The buildings we design now will shape learning and teaching for the next century so it is essential that we look to the future. In the words of Les Watson, lead consultant on this infoKit, 'Decisions based on forensic examination of the past give us what we've always had'. It is therefore valid to consider whether, especially in the light of opportunities afforded by new technologies, there is a continued need for campus-based education.
Whilst the growth of IT, and social software in particular, provides a greater range of opportunities for virtual social interaction and learning, it remains a 'both/and' phenomenon that adds to, rather than replaces, physical face-to-face activities such as performance, presentation, discussion, and debate, as described here by Richard Florida:
'The death-of-place prognostications simply do not square with the countless people I have interviewed, the focus groups I've observed, and the statistical research I've done. Place and community are more critical factors than ever before...the economy itself increasingly takes form around real concentrations of people in real places' - Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class1
This infoKit therefore takes the view that physical learning spaces will remain important for the foreseeable future. We look at what sector-wide and institutional factors may impact the way you choose to develop. We also look at how learner needs and our own understanding of learning processes are changing and we look at what opportunities new technologies may offer before attempting to bring this together to show what it might mean to your build.
