienced or witnessed bullying or bias. Principle 5: The environment is constantly changing to reflect the participants’ peculiarities and identity. As it happens in social environments such as the office or home, individuals have the right to decide on the space arrangements. In the classroom, even more so, its inhabitants should be allowed to participate in its structuring and setting any items in it, since they are the ones who will remain most of the time. This generates in the students a sense of identity and marks the territoriality that every human being requires to unfold their life. This principle is the core for the article: Cultural Identity Is Crucial. How to Spot It in Your Child’s Classroom and What to Do About It If It’s Not There written by Tanzi West Barbour, the chief communications officer for the Wayfinder Foundation in Washington, D.C. (January 21,2019). In this text, she describes experiences at a culturally diverse environment and suggests some ideas to incorporate the conversation of cultural identity at schools, starting by an informal tour around the school and make note of the physical surroundings. Then, the results might lead the community to find solutions to include diversity into all learning and social spaces. In the following picture, you will see an example of learning resources from varied authors and topics that show evidence of how the environment, as well as the contents, have the ability to embrace identity and cultural diversity. This is an example of a classroom using the resources from the project Just like me! Box.

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BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD

Source: https://twitter.com/justlikemebox/status/1058033497816944640/photo/1 CREDIT: JUST LIKE ME! BOX

Wrapping up the principles The previous principles are intended to promote highly favorable environments for social coexistence and foremost, facilitate learning. On top of that, these aim to: Establish an effective interaction and communication between the teacher, the student, and the group. Consider individual differences. Strengthen self-concept and self-esteem in students and the teacher. Improve use and perception of space and resources.

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4. HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT LEARNING AND TRANSFORM EDUCATIONAL SPACES? Despite traditional classrooms prevailing in most educational institutions, in recent years, researchers and institutions have been re-thinking learning spaces, with the intention of understanding whether alterations in the learning space can result in structural changes in the teaching-learning processes. Experts indicate that redefining the classroom is an inevitable trend (Aguilar et al., 2015), however, the new approaches are linked to the understanding of the learning space, from the architectural to the functional, the relationship with factors such as pedagogy, and the integration of educational technology. In this way, it is possible to identify how the classroom can be disruptive and become an ally to promote learning, becoming a friendly, less conditioned space, designed to generate experiences, develop skills, and with the potential to forge citizens and the education of the future. Therefore, the concept of the Smart Classroom arises. It is considered as a learning space which considers the well-being (physical and psychological) of people and articulating the environmental, pedagogical and digital dimensions to enrich the experience of learning (Martínez, 2020). These classrooms are implemented in a consensual way with the community, following the design principles (Nair, 2016), the students' needs and the learning purposes (Bannister, 2017). On the one hand, results of experiences worldwide allow establishing that active learning methodologies, such as those implemented in Smart Classrooms, not only improve learning, but also provide relevant information to lay the foundation for educational change and understand the impact that technology has in learning (Yang et al., 2018). Thus, determine the success factors to combine technology and pedagogy in smart classrooms. On the other hand, the creation of the Smart Classroom is an opportunity to get closer to more natural ways of learning, such as experimentation, inquiry, or the active use of the senses through stimuli. Finally, thanks to the active participation of students and less traditional interaction, along with a student-centered approach, a more meaningful learning is developed including values and skills for life.

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Smart Classrooms have the potential to alter traditional teaching-learning structures due to the principles of organization and configuration. In addition, they relate to the characteristics of structure and integration of resources such as: the ability to relate to the outside environment, with an open configuration both in structure and in the visual, considering furniture, colors and distribution of spaces as an important part of the design; and the connection with other school (or community) spaces, which involves the relationship with the nearby environment and even virtual environments (Peña-López, 2017), In this way, the traditional paradigm of classroom-conditioned learning is broken. However, there are still challenges in the face of factors such as noise, as could be seen in the experience of the open classrooms project, implemented in public schools in the United States in the 1960s (Cuban, 2004). Another important principle for smart classrooms is Flexibility because it allows the extension of the possibilities of learning from the organization of space to the transformation of methodologies, interactions and alternative uses of both physical and digital resources (JISC, 2006). According to Graetz (2006), flexibility can generate positive emotions that increase interest in learning. An outstanding example is the Vittra school, in which flexible spaces can turn into a pedagogical tool (Bosch, 2018) with the ability to adapt to the needs of students with a model of spaces for different purposes and types of experiences. According to the JISC report (2006), Collaboration is essential to promote interaction between peers and establish a positive relationship scenario where the social dimension of learning takes on great relevance, which benefits the collective construction of knowledge, recognizing that it is a continuous process, and it is not limited to classroom time-space. Technology, for its part, is decisive for collaboration with synchronous or asynchronous options. We find, for example, the Saltire Centre at the Glasgow Caledonian University, a space with the necessary conditions and the right environment to collaborate and awaken creativity. In the following Gallery, you will find Images of The Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University:

