The use of digital technologies and online tools to support both students and educators has become synonymous with transforming learning within Higher Education, particularly within post graduate courses. It can be argued that the recent push for transforming Higher Education aligns itself with the notion that postgraduate students need more flexible learning opportunities while still retaining access to high quality, engaging and collaborative pedagogical approaches. This paper reports on an exploratory case study that focuses on cross campus/university collaboration and flexible learning opportunities for students studying a masters level degree in the area of Music, Communication and Technology (MCT) within a Nordic context. The research question guiding the study is “What factors do educators in a hybrid cross-campus learning environment identify as essential for providing a supportive learning experience for students?” A pedagogy, space and technology (PST) framework underpins the development of this program and forms the basis for its development. The findings from our research identify three themes that need to be considered when attempting to design and implement high quality learning opportunities for students studying a largely synchronous hybrid music, communications and technology program. These themes were flexibility, trust and the human element, and ownership. The findings also highlight the need for a renewed focus on pedagogical approaches that can be adapted and continually revised to meet the changing needs of students in a synchronous hybrid learning space.
This chapter examines how students in a two-campus, cross-disciplinary program in Music, Communication and Technology (MCT) experience the sense of presence of peer students and teachers, some physically co-localized while others are present via an audiovisual communications system. The chapter starts by briefly delineating the MCT program, the audiovisual communications system and the learning space built around it, named the Portal, and the research project SALTO which frames the current study. We then review research literature on presence relevant to this particular context and use this as a basis for the design of an online survey using a combination of Likert items and free text response. Our main findings, based on responses from the 16 students who participated in the survey, are that the mediating technologies of the Portal affect the experience of presence negatively, but that formal learning scenarios are less affected than informal scenarios that require social interaction.
The transition from physical learning spaces to fully digital learning environments in annus horribilis 2020 has challenged Institutions and educators in re-thinking teaching in a time of crisis. E-learning is now phasing out from the initially "Fight-or-Flight" mode in handling panic during the first lockdowns and is currently trying to cope with the pandemic from a more sustainable long-time perspective. Issues have been enlightened concerning teaching and learning on a broader scale, focusing on the need to reconsider traditional teaching practices that nowadays seem not only obsolete but often incompatible with online teaching and learning. It is crucial to give the students flexibility and several possibilities in how, when, and where they engage with their Institution, curriculum, tasks, and peers. Nevertheless, there is a need for a clear structure or framework to aid and guide the students, providing shared arenas for feedback, teamwork, peer learning and social interaction in both physical, hybrid and fully digital learning environments. Through these contact points, we can build a sense of co-presence and mutual understanding between educators and learners to remove barriers that prevent learning. The notion of "presence" has often been discussed and used as an argument in the comparison between "on campus" and online education, strengthening the position of those who deem e-learning to be less useful and less engaging, namely because of the lack of physical presence. However, Institutions and educators need to recognize the current "state of things" as a part of the new norm and a point of no return. It is a question about combining the qualities of physical "in locus" education and the potential of digital learning in a post-pandemic world. By sharing first impressions from a research project at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), this paper attempts to balance and re-direct the discussion towards extending the notion of presence and human interaction to develop sustainable digital learning environments independently of the pandemic situation.
To offer and adapt education to the first generation of digital natives, we need to examine, evaluate, and create new types of learning spaces. The modern student wants to learn at any time, in any format and in any space. We also need to prepare the student for the workplace of the future, where digital technology enables people and processes to connect and interact regardless of physical location , distance and time. Collaboration and communication are done on several types of devices and we have a mixture of social networks, work networks and learning environments. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology is developing a vast selection of learning spaces for blended learning. We will in this paper present an example of a learning space, which supports e-learning, audio/video conference, BYOD (bring your own device) and shared multi-touch surfaces for interaction and collaboration in group work. To facilitate all these features, we must take in account the physical surroundings but also the pedagogy and learning methods to be utilized in this learning space. In this paper, we will discuss the process of designing, utilizing, and evaluating the learning space. A lot of challenges appear in this process. Who are the stakeholders participating? What do they have in common? What is the main goal of the project? What type of pedagogy and methods should be used in the space? Who should use the space and how? How to train and motivate teachers and students to use the learning space? Do they use it as we expected in the design phase? How can we measure the impact or learning effect of this learning space? What kind of pitfalls will appear during the lifespan of a technological learning space? These questions and many more will be elaborated and discussed, to find a good way to combine space, technology, and pedagogy. Our findings will give us key guidelines for a successful design of a sustainable template for the future learning space.
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