Just reading this summary of lessons learned during the pandemic:

https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/lessons-pandemic-making-most

And reflecting on it from my own particular position in terms of digital space and place. The reason the experiences have been different – and often better – are all down to the way that space has been experienced, and in particular how the unique properties of the digital space have allowed different experiences. Take these examples:

“Laboratory demonstrations were found to be vastly improved by all institutions. They can now be video streamed giving all students a space ‘at the front of the class’ so they no longer face a restricted view during an in-person experience.”

In a digital place you don’t need to order people in rows, with some behind others. You can, but the default is equal. You have to build back in inequality.

“All the institutions reported that students have been able to participate in lectures that used to be one-sided by using chat box functions or discussion boards, making it easier to ask questions, get clarification, and share views with other students.”

Again, a real place can actually harm debate and discussion, not only simply because an individual is further away or more hidden than others, but also because humans are biased, and will pick popular or good looking people to contribute, or potentially even favour a certain class or colour of person (even if unconsciously).

“Access to academic and student support services has actually expanded through using digital platforms. By providing access online, study skills or wellbeing sessions no longer need to limit numbers because of room capacity. Hesitancy or stigma attached to going to these types of sessions is also reported to have decreased because students can join anonymously.”

Similarly, the digital place can accommodate many more than the physical, and you can present yourself within it in any way that you wish.

“At the Royal College of Music we made full use of live streaming, enabling students to perform to a global audience. Engaging with digital technologies in this way is vital to raise our students’ artistic profiles, develop their digital performance skills, and improve their employability.”

I love this particular twist, as this maps back in with some of my previous work on Authentic Assessment. I argued that a key dimension of an authentic assessment is a ‘real’ audiences; digital tools provide a way to connect to these real audiences and challenge students in an authentic way.

I’ve been meaning for some time to create a practical model for implementation that brings together my own interest on affordance with the broader work from Diana Laurillard on the conversational framework and learning types. I’ve always liked the conversational framework and learning types, but feel that this is a missing component when it comes to actually helping individuals in specific circumstances find precisely the tech they need. They help understand what might be called the top two layers, how individual interact together and in what types of activities, but don’t give enough practical support at the coal face of learning, so to speak. That’s what I’ve been working on in Secondary Education for so long, now it’s time to bring it to Higher Education.

First off, this is how I see the bare bones of my own model, and how different theories fit together:

At the very top is the Conversational Framework itself. This outlines the transaction paths between individuals that are the foundation of all learning, how each individual should be relating to each other and the role that the broader learning environment plays:

At the second level are the six Learning Types, which define the types of learning activity that individuals can engage in:

Finally, at the individual level is my specific contribution, Affordance, which identifies which digital  technologies can support the type of transaction a learner is engaged in, in relation to a specific learning type:

It’s all very bare bones at the moment, but I think it shows promise!