Educators and students experience firsthand how today’s students rely on digital technology in flexible learning environments at the ‘Digital Learning Pavilion’
Popular walk-through experience, developed by educational architecture firm SHW Group and SMART Technologies for the Texas School Boards and Administrators Conference, offered hands-on demonstrations for maximizing student potential for learning anytime and anywhere
HOUSTON, October 26, 2009 – From laptops in their bedrooms to iPods in the classrooms, today’s students rely increasingly on digital technology tools in non-traditional learning environments, presenting educators and school administrators with the challenge of maximizing a student’s potential of learning anytime and anywhere. For this year’s Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) conference in Houston, organizers wanted to present a unique platform for addressing 21st-century public education issues and trends, specifically digital learning. The result was the “Digital Learning Pavilion,” an interactive, hands-on demonstration that offered more than 8,000 public school superintendents and officials, teachers, students, parents and other education leaders the unique opportunity to experience first-hand how today’s students are relying on digital technology tools in flexible learning environments.
“Everywhere you look in today’s schools, you see students exploring the world around them with iPods, laptops, cell phones, interactive screen technologies and online social media,” said Gloria Barrera, vice president of educational architecture firm SHW Group and project manager for the pavilion’s architecture. “These digital tools are catalysts for teaching and learning in an era where cutting-edge technical skills and adaptable and flexible environments are paramount. The Digital Learning Pavilion was developed to show teachers how to effectively plug in and power on to meet students’ academic needs.”
With an iPod Touch as their guide and interactive screen technology content to inform, educators, school administrators and other TASA/TASB convention attendees explored a variety of real-world flexible learning environments and scenarios that students encounter on a daily basis. This included a teacher home, student home and a simulated outdoor park.
Conference organizers partnered with SHW Group and SMART Technologies, developers of interactive whiteboards and other group collaboration tools, to design and build the 5,600-square-foot, walk-through Digital Learning Pavilion. SHW Group applied the firm’s extensive knowledge of digital learning environments and sustainable design to create the pavilion structure and graphics, while SMART provided the digital tools highlighted throughout the pavilion. The simulated classrooms featured SMART Board interactive display frames, SMART Board interactive whiteboards, the SMART Response interactive response system and the SMART Document Camera.
“From the beginning, we wanted the Digital Learning Pavilion to be as playful and approachable as it was educational,” said Sarah Biederman, intern architect for SHW Group and one of the designers of the pavilion. “Our approach was to create a bright place for people to explore design and technology in new ways. We wanted to show how something as common as a cell phone could become an extension rather than a hindrance to the classroom. Plus by incorporating color, simple icons and text messaging lingo into the graphics, we were having fun with the language barrier that sometimes exists between teachers and students and how we all learn in different ways.”
“It’s important to develop learning environments that closely match the expectations of today’s learners-digital natives who have grown up in an environment where using computers are second nature,” said Nancy Knowlton, chief executive officer of SMART Technologies. “The Digital Learning Pavilion is an innovative example of the direction in which learning is headed, and reflective of more schools embracing the latest technology products.”
The Digital Learning Pavilion was built start to finish in three days and it created a flexible learning environment in the middle of an exhibit hall. All of the materials used were sustainable, reusable and low maintenance.
“The design applies directly to the challenge our clients face in adapting existing facilities to respond to the needs of today’s learners. Technology and resources exist to help our schools adapt. The digital learning pavilion is the proof,” added Barrera.
To learn more about the pavilion, visit the www.tasa.tasb.org/blog. To learn more about SHW Group, visit www.shwgroup.com.
ABOUT SMART TECHNOLOGIES
SMART Technologies Inc. is both the industry pioneer and market-segment leader in easy-to-use interactive whiteboards and other group collaboration tools. Using SMART products, groups can access and share the information they need to meet, teach, train and present regardless of distance. For more information, visit www.smarttech.com.
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Media Contact: Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424
Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191
