An Infrastructure for Blended Learning

1
An Infrastructure for Blended Learning

• Dr Anne Mumford
• Loughborough University
• a.m.mumford_at_lboro.ac.uk

2
Developing Learning Teaching

• Blended learning seems most likely for many
  institutions
• Distance learning varies in significance
  mostly niche markets
• Face to face is still important
• No one pattern between institutions and within
  institutions

3
What Are We Seeing?

• Strategies that recognise the potential of
  Learning Technologies to improve both learning
  and teaching
• More variation across the institution
• A range of teaching and study patterns that
  varies within courses
• Lectures as briefing and debriefing
• Supported activity
• Group work

4
Are We Facilitating this through the
Infrastructure?

• Service stakeholders are many (and varied)
  Estates, Computing Services, Learning Services,
  Registry etc etc
• Independent improvements to teaching spaces
  not necessarily led by academic need

5
Allocation of Space

• Central or departmental timetable, Central or
  faculty/school room allocation for pool space
• Allocation process needs to reflect new modes of
  learning and teaching
• More flexible change of patterns but may
  result in reduced utilisation figures a bad
  thing

6
Changing Things

• Recognise that Estates Strategies may be (at
  least) as important in delivering change than LT
  or ICT Strategies
• Encourage development of physical teaching spaces
  and allocation of this space that encourages and
  facilitates use of learning technologies

7
Managing Change

• Systems in place to enable coordination of
  (forward thinking) academic need with relevant
  service providers
• Coordination of the development and maintenance
  of physical learning spaces maximising
  flexibility, minimising special rooms

8
Closing Quotation

• Despite a plethora of architectural awards and
  positive reviews for new University buildings,
  the performance of these facilities as
  contemporary places for teaching and learning is
  open to question
• Jamieson, P. et al, Place and Space in the
  Design of New Learning Environments, Higher
  Education Resarch and Development, Vol 19, No 2,
  2000, p221-236