Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia
Transforming learning environment design thinking from primarily the ‘look’ or form must be accompanied by a renewed focus on functionality. The rapid emergence of broadband wireless means we can access information online anytime anywhere – in a virtual community or place - as the MOOC phenomenon has attested to. Should we now re-engineer our physical learning environments to ensure they are optimal for this form of knowledge construction? Many innovations have been developed to support this virtual/physical hybrid model but do they work? I argue that these innovations - or research projects - must be evaluated and the evidence of their efficacy gained used to translate innovate learning environments into working operational models in a scaled-up system- and campus- wide format. Translational design can be used to evaluate learning and knowledge environments to assist in improving learning outcomes.