 |
|
 |
|
|
Archive In this section you will find our newsletters, articles written for publication and other resources that may be of wider interest. Distribution of texts (in full, not in part) is encouraged and is subject to our free creative commons licence. In some cases, other conditions may apply. Where that is the case, we encourage you to make a link to the relevant article.
Articles Spatial awareness: reimagining new spaces for learning By shaping the system to the student and giving up control in favour of innovation and enthusiasm, it is possible to recreate new and more successful spaces for learning. Sean McDougall looks back to the Victorians, and then takes us on a trip around the globe to reveal insights into how to make school somewhere that students really want to be, using case examples of stakeholder engagement with design to illustrate.
Furniture for the Future There is no animal on Earth that chooses to sit with a straight back, a right-angled bend at the hips and a right-angled bend at the knee. The only reason why we do it is because it makes it cheaper to produce and transport furniture. 160 years ago, furniture was designed around what is actually going on in your back as you sit.
One tablet or two? Opportunities for change in educational provision in the next 20 years. What two objects might we put forward for the British education section of this galactic museum? Some would argue for a piece of chalk and a marker pen. Others would argue for a cane and an ASBO... I'm tempted to call for a couple of tablets - one made of slate, the other a battery-powered PC.
Publications “For the first time, ordinary people in Cork have been using the design techniques that led IBM to abandon super-computers in favour of the PC, and established Apple as the coolest company on the planet. They have shown incredible innovative spirit and proved that design techniques can be used to address acute social needs in Ireland. If the state wants better outcomes and better social services, all it has to do is change the way in which it talks to people.” (From news release)
The 360 degree flexible classroom - coverage from the Observer “Inside a dingy-looking prefab hut near the Toxteth area of Liverpool, an experiment is determining the shape of things to come; or at least the shape of the world as British schoolchildren will know it. A new teaching system, revolutionary in more than one sense, has been developed and tested in secret. Known as the 360 degree flexible classroom, it challenges the techniques used by teachers down the ages.” (The 360 degree classroom was the centrepiece of a national campaign that Sean ran for the UK Design Council, demonstrating how good design can be used to improve educational outcomes.)
Literature review: ”The impact of school environments”, with accompanying news release 'The greatest risk we face is that future generations will see these buildings as failures – late 20th century shells round 19th century systems. Our starting point should be the ideal educational experience for a 21st century economy and society. That means working with staff and students from earlier than we do now, helping them to envisage appropriate and more effective educational methods and supporting them as they prepare for change'
Transcripts Designing for change.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
 |
|||
