Kara Smith's Profile

Traditionally, a learning environment has been a physical space, but the idea of
what constitutes a learning environment is changing. The “spaces” where students
learn are becoming more community-driven, interdisciplinary, and supported by
technologies that engage virtual communication and collaboration. This changing
concept of the learning environment has clear implications for schools, where
learning is the key focus of the space.

The ways we design learning experiences must reflect the growing importance of
innovation and creativity as professional skills.

Assessment continues to present a challenge to educators at all levels,
particularly in the context of new media and collaborative work; evaluating
student work that includes blogs, podcasts, and videos, or establishing how much
an individual student contributed to or learned from a collaborative project, is
difficult.

At many schools today, the technologies named here cannot be used because they
are blocked by content filters.