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See gallery here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jiscinfonet/sets/72057594135346630/

Smart Classrooms are recognized because of the use of technology but also for the implementation of more interactive pedagogical methodologies than traditional classrooms (Aguilar et al., 2015). However, such integration requires pedagogical alignment, teacher training and appropriate technological infrastructure, as evidenced by the experiences of innovative educational ecosystems in Colombia (Quevedo, 2016). Thus, ICTs can facilitate and enrich learning, so that it is efficient, satisfactory and connected with the world (Siemens, 2004); unlinking learning from a delimited space-time. The use of space is a decisive factor to implement a Smart Classroom, it refers to the configuration of space and alignment with pedagogy with the potential to influence or model learning experiences (Van Merriënboer et al., 2017). Such distribution and settings should facilitate educational activities as well as equal attention to diversity and inclusion. For that reason, spaces should be versatile, adaptable to the needs of users and learn from the people who use them (Nair, 2016).

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SHAPING ECOSYSTEMS FOR LEARNING: PRINCIPLES AND AFFORDANCES 2.2 E-LEARNING ECOLOGIES AND AFFORDANCES

1. WHAT DO LEARNING ECOLOGIES REFER TO? The terms ‘ecologies’ or ‘eco-systems’ are used to describe the dynamic interactions between plants, animals and micro-organisms and their environment, working together as a functional unit. Ecologies are living systems containing a diversity of factors that interact with each other that are self-organizing, adaptive and fragile (Jackson, 2013).

There is a large number of conceptual approaches to learning ecologies. The ecological metaphor has been applied to many contexts but is well suited to human sciences, also, the ecological perspective contemplates humans in their physical, social and virtual environments as a singular system living within a particular sociocultural and historic context where they consume, recycle and produce resources, exchanging information and knowledge by means of interaction. However, several authors have attempted their own concepts, here we find a few of them:

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a. Lemke (2000) describes eco-social systems for learning based on their features: • a habitat in which individuals of various species co-exist in relative stability and inter-dependence • a set of overlapping but distinct territories and niches, each with its own rules, affordances and constraints • a self-regulating system that consumes, recycles [and creates] resources • an organization in which change occurs over time, modifying individuals and inter-relations, without destroying the overall cohesion and balance which requires the ecosystem to be both, adaptive and resilient to change. b. Siemens (2007) defined a learning ecology as 'the space in which learning occurs'. The characteristics of an ecology determine what can exist within it and learning ecologies are structured to serve a particular aim or purpose. According to Siemens (ibid 62-3) learning ecologies are: • Adaptive, dynamic and responsive - the ecology enables (or more specifically fosters) adaptation to the needs of the agents within the space. • Chaotic - diversity generates chaos which is created in dynamic environments and systems • Self-organizing and individually directed - organization occurs through the ongoing interactions of elements within the ecology • Alive - features continual changes, newness, activity • Diverse - with multiple viewpoints and nodes (often contradictory) exist. • Structured informality - structure enables ongoing diversity of openness not restricting development. Minimal control is required to function but no more • Emerging - the space itself is evolving and adaptive. c. Jackson (2013) concentered on the concept of individual's learning ecology which constitutes one’s learning process as well as the set of contexts and interactions that provide opportunities and resources for learning, development and achievement. He explains that each context comprises a unique configuration of purposes, activities, material resources, relationships and interactions that combined allow learning to take place.

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d. Barron (2004) refers to learning ecologies as: • The set of contexts that are made of configurations, activities, resources and resources generated in both, physical and virtual spaces which provide opportunities for learning. e. In 2015, Esposito et al., defined another perspective to learning ecologies, this time including the Web as a new kind of learning environment, over which the metaphor still applies to explore the possibilities enabled by the new interactions, resources and tools. They emphasize on e-learning design and how the ecological approach to e-learning is evolving as a way to think of technological innovations in educational settings as recursive attempts to find balance and sustainability among complementary alternatives, rather than replacing old means and practices with new ones. Most recently, the research results from Professor Albert Sangrà, Director of the UNESCO Chair "Education and Technology for Social Change" point out that learning ecologies can help people understand how they can develop themselves and take advantage of every single opportunity for learning; consequently, make better decisions upon their own learning. Therefore, it would be possible to impact peoples’ lives by providing a framework of analysis, raising self-awareness, facilitate decision making and take advantage of any learning opportunities. He affirms the learning ecologies approach is: “New lens for understanding what decisions people make to take advantage of the opportunities they have” (Sangrà, 2017)

In the following video, professor Sangrà (2017) talks about lifelong learning ecologies and how these could help educational transformations in a changing society:

