Learning spaces, learning environments and the dis'placement' of learning

Abstract

Traditionally, at least according to popular wisdom, learning took place in venues that were custom-designed for the purpose. The purpose, given the evidence of the artefacts with which we are confronted, seems to have been the educational equivalent of the production line that so succinctly characterised the industrialisation of society. One consequence of this design logic, however, is that learning is defined as something that is married to a 'place'. This paper will argue that the conceptual 'slippage' that characterises the disappearing differences between 'learning spaces' and 'learning environments', coupled with the further 'displacement' of the learner (turned avatar) in virtual spaces such as Facebook and Second Life, serves to 'displace' learning itself. The paper argues further that we have failed to recognise the primacy of 'physical situatedness' to our conceptions of learning itself. In short, our difficulty in understanding and articulating the nature of learning is partly brought about by our inability to articulate where learning takes place - in a world characterised by virtual space and electronic selves. If we are to articulate the nature of learning in our age, then we need to articulate the nature of the real and virtual spaces and bodies that we inhabit. © 2009 Becta.