Flexible Learning Spaces

If learning space is not inviting and comfortable for students, they may not be as engaged in learning and participating. Learning space in the classroom needs to move away from the typical desk and stiff chair. I liked how in flexible learning spaces the students had swivel chairs to sit in. These chairs help students pay attention better because they are able to move around and are not confined to the typical stiff chair. Incorporating swivel chairs and comfortable furniture, letting the students arrange it how they want to gives them the opportunity to sit comfortably to learn and participate more. 

Google apps for education purposes gives students the opportunity to access important information from the teacher. Lets say that a student is absent on Tuesday and typically, students will not get their homework until the following day. The use of google apps give the student access to Tuesday's lessons and assignments so they are on the same page as the rest of the class. If students submit their homework or major projects through the app, they can save their work to look back on or reference later on, too, rather than projects getting thrown away or lost.

The assumptions we should challenge as we design learning spaces is that students will not learn, be too distracted, and the classroom will be too chaotic. Also, we should not just design the classroom one, we should provide several different designs that way we can accommodate for students with different learning styles. For example, this picture I tagged has many different table designs of varying heights and comfy couches. The students are able to sit on the floor, in a chair or swivel chair, or on a couch.

For The University of Akron , the only way I have seen informal learning spaces being used is the use of swivel chairs. In my Educational Psychology class, we have those kinds of chairs. And I admit, I enjoy sitting in that class more because I can move around, lean back, and can turn to talk with other tables easier. I am constantly moving because I have back problems, and there is nothing worse than sitting in a stiff, hard chair, so these swivel chairs are a nice change.