Building the Future of Learning

Could it be that in our excitement about e‐learning we forgot about buildings? With the advent of the personal computer and ubiquitous networks were we enticed into thinking that they would suffice and learning would follow removing the need for places and communities for learners? We now seem to have woken up, however, as there is an enormous resurgence of interest in new building in Universities, Schools and Colleges — a real opportunity to ‘build’ our learning futures. But if the interest is just in building then it's an opportunity lost. However, if it is about transformation, place and community we could create the connected learning society, both physically and virtually, that we aspire to. New 21 st century buildings and refurbished spaces should reflect our educational approaches and philosophies and, even more importantly, they should not disable tomorrow's possibilities. The buildings that we build today can prevent us from doing what tomorrow might become the dominant ways of working and learning. Our buildings should combine educational ideas, with imaginative technology and architecture to create the learning futures we wish to see. The Saltire Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University, which opened in January 2006, started from the premise of a building that is flexible and does not disable the future. The building, through its variety of spaces, embraces learner differences and supports a concept of learning as a social process putting human social interaction and conversation at its heart. This article uses the Saltire Centre as a case study to illustrate how some current key ideas in educational thinking can influence the learning facilities that we provide.