Interaction is the key

The University of Adelaide's commitment to an unrivalled on-campus experience is best illustrated in Hub Central, billed as "the most dynamic learning space" for students in the country. Professor Denise Kirkpatrick, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) explains why.

Walking through Hub Central on the North Terrace Campus, visitors and colleagues remark with surprise and admiration on the large numbers of students working independently and collaboratively, with and without technologies. And they are working, not just chatting.

The low but lively buzz assures us that it is possible to create environments that they use independently in which individuals and groups of students are actively engaged in learning. Many of us are reassured, and believe that this is just the beginning, and that we can translate what we have learned about the creation of such spaces to encourage higher levels of interaction and engagement across a range of learning environments.

But it isn't just about the creation of physical and virtual spaces and environments. What else can we do to encourage higher levels of interaction between learners, content and their teachers? Today's students are highly connected - technologically and socially - and it is in our interests, as well as our students, for us to understand how to transfer this connectedness to learning contexts. In this way we will be able to ensure that our students can truly learn anywhere, anytime, in ways that best meet their needs.

Another noticeable feature of student use of the Hub is the variety and extent of technology being used: iPods, iPads, tablets, smart phones, laptops, PCs. The Science Faculty's iPad initiative provides all commencing students with an iPad and the assurance that these will be a central part of their learning. For technology to make a real contribution to student learning it has to be used actively and to add value to the on-campus experience. That is our focus at the University of Adelaide.

Collaboration tools allow students in different locations to work together, discuss, share documents and artefacts. Such tools also allow students who are close to share work, work on joint projects and develop the distributed collaboration skills that today's workplace requires.

We can use these tools to bring together students from the same course and to connect our students with others studying similar courses in other universities. It also allows students to interact with academics, practitioners and researchers at other institutions, expanding their network of learning mentors and learning relationships.
Our challenge is to re-imagine learning - to be more creative and open in our thinking about how we can use new technologies to create dynamic, vibrant learning environments and communities. To use tools to offer challenge, engagement and deep, rich learning experiences. Using these technologies just because "they are there" is insufficient - just as it is not enough to incorporate them in our teaching only because students need to learn how to use them now and in the workplaces of the future. This is necessary, but we should aspire to do more. As we develop better understanding we must share our learning, and learn from each other.

We shouldn't forget that what works for students as learners also works for us as staff.