Reflections on using a VLE to create communities of practice in arts and design teaching and learning in a pandemic context

This commentary examines the potential for VLEs to create and embed communities of practice and to support studentsโ€™ learning experience in art and design, and specifically fashion. A case study approach is employed, using the example of a community focused platform, Aula. The findings indicate that while using conventions from social media can increase communication …

How can hybrid learning spaces be used to teach and learn Photography in higher education?

The global pandemic has shifted the Higher Education landscape of how we learn and teach, from physical campus spaces to virtual learning in invisible rooms. Hybrid learning can offer a culmination of physical and virtual spaces, developing new photographic pedagogical principles using technology. Educators and learners can work together to co-create a new kind of …

Campus: What is the role of the campus in an increasingly blended environment?

More than anything, the move to online teaching forced all students and tutors to reflect on the role that the university campus plays in the student experience. Team Rooibos investigated how the role of the campus may change as a result of a prolonged period of online delivery, and their research helped clarify aspects of …

Visualising transformative spaces for education: a focus on lecture halls, computer rooms and studios

Abstract One room, three learning spaces for creative education. This image-led investigation shows how a standard blank room can be effectively transformed into three different kinds of learning environments: a lecture hall, a computer room and a studio. Research has shown that effective design of teaching spaces is beneficial to the learning experience and contributes …

Reflecting on the inclusivity and accessibility of a learning space for textiles education

Inclusive Learning Spaces for Textiles Education

Abstract The aim of this reflection was to investigate the extent to which one of my teaching spaces is inclusive and accessible for my students that will be using it. With inclusivity and accessibility being increasingly discussed within a university setting, it felt important to look at the spaces I use when teaching my workshops …