LEARNING ECOLOGIES – UOC RESEARCH SHOWCASE

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From this presentation the following research questions arise: • People learn in many ways. How do people do that? • Which patterns could we identify? • Do different collectives react with different patterns when organizing their ecologies? • How does technology expand or enlarge these resources to become opportunities? • How could we manage and create new learning opportunities? Finally, apart from understanding the concept, it is also necessary to identify the categories of learning ecologies and their educational contexts. These were structured in a diagram based on the Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) created by Jackson (2013) to help visualize the relationship between individuals' learning ecologies and educational practices that support and recognize the outcomes of learning from such ecologies. In the following diagram, the Y axis represents the variations in the process of learning, including the purposes and goals, the resources that will be used and the relationships through which learning is likely to occur. The X axis represents the contexts in which learning takes place, divided into environments like school, college, university, and corporate training situations where the explicit purpose is to engage in experiences or tasks for specific purposes or make learning a derivative product (Rogers, 2003).

CATEGORIZATION OF LEARNING ECOLOGIES AND THEIR EDUCATIONAL CONTEXTS SOURCE: LIFEWIDE LEARNING, EDUCATION & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT E-BOOK (JACKSON, 2013, PG.12)

Link: http://www.normanjackson.co.uk/uploads/1/0/8/4/10842717/chapter_a5.pdf

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2. HOW CAN E-LEARNING ECOLOGIES BRING ABOUT CHANGE? e-Learning is a transformative technology. It has the capability of catalysing major changes in education and indeed society more generally. Holmes & Gardner (2006).

From this quote, we can see in the last decades society had already recognized that combining education and technology has the potential for change, to bring people, individuals, communities and nations closer together, creating better possibilities for collaboration and learning. Since e-learning appeared, it seems there are less limits of learning, in fact, it initiated the idea that learning is no longer encapsulated in a single place (or people) but in a set of nodes (Salvat,2018).

Some food for thought…

E-learning in COVID-19 crisis The global crisis has specially manifested the immense importance of e-learning in today’s modern world. Without the means of e-learning platforms education would have come to a sudden halt since the outbreak of the virus. (Soni, 2020)

The evolution of e-learning has undergone a series of changes that include modalities, methodologies, resources and the use of virtual learning spaces. However, those changes have evidenced the design of the learning environment is crucial to any attempt of teaching and learning in a digital learning environment. For this reason, in order to identify the possibilities of e-learning to bring about change, we should think of the dimensions of the learning environments.

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The first aspect to consider is Pedagogy, as evidenced by several studies (Salvat, 2018) conclude that pedagogically ‘rich’ designs characterized by the presence of educators, interaction with students, student collaboration and continuous monitoring with a proper use of using technology, produce the greatest impact on student achievement. For e-learning, experts like Cope & Kalantzis (2017) consider it’s not the technology that makes a difference, it’s the pedagogy. Therefore, researchers agree on the idea that educational technologies might change education however, technologies are pedagogically neutral. This means no real changes are possible unless pedagogical changes are implemented alongside. Attempts to explore new ways to make a pedagogical paradigm change, affirm there should be a shift from didactic pedagogy to reflexive pedagogy in every dimension of learning. As a result, the e-learning affordances were established as a set of guidelines to improve learning experiences, learning environments, and education in the coming years. In the following table, you will see the changes in perspective and what the new learning environments will look like in the future proposed by Cope & Kalantzis:

DIDACTIC PEDAGOGY VS. REFLEXIVE PEDAGOGY (NEW LEARNING)

Source: Cope & Kalantzis, adapted by Margarita Araque

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The seven “new learning” affordances proposed are found and explained in the Learning and New Media article (published in virtual room). Starting with the definition of learning towards the emergence of new educational media that allow learning environments change but also make long-held pedagogical ambitions more practicable. In the following diagram, you will find a summary of the agenda for new learning and assessment principles. Which have the potential to create learning environments more engaging, more effective, more resource efficient, and more equitable.

