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ACTIU Berbegal y Formas, S.A.
New spaces for the education of change

New spaces for the education of change

AUGUST 2021 | 4 minutes

Now that the summer holidays are over, the current situation calls for maintaining virtually the same measures that safeguarded schools from the virus throughout the last school year. A new school year is kicking off with all the Covid-19 prevention protocols in place for a safe return to school for students and teachers alike. The experience acquired since the start of the pandemic is a plus.

The last year and a half has seen the acceleration of a landscape that was already on the horizon and that has highlighted the need to undertake the transformation of education: applying new learning methodologies, designing new spaces and integrating technology and digitalisation in the teaching process.

The Journey of Education sets out how these new learning spaces should be. The document has been drawn up by Actiu, in collaboration with a panel of multidisciplinary experts, each of them a benchmark in their respective professional fields as they are trailblazers in driving the transformation of education.