EDUCAUSE Homepage
The EDUCAUSE Showcase Series
The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game

The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game

Published:: Monday, April 18, 2022

The blended campus required after two years of upheaval calls for out-of-the box thinking about what to keep and what to discard from both digital and physical work and learning spaces. Technology leaders face critical decisions regarding workplace culture, physical classroom design, and traditional campus spaces.

Culture Eats Technology for Breakfast

EDUCAUSE Horizon Report | Teaching and Learning Edition

As students’ expectations and needs have shifted, campus leaders realize the imperative to expand hybrid courses. Successfully navigating this transition requires technology adjustments, yes, but also cultural changes regarding remote work, skills-based learning, cybersecurity, sustainability goals, and degree value.

See the Horizon Report

Professional Development for Hybrid/Remote Teaching. Requires new libraries .9; Cost 2.1; Instructor/student receptiveness 2.3; Risk 1.0; Impact on learning outcomes 3.5; Addresses equity and inclusion 3.3.

(Some) Classroom Walls Crumble

Making the move from fully in-person instruction to a learning environment that also accommodates remote students (and remote faculty) requires rethinking and redesigning physical learning spaces to provide an equitable experience for all learners. Technology leaders will need to overcome sizable obstacles to create inclusive classrooms that enable faculty and students to reap the many benefits of hybrid learning.

See the EDUCAUSE QuickPoll: Learning Spaces Transformation

Academic building in front of a wall of screens. One side of the building is a pile of rubble.

Types of Learning Spaces Being Transformed. Small classrooms 52%; Spaces for remote classes 52%; Libraries 50%; Lecture halls 44%; Study spaces 44%; Experimental learning spaces 42%; Discipline-specific labs 39%; Gathering spaces; 36%; Residential spaces 20%; Hallways and foyers 16%. EDUCAUSE QuickPoll / Learning Spaces Transformation, 2022.

Space Becomes a Commodity

In a world of hybrid, virtual-and-physical learning, space itself becomes a service. For example, academic library leaders have an opportunity to reimagine traditional campus spaces, including desktop computer labs, to create environments that will be flexible enough to provide what students need now.

Read "Moving to Mobile: Space as a Service in the Academic Library"

'In an academic environment that is shifting to hybrid learning modes, LIBRARIANS MUST REIMAGINE THEIR SPACE ... questioning the viability of every existing space.' - Steven J. Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University Libraries

Hear from the Community

Every Learner Everywhere "Planning for a Blended Future"

EDUCAUSE Demo Day | LMS Platforms

Flexspace.org

Member QuickTalk | Showcase Coffee Shop

Missed the Member QuickTalk | Showcase Coffee Shop: The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game? Access the recording to hear from institutional leaders as they explore digital and physical work and learning spaces. And don't forget to view the sequel!

Go Further

Dig Into the Library

Interact with the Community

Community Group: Learning Space Design
Community Group: Blended and Online Learning
Community Group: Instructional Design
Community Group: Instructional Technologies

From this Showcase, we hope you'll take away a new understanding of how digital and physical work and learning spaces can be optimized at your institution.

Next up, we'll explore the state of artificial intelligence in higher education. Tune in to AI: Where Are We Now? launching June 6.