Sites of exchange

Updating links to the blog today, I can see myself constantly drawn to sites which seem to be really exploiting web 2.0 not just for social networking-as-gossip but for active social exchange and engagement. These are based on newer understandings, building on the wisdom of crowds concept central to Web 2.0. Interestingly the SITES OF EXCHANGE websites now listed on the sidebar use phrases like civic media (MIT Media Lab), distributed creativity (Re-public) and public authoring (proboscis).

These sites enable individuals and groups to work together, to provide peer support (Horsesmouth) and to undertake creative exchange through real world and virtual interactions (SFZero and Institute of Infinitely Small Things). In short, they are creative spaces, where ideas are shared, explored, transformed and re-made as processes and/or products.

Just as importantly, there is a move to more equal and reciprocal relationships between participants - rather than, say as often assumed between tutor and learner . This suggests some potential not just for virtual learning spaces but also for how to re-think face-to-face learning and teaching. It conceptualises a space where people learn from each other, based on a rcognition and sharing of expertise; and where not just information is exchanged, but also creative actions.

Click here for more on the wisdom of crowds (but note Wikipedia warning)
Image from Inspired Learning Spaces blog (see sidebar) July 21 2008

What counts as a 'good' learning space?

As reported in the newspapers yesterday, despite £35bn spent by the government on revamping educational buildings across the UK, "a new generation of mediocre schools" is in danger of being produced. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) has reported that the design quality of many of these new learning spaces is not satisfactory.

What does this mean about spaces for learning at university and college level? Well, first, we need to look hard at what criteria CABE are developing for judging what exactly is a good learning space for secondary school children. For example, they say:

The best designs are getting it right, with plenty of natural light and ventilation; lively and stimulating spaces for learning; generous, atriums and pleasant spaces for pupils to dine and relax; toilets designed to deter bullying; and easy routes to move quickly around the school.

Interestingly, I feel that debates in higher education tend to conceptualise space in different ways to this; and that these differences would be worth unravelling a bit...

Second, we need to consider why these newly built learning spaces are been deemed non-satisfactory. Some would say it is the PFI procurement process; others will blame the architects and others the lack of adequate briefing or understanding by schools themselves. So - what can we learn - how can we not only imagine but also sucessfully realise better learning spaces in and beyond university campuses?

See CABE report "Threshold needed to halt poor school design">
Image: Michael Tippett Special Education Needs school, the first BSF school in London, 2008. Designed by Marks Barfield Architects