Types of Learning Environments

I apologize for the delay in posting this. It’s been that kind of week (too much going on and not enough time to get it all done).

Here’s my shot at identifying different learning environments. We’ll see how this goes.

Community Learning Environment: This is a screenshot of my Twitter feed.  I think when used to interact with people, Twitter is an example of a community learning environment, though it is a curated presentation of information based on who the user has chosen to follow (with some sponsored content as well). The opportunity for individuals and groups to use Twitter to chat and share information, and to archive information through the use of hashtags, is what struck me.

Group Learning Environment: Below are a couple of pictures of a classroom at SWOSU in which I occasionally teach. That seems like a quintessential type of group learning environment in my mind, in that it is designed to create a group via class discussion, but the table and chairs are moveable, thus allowing for smaller group discussions within the larger group setting.

Personal Learning Environment: Below is a picture of my SWOSU office, where a lot of learning (still) happens for me, and in this space, I often move things around on my desk, the shelves, etc. as I need to in order to facilitate my own learning and the learning of my students. It is both personalized to make me comfortable and personal since I am the sole occupant.

Organizational Learning Environment: I had to think about this one, but I think a university library would be an example of an organizational learning environment for a university. I think this type was a bit harder for me to grasp until I thought of the library, since it is a kind of learning hub where groups (whether those groups are classes, study groups, or even clubs) and individuals can study and learn. Here’s an image of SWOSU’s library (taken from Google).