The 2.0 World of Learning
First there was Web 2.0, then Business 2.0 and more recently Library 2.0. In a recent issue of Educause Quarterly I’ve just read about Commons 2.0 that “brings together a wide range of elements to foster student learning in new and creative ways….[with] the freedom of wireless communication, flexible workspace clusters that promote interaction and collaboration, and comfortable furnishings, art, and design to make users feel relaxed, encourage creativity, and support peer-learning.”
The evolution of the 2.0 world corresponds with the evolution in the way we provide services and resources. The 2.0 concept also reflects the variety of collaborative ways and spaces in which learning takes place. It certainly reflects the learning styles of our millennial students who are comfortable with new technologies, communicate electronically, and use social networking sites to create their own learning experiences. Commons 2.0 author Bryan Sinclair suggests five guiding prinicples for Commons 2.0: open, free, comfortable, inspiring, and practical.
At SUNY Cortland we have an extended area on first floor of the library designated as the Learning Commons. Our Commons meets Sinclair’s 2.0 criteria and is consistent with his 2.0 principles. Our Commons is close to the library cafe so students can easily bring food and beverages with them. The Commons has wireless access and is attractively designed with chairs that are comfortable and furniture that is flexible. However, students must leave this appointed area to find books and periodicals, check out laptops, use mobile technologies, and create media projects — all part of the 2.0 experience. Hence our library director maintains that the entire library is the Learning Commons. Should that notion be extended to include the entire campus? Beyond the campus? Anywhere formal or informal collaboration and learning are takes place? Diana Oblinger’s 2006 e-book Learning Spaces is an excellent resource for examining the convergence of space, technology and pedagogy in the 2.0 environment.
The 2.0 world is changing as new technologies and media formats foster greater opportunities for interaction and shared learning. As providers of technology and information we must continue to understand our students and how they learn. We need to engage others on campus to assure that spaces being built and redesigned do encourage the 2.0 approach to education.