Technology-Enhanced, Interactive Learning Spaces in Higher Education

Abstract

Over the last fifty years, technology has become increasingly present in all areas of human society, including education (Laurillard, 2002; Ludvigsen, Krumsvik, and Furnes, 2015). Spanjers et al. (2015) see the increased digitalisation as an opportunity to enhance flexibility in education and support a more (inter)active, collaborative, and student-centred approach to learning and instruction. Consequently, educational institutions have started to design new learning spaces equipped with innovative educational technology. The Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Learning (TECOL) project was launched with a similar objective and aimed at designing and evaluating three different types of technology-enhanced learning spaces. First, interactive lectures using quizzes and polls supporting cognitively active learning. Second, collaborative learning spaces with screen-sharing functionalities highlighting the importance of collaboration skills. Third, multi-location learning spaces offering more flexible trajectories to students to connect remotely to the face-to-face classroom, as this type of hybrid virtual learning might be more productive than purely online learning often being characterised by higher disengagement and drop-out. The project was a two year campus-wide living lab design-based research and education project (March 2016–March 2018) in close collaboration with two industry partners. Data collection within the project was conducted in a highly ecologically valid context and included interviews with all stakeholders and repeated online student surveys. The key constructs which were inquired are based on the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989). More specifically, the survey questioned how learners perceive the effectiveness and ease of use of the technological affordances in the learning space, and whether they intend to use the technological tools in the future. Regarding each learning space, first the existing literature about that specific technology is presented followed by the results of the research studies. The results reveal that students had positive expectations towards both quizzes and polls and screen sharing, and neutral expectations towards multi-location learning. After experiencing the technological tools in practice, students’ technology acceptance significantly increased. Qualitative results confirm these positive findings and stress that universities should embrace technology as it gives opportunities for improving interaction, collaboration, and flexibility during learning and instruction. Yet, both technological and pedagogical challenges should be tackled by means of a well thought out policy in view of a university-wide implementation of these learning spaces.