Page 166 - Educational Technology A Primer for the 21st Century

158 9 Learning Space Design

Fig. 9.5 Maker space

9.3.3.3 Future Learning Environments in Sweden
This design is part of a project called future learning environments for the Karolinska
Institute in Sweden (see http://www.interiordesign2014.com/architecture/karolinska-
institute-future-learning-environments-by-tengbom/), grounded on research on
learning and higher education.
Such facilities are located primarily next to the lecture halls and were initially
leftover and deserted areas. The idea is to create a home away from home, a natural
meeting place for students, teachers, and researchers. The following items indicate
how the future learning environment satisfies some of the design principles pre-
viously mentioned.

• Engaging: The facilities have become a social arena where you hang out and
socialize, including a common meeting place and a central information point.
The spaces include open squares, room in rooms, and reading areas for focused
study.
• Collaborative: As a part of the concept of the “Home away from home”,it isa
place where you can exchange thoughts and ideas and where peer learning is
facilitated.

9.3.3.4 The 101 VR Classroom (A NetDragon Project; See http://
edu.nd.com.hk/zh-hk/product/vreditor)
With high-quality teaching resources, the 101 VR Classroom integrates virtual
reality into teaching and learning, which can create a close-to-real learning envi-
ronment for students. The 101 VR Classroom is an open, interactive, immerse
learning environment with an accompanying editor to allow designers and teachers
to create specific learning resources. The 101 VR Classroom has these character-
istics as shown in the following two Figs. 9.6 and 9.7.
The following items indicate how the 101 VR Classroom satisfies some of the
design principles mentioned above.