Technology, innovative design, and emergent practices are opening up new possibilities for learning spaces. Whether physical/face-to-face, inside or outside the traditional classroom, mobile, blended or entirely online, learning spaces have a big impact on the education experience.

The ETUG (Educational Technology Users’ Group) fall workshop will be held at BCIT’s downtown Vancouver campus on Friday, November 2, 2012 (with a pub night Thursday evening). Deadline for proposals is Wednesday, October 10.

ETUG invites educators to explore the following questions on the theme of “Learning Spaces, Spaces to Learn:”

Innovative Learning Spaces and Models

• Have you used a different teaching & learning model such as the flipped classroom? a mobile or open course?
• What are some examples of successful learning spaces: physical, virtual, or mobile?
• What mix of resources, capabilities or functionality create the most effective learning spaces? for collaboration? for innovation? for your own professional development?
• What makes a space conducive to learning for you? your students? your faculty? your staff?
• What do we do with bricks and mortar when our classrooms are increasingly in the cloud?

Wide Open Spaces: Finding our Way

• Is the learning experience different when it is open or closed?
• How do we find our way in these new wide open learning spaces (like Massive Open Online Courses or MOOCs)?
• We don’t always design these spaces but how do we help learners and instructors navigate them?
• What challenges do we face when moving to open learning spaces within a traditional educational environment? (e.g., privacy, or issues related to credit for work completed)
• What are the benefits of a collaborative learning space as opposed to a traditional quiet study area (library setting)?

Mobile Learning: anytime, anywhere, any device

• What criteria and strategies do we use to integrate new tools and techniques into our learning spaces?
• What can we as instructors, educational technologists & instructional designers do to support best practices in emergent areas?
• How have you explored mobile learning and the growing use of cell phones, tablets and apps for learning? Share your stories!
• How are universities and colleges adapting our learning spaces to support anytime-anywhere-any device learners?

Formats include the following, but the ETUG steering committee is also open to suggestions. Most sessions will be given a time of 45-60 minutes.

• Show/Share/Discuss: Share a case study or a work in progress (what’s working/what’s not) and get feedback from your participants.
• Thinking Session: Facilitate a thinking session in which you ask participants to brainstorm solutions to challenges you’ve dealt with, or are dealing with. Invite participants to design or create something together, for example, policy guidelines, new practices, best practices, strategy/ tips, etc.
• Hands-On: Lead a hands-on or how-to session
• Other: Volunteer to organize and facilitate a panel discussion or debate, a lightning session, or suggest another participatory format.

Session proposals will be reviewed in keeping with the following considerations:

1. The topic would be of interest to the ETUG community
2. The topic aligns well with the workshop theme
3. The topic is forward-thinking, new or innovative, and potentially transformative
4. The format is interactive, participatory, or activity-based in a way that will help with networking
5. There is a preference is for BC-based topics and presenters but all proposals are reviewed

The selection committee will develop the workshop program to best reflect and represent the diversity of the ETUG community.

About the Fall Workshop

The ETUG Fall workshop is a one day, single stream program that will typically accommodate 4-6 sessions with approximatley 100 participants. Wireless internet access will be available for participants.

Please be aware that all artefacts from ETUG events are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License. This includes photographs, audio and video recordings and session materials.

Facilitators and participants are encouraged to post and share their work online. Please use the tag/hashtag “etug.”

BCcampus/ETUG is pleased to cover registration costs for session facilitators and travel and accommodation expenses for lead facilitators traveling within B.C. but outside of the Metro Vancouver area. Note that coverage will be for the primary facilitator for sessions with more than one facilitator (with the exception of panel discussions).

If you have questions, contact Leva Lee: leva.lee@bccampus.ca.