Never assume…. that the idea you have had (that you think is ‘obvious’) is obvious to everybody!

This was a lesson that was reinforced yesterday, during an exchange of tweets, allow me to explain.

Over the next few years my Organisations is planning to relocate its ‘Training Centre’ (don’t blame me for the name) to a new building. I had a few ideas that I thought might be of benefit during the initial planning/design stages.

Here is an extract from an email that I sent to the building area owner yesterday:

I am aware that the current Training Centre will be relocated to the ‘new building’ at some point in the future and I have some ideas that you may be interested in.

Lose the ICT suite. This only serves to isolate technology from current learning activities as opposed to embedding it within them. It also stands empty for the majority of the time, which is a waste of space and resources. IT access could still be gained by……Provide netbooks/laptops to each learner attending events. These can be kept in purpose built storage/charging trolleys. Coupled with a WiFi connection this will allow learners to connect to the outside world as opposed to relying solely on the knowledge that is being shared amongst the facilitator/delegates, a great example of social constructivism. A modern approach to learning which fits with a modern building.I have also made contact with Professor Stephen Heppell from Bournemouth University who has done some amazing work in redesigning physical learning spaces, most recently for Air Traffic Control training who I know would be able to consult with us.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you require any further clarification on any of these points.

Once I had sent that email, I thought I’d send this tweet

Just contacted L&D team to suggest they 'lose' the ICT suite when the new building is built and provide laptop/netbooks to learners + WiFi.

Which resulted in these tweets in response

@CraigTaylor74 revolutionary. Brings a whole new meaning to 'get out of the classroom' No classroom? RT @CraigTaylor74: Just contacted L&D team to suggest they 'lose' the ICT suite & provide laptop/netbooks to learners + WiFi.

So I thought it might be a good idea to clarify what I meant from my initial tweet and email.

We currently have 3 x training rooms, 2 of which are ‘conventional’ rooms and 1 that is a dedicated ICT Suite

This ICT suite stands empty for approx 95% of the time as truth be told we don’t actually deliver a lot of IT systems training, of course when we do, we need a suitable area in which to deliver it.

We also have a couple of conventional rooms

in which non-IT training takes place and are usually utilised day-in and day-out.

My suggestion of allowing the conventional rooms to absorb the ICT is based upon the following:

As the ICT suite is unused for the majority of the time, it is a waste of not only resources (not least of which is the physical space itself), which is unable to be easily repurposed for other events.The separation from IT and the internet from the conventional training rooms, I believe, exacerbates the opinion that learning and IT are separate from one another, a view that I suspect you Dear Reader do not share?By providing 15-20 laptops/netbooks per room with a WiFi connection (stored in one of those storage/charging trolleys) every room could be quickly repurposed into an ICT suite whenever needed.Most exciting of all however, is the fact that when you place 10 learners and a facilitator into a room you are relying on 11 people’s accumulated knowledge on a given subject. Provide each learner with an organisation approved, WiFi enabled device and all of a sudden that 11 people’s knowledge is now supplemented by access to the internet. Learners can start to realise that learning and personal development need no longer solely rely upon a formal event and a ‘sage on the stage’. Digital literacies can start to be formed and refined.

No cost to the learner in terms of data charges from personal devices, no exclusion based upon the learner being unable to afford a personal device, no waste of physical space by allowing an ICT suite to stand empty, further embedding of learning technologies into what many people consider face-to-face activities.

So what do you think?

Is this another one of my pipe dreams or does it have legs?

Would this work in your organisation?

Why not share your thoughts in the comments box below?

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