‘Learning in the classroom of the future’
Pencil vs Pixel
2015
What does the educational environment of the future look like, now that technological and educational developments are evolving so rapidly? Although there are more possibilities than ever, the actual classroom has hardly changed for decades. Do we imagine our educational environments becoming more virtual and digital, or do we expect a reassessment of tactility, exercise, and learning by doing?
At the request of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and at the invitation of MU artspace and educational institution SintLucas, Studio LONK developed a socio-spatial experiment based on this essential debate. Pencil vs. Pixel translates the thus far primarily verbal arguments into a spatial, tangible, experience.
The design: 2 months, 25 students, 1 teacher, 1 classroom, 1 course and a toolset ranging from 100% analogue to 100% virtual materials. The course: Conditional Design; a design method where you develop a set of rules that in turn generates an unexpected pattern. The teacher: Pieter van Klaveren. The design: a black and white grid architecture, each week equipped with a selection of tools such as large tiles, QR codes and VR glasses. The research: a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the students' response, looking at themes such as attitudes towards learning, interaction with each other, the student and the space, and body awareness and use.