Smart classrooms: Innovation in formal learning spaces to transform learning experiences

Abstract

Despite entering a new century where agents and elements in education have changed, students, teachers, curriculum, resources and so on, the classroom, as the learning space in the school, has experienced no change as regards configuration and structure. Traditional classrooms with rows of desks facing the teacher and the board do not fulfill present-day educational needs and expectations; therefore the learning space at school requires adaptation to the new contexts and roles in education. In this paper the authors outline general principles on the design and methodology of Smart Classrooms, new learning spaces which may better fit present and future learning needs and roles.

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Bulletin of the Technical Committee on Learning Technology (ISSN 2306-0212) - Publisher: IEEE Tech nical Committee on Le arning Technology
Abstract— Despite entering a new century where agents and
elements in education have changed, students, teachers,
curriculum, resources and so on, the classroom, as the learning
space in the school, has experienced no change as regards
configuration and structure. Traditional classrooms with rows of
desks facing the teacher and the board do not fulfill present-day
educational needs and expectations; therefore the learning space
at school requires adaptation to the new contexts and roles in
education. In this paper the authors outline general principles on
the design and methodology of Smart Classrooms, new learning
spaces which may better fit present and future learning needs and
roles.
Index Terms— Smart classroom, future classroom, learning
space, school innovation.
I. INTRODUCTION
uring the XX century the classroom and its formal
learning space have experienced but few changes
regarding configuration, traditional structure, methodologies
and semantic arrangement, but in the meantime, everything
else has changed: students, teachers, curriculum, resources
available to both students and teachers, and the social context
where school exists. While there is an ample array of new
tools, resources and methodological options and possibilities
to be applied to education, as regards classroom arrangement
we still find a traditional setup, mostly when seeing a space
full of desks and chairs in rows facing a board and a teacher’s
desk. This traditional arrangement corresponds to an
“industrialized” model of education, where the teacher is in
possession of knowledge and is the main mechanism of
transmission of that knowledge. This ‘transmissive
arrangement’ is radically opposed to present-day theories of
learning and pedagogical paradigms, which are fundamental to
the educational curriculum in many countries. A radical
change is needed in the way teachers and the ecology of school
understand learning space, that is, the classroom and its nearest
spaces, if the focus is on key pedagogical ideas from present-
day theories of learning, such as social construction of
knowledge, autonomy of students in their learning, catering for
diversity, collaborative and significant learning, curricular
globalization, problem-based learning, and so on.
Manuscript received July 29, 2001.
Guillermo Bautista, Ph.D., Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (0034
661727894, gbautista@uoc.edu).
Federico Borges, Ph.D. candidate, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya,
(fborges@tinet.org).
In terms of what the classroom space should be like, how it
should be conceived, which elements should harbour, and so
on [1], there exists the need for educational authorities and
teaching staff to deeply reflect about methodologies in relation
to technology integration and to other types of resources for a
more efficient learning.
Recently there have been remarkable social and economic
efforts in the deployment of educational policies for the
integration of ICT, such as 1x1 projects, which have involved
a considerable investment by governments in a good deal of
countries, e.g. Educat 2.0, One laptop per child, Plan Ceibal,
Enlaces, etc. Nonetheless, the discourse on how the learning
space at school is arranged when ICT are intensively
integrated is virtually non-existent. Even in the so-called
computer classrooms, the traditional structure is kept
unchanged, computers and screens are simply fitted over
desks, and everything goes on as ever.
II. THE CONCEPT OF SMART CLASSROOMS
More often than not the concept of smart classrooms is
wrongly associated with a traditional classroom which is
heavily equipped with technology. In the discourse about these
learning spaces the need for pedagogical changes such as
innovation in the teaching role, or the new role students take,
the role of the contents, who decides on the learning process,
resources, etc., is usually overlooked. There may be a heavy
integration of technology, but within a traditional classroom
arrangement, usually under a traditional methodological
paradigm. In fact, some authors argue that the concept of smart
classrooms should precisely involve an invisible integration of
technology with the learning space [2]-[3]-[4].
Whenever we speak about learning spaces we cannot
dismiss what present-day classrooms are like, nor the way their
architectural design may eventually end up exerting an
influence on actual teaching; that is, built pedagogy, the ability
of space to influence how one teaches [5].
The constructive design of a classroom and its functional
and ergonomical design are crucial to have efficient and useful
smart classrooms, as work teams and researchers in
architecture have shown dealing with these issues in depth [6].
The ideal scenario, when talking about innovation in the
school’s learning space, is to link both the architectural and
functional design with the pedagogical approaches to be
applied [7]. Thus, in reviewing graphical material and
literature about learning spaces, we can find that every time
authors mention spaces for creative or innovative work, or
D
Smart Classrooms: Innovation in formal
learning spaces to transform learning
experiences.
Guillermo Bautista, Federico Borges

Bulletin of the Technical Committee on Learning Technology (ISSN 2306-0212) - Publisher: IEEE Tech nical Committee on Le arning Technology
niches for collaborative work, or entrepreneurship, they refer
to places which are clear, calm, and offer varied possibilities
for people to meet and talk in a flexible arrangement [5], for
instance, they explain that a given structure and space
arrangement can promote exploration, experimentation,
collaboration and discussion. Thus, the concept of smart
classrooms rests on the intersection of three axes, interacting
in the design and use of the learning space:
1. The classroom’s architectural design and its ergonomy.
2. The functional, invisible, justified and intensive integration
of technology, ICT particularly.
3. An innovative pedagogical methodology, appropriate to
that space, which makes learning more efficient and
satisfactory, and based on teaching principles such as
collaborative learning, project-based learning, curricular
globalization, students’ autonomy, educational co-
responsibility, etc.
Therefore, smart classrooms should be associated with
organizing and setting learning space in schools in a way that
the best conditions for learning, physical and methodological,
are generated in the most efficient and satisfactory way
possible for all agents involved in the process. Pedagogical
design should consider, and maximize, learning space so as to
make the most of it; teachers should also contribute to make
space to be perceived in the same way as methodology,
resources and learning activities are, all integrated and
articulated for a learning proposal to end up being successful.
In traditional classrooms the board and the teacher stand out
at one end of the room, and this is what makes classroom
dynamics to be those of transmissive, unidirectional lessons.
Precisely, an important justification as to why analyze
modifications in space in order to improve learning is that the
structure of a traditional classroom tells us the way learning
will take place there, and that students’ preferred styles and
learning activities, considered to be chair-students, will not be
taken into account. If we are providing new tools to teachers
and students, and assigning a new role to them, we cannot keep
using a classroom structure which strongly conditions the
dynamics of the educational process.
III. PRINCIPLES OF SMART CLASSROOMS
There is no single model of a smart classroom. Around the
world there are a number of innovative learning spaces in
various educational institutions which, given their singularity
and structure, can be considered to be smart classrooms or labs
of didactic innovation, e.g. Stockholm University’s Future
Classroom in Sweden or Universidad Camilo José Cela’s
smart classroom in Madrid.
In order to establish universal principles as guidelines for
the design, arrangement and pedagogical practice in formal
learning spaces, our research group EMA
(http://www.ub.edu/grupema/web_2013/cat/inici.html) carried out a
thorough literature review about learning spaces and their
features regarding architectural, design and pedagogical issues.
In addition we did some research as well on various learning
spaces considered innovative and facilitators of learning in
schools in Stockholm (Sweden), focusing on the analysis of
ICT integration, which resulted in important findings to guide
the design and arrangement of classrooms in a non-traditional
alternative way [8]. At the present time we are extending our
research, in the Catalonia region in Spain, by means of
research on various schools with classrooms organized
differently in terms of space and of pedagogical aims. This
research is reinforcing and widening our knowledge on the
principles that we established.
The following are the principles for smart classrooms in
terms of arrangement and pedagogical configuration which we
have established as widely generalizable and which should be
considered in order to transform any formal learning space into
a smart classroom [9].
1. Flexibility of physical arrangement
The arrangement of a smart classroom and its elements
should be such that it allows agile and easy variations in
activities, that is, make it possible to change student grouping,
the type of resources being used, use of various types of
resources at the same time, ICT and non-ICT, for different
students to carry out different tasks, e.g. searching information,
discussing, watching a video, etc. Para ello las aulas estarán
dotadas de recursos variados y de mobiliario y elementos
diseñados con el objetivo de cumplir con esta flexibilidad en el
espacio. Mesas movibles, sillas plegables y apilables, espacios
ergonómicos, espacios con finalidades diversas, etc.
2. Adaptability
From the idea that every teacher and every class is different,
and that space can be adapted to their needs, the concept of
smart classrooms includes the principle of adaptability to the
type and needs of teacher and of each student. Adaptability has
to do also with a space which enables the inclusion of students
and teachers with special education needs. Para ello las aulas
contarán con artilugios diseñados para el acceso y la atención
a dificultades de aprendizaje diversas, como alumnado con
discapacidad visual, motora, etc.
3. Comfort
A smart classroom should be a place arranged to
comfortably do various activities –reading, watching videos,
playing, listening to music and audios, writing, talking,
debating, experimentation, and so on. Under this principle,
elements which enable this well-being should be included in
the learning space for the various tasks to be done for learning,
such as couches, pillows, rugs and carpets, comfortable chairs,
lecterns, desks and tables of various types, headsets, right
lighting, etc.
4. Multiplicity
This principle refers to smart classrooms having features
which enable the use of various types of resources and stimuli.
While teaching and learning, the arrangement should enable
possibilities for creativity, reasoning, logical thinking, etc., and
it should be adapted as close as possible to learners’ various
needs and learning styles. Thus, it should be an open space
where we can have access to any source of information, either