E-LEARNING AFFORDANCES

Source: Cope & Kalatnzis , adapted by Margarita Araque

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BIBLIOGRAPHY / WEBGRAPHY

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BIBLIOGRAPHY / WEBGRAPHY Aguilar, J., Valdiviezo, P., Cordero, J., & Sánchez, M. (2015). Conceptual design of a smart classroom based on multiagent systems. In Proceedings on the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) (p. 471). The Steering Committee of The World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Applied Computing. Bannister, D. (2017). Pautas para estudiar y adaptar los espacios de aprendizaje en centros educativos. Bélgica: European Schoolnet. Disponible en: https://intef.es/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/EspaciosdeAprendizaje_Gu%C3%ADa_ES.pdf Barron, B. (2004). Learning ecologies for technological fluency: Gender and experience differences. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 31(1), 1-36. Bosch, R. (2018). Diseñar un mundo mejor empieza en la escuela. Rosan Bosch Studio. Brooks, D. (2012). Space and consequences: The impact of different formal learning spaces on instructor and student behavior. Journal of Learning Spaces, 1(2), n2. Cano, M., Angel, L. (1995). Espacio, comunicación y aprendizaje. Serie Práctica N 4. Sevilla: Díada Editorial S.L. Cuban, L. (2004). The Open Classroom: Were Schools Without Walls Just Another Fad?. Education Next, 4(2), 68-71. Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (Eds.). (2017). E-learning ecologies: Principles for new learning and assessment. Taylor & Francis. Dalziel, J., Conole, G., Wills, S., Walker, S., Bennett, S., Dobozy, E., Cameron, L., Badilescu-Buga, E. and Bower, M., 2016. The Larnaca Declaration on Learning Design. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2016(1), p.7. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/jime.407 Davies, S. (2010). Effective Assessment in a Digital Age (). JISC . JISC (2007). Effective practice in a digital age: a guide to technology enhanced learning and teaching. Retrieved from: https://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6790/1/effectivepracticedigitalage.pdf De Bono, E. (2000). New thinking for the new millennium. Viking Adult.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY / WEBGRAPHY Esposito, A., Sangrà, A., & Maina, M. (2015). Emerging learning ecologies as a new challenge and essence for e-learning. The case of doctoral e-researchers. International Handbook of E-Learning, 1, 331-342. Graetz, K. A. (2006). The psychology of learning environments. Educause Review, 41(6), 60-75. Holmes, B., & Gardner, J. (2006). E-learning – an educational revolution. In e-Learning: Concepts and practice (pp. 51-75). SAGE Publications Ltd, https://www-doi-org.crai-ustadigital.usantotomas.edu.co/10.4135/9781446212585.n4 Jackson, N. J. (2013). The concept of learning ecologies. Lifewide learning, education & personal development, 1-21. JISC Joint Information Systems Committee. (2006). Designing spaces for effective learning: A guide to 21st century learning space design. HEFCE. Lippman, Peter. C. (2010) Can the Physical Environment Have an Impact on the Learning Environment? OECD ISSN: 20727925 Lemke, J. (2000) Across the Scales of Time: Artifacts, Activities, andMeanings in Ecosocial . Mind, Culture and Activity 7 (4), 273–290. Retrieved from: http://www.jaylemke.com/storage/Scales-of-time-MCA2000.pdf Luna Scott, C (2015) The Futures of Learning 3: What Kind of Pedagogies for the C21st? UNESCO. Retrieved from: http://repositorio.minedu.gob.pe/handle/20.500.12799/3747 Maina, M., Craft, B., & Mor, Y. (Eds.). (2015). The art & science of learning design. Springer. Martínez Guimet, H. (2020, May 26). ¿Qué es una smart classroom? Disponible en: https://epce.blogs.uoc.edu/es/organizar-aula-filas-columnas-sillas-mesas-delante-pizarra-no-responde-expectativas-necesidades-educativas/ Nair, P. (2016). Diseño de espacios educativos. España: SM.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY / WEBGRAPHY Oblinger, D., & Lippincott, J. K. (2006). Learning spaces. Boulder, Colo,.: EDUCAUSE, c2006. Peña-López, I. (2017). The OECD handbook for innovative learning environments. Quevedo, G. A. (2016, octubre 12). Experiencia en Apropiación pedagógica de tabletas en entornos educativos rurales. Presentado en: VII Coloquio internacional de Educacion in Universidad Del Cauca, Popayan. Rogers, A. (2003) What is the difference? a new critique of adult learning and teaching, Leicester: NIACE. Salvat, B. G. (2018). La evolución del e-learning: del aula virtual a la red. Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 21(2), 69-82. Siemens, G. (2004). Conectivismo: Una teoría de aprendizaje para la era digital. Recuperado el, 15. Siemens, G. (2007). Connectivism: Creating a learning ecology in distributed environments. Didactics of microlearning. Concepts, discourses and examples, 53-68. Soni, Vishal Dineshkumar, Global Impact of E-learning during COVID 19 (June 18, 2020). Available at SRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3630073 Valenzuela Urra, C., Valdenegro Egozcue, B. y Oliveros Castro, S. (2020). Ecologías del aprendizaje y la contribución de las competencias informacionales: una reflexión teórica. Palabra Clave (La Plata), 10(1), e107. https://doi.org/10.24215/18539912e107 Van Merriënboer, JJG, McKenney S, Cullinan D, Heuer J. (2017) Aligning pedagogy with physical learning spaces. Eur J Educ.;52:253–267. Yang, J., Pan, H., Zhou, W., & Huang, R. (2018). Evaluation of smart classroom from the perspective of infusing technology into pedagogy. Smart Learning Environments, 5(1), 1-11.

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Virtual USTA

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