"Six Spaces" concept by Matt Locke, expanded to 7 by Ewan McIntosh.
The Third Teacher--book about learning spaces.
1. Secret Spaces: For tech, means instant messaging, text messages, etc. 1:1 communication. In schools, generally not accepted or harnessed. Getting "off-task" can be powerful and productive as a way to find new ideas. Traditional classroom pushes learners too far apart to have meaningful conversations. Make communication in "secret spaces" part of lessons (think-pair-share, etc.). "Niche" spaces--little places where 1 or 2 students can go to read, have conversations, etc.
2. Group Spaces: online, things like facebook. "bring a friend along, add your existing friends to this space online." In physical spaces. "Community as designer." Flexible spaces that allow reconfiguration for multiple group types on a "just in time" basis. "you need dynamic objects in order to create dynamic spaces." Stanford d-school as example. Need to factor noise into this--how do you have multiple small groups and keep the "productive noise" level low enough that the groups ARE productive?
3. Publishing Spaces: blog, flickr, photobucket--put something online so people can find it. Show off learning. Twitter feed? "open air learning" Make public the best of your student's work. How could we design our space so that it's not just used from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ?
4. Performance Spaces: tech--allow people to be something they are not--avatars. In physical space, play. Example of elementary school with netting to get from one floor or classroom to another.
5. Participation Spaces: tech--live web events, markets like ebay. In physical place, theory is turned to practice in these places. "Tilting the project towards completion." Students work on creating, and share what they learn in the process with each other. Create spaces where you need to participate in order to learn.
6. Data Spaces: tech--How could real-time data about a school be used to improve it? ex. of school with solar panels/windmills had digital readouts to show students how much energy the school is producing. What type of data could schools provide to engage students in learning?
7. Watching Spaces: tech: Ted Talks, YouTube. In physical spaces: great lectures. An ampitheater for lectures could mean fewer lectures but BETTER, more engaging lectures. Activities in a different space every day.
This concept really goes well with the Learning Commons concept, particularly the idea of creating the same "types" of spaces in the physical world as the virtual world. How can we, as TL's, create these spaces for our students in the PLC AND VLC? How can we help teachers create them in our classrooms and beyond?