Bulletin of the Technical Committee on Learning Technology (ISSN 2306-0212) - Publisher: IEEE Tech nical Committee on Le arning Technology
physical or in digital format particularly.
5. Connectivity
The concept of connectivity has a twofold character. On one
hand it is required that the learning space has a good network
connectivity, both local and global, to use to the most the
potential of mobile devices. Connectivity should be wireless,
and this is fundamental to maximize physical mobility around
the space and comfort in using technology. On the other hand,
beyond digital connectivity there exists social and
informational connectivity. Through networks, students live
connected to teachers, friends, family, professionals and to a
large number of information sources, both in their immediate
surrounding and from distant places. This connectivity should
not be underestimated by teachers, who should explore their
possibilities and evaluate to what extent they can contribute to
improving learning space and learning processes. To some
extent this principle can be linked to the theoretical framework
of Connectivism [10].
6. Personalization
Smart classrooms should allow students and teachers to
personalize their environment according to their likes and
needs. Therefore we are not referring to a standard,
impersonal, cold environment, but a space which progressively
teacher and students should make their own, personalizing it
by means of activities which support and reinforce learning.
7. Order / Organization
This is an important principle, even though it is not easy to
design, and attain, sustainable placing, storing, arrangement
and rules of use of spaces and resources available. For this
reason teachers should carefully consider the order and
arrangement of spaces and resources so that these are the most
adequate for the learning activities that will take place in their
smart classroom. At times, a chaotic space may foster
creativity, but in any case this chaos should be controlled and
re-oriented whenever necessary. After each activity is over,
resources should be available to another student, another group
of students, or a different activity.
8. Openness
This principle relates to the false and rooted belief that
learning takes place only in the formal space in the traditional
classroom, where the teacher presents information and gives a
lesson in a transmissive way [11]. Learning however takes
place beyond the classroom space, both physically and
virtually, and therefore activities put forward for smart
classrooms should consider these extended learning places and
learning times in order to learn beyond the classroom and the
class times traditionally assigned.
9. Safety / Security
Learning spaces with heavy technological integration
require that hardware and software have a high degree of
security. Smart classrooms will have an arrangement which
prevents users from having physical accidents and will also be
safe in terms of access to information and communication on
the Internet from the classroom. Therefore security systems
will be taken into account when conceptualizing and designing
smart classrooms.
In sum, the arrangement, structure, methodologies and
principles of smart classrooms intend that learning experience
be as likely as people’s learning ways, preferences and styles,
in a natural way and in a personal space; all this through active
participation, experimentation, collaboration, solidarity,
rapport, creativity, leadership, and so on.
IV. CONCLUSION
The structure and arrangement of traditional classroom
space does not go with changes happened in educational
agents, methodology and social context. Smart classrooms
rethink learning space and learners’ expectations about what
this space, along with resources and methodologies, should be
like. The concept of smart classrooms rests on the intersection
of three axes: design of its space and ergonomy; integration of
ICT in a functional, invisible, justified and intensive way; and
an innovative pedagogical methodology, based on teaching
principles such as collaborative learning, project-based
learning, curricular globalization, students’ autonomy, and
educational co-responsibility. The design and implementation
of a smart classroom should contemplate a flexible structure
adapted to users’ needs, comfortable, with multiple resources,
socially and digitally connective, personalized, tidy, open to its
immediate environment and to the world, and lastly, safe for
its users and safe in its technological equipment.
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Bulletin of the Technical Committee on Learning Technology (ISSN 2306-0212) - Publisher: IEEE Tech nical Committee on Le arning Technology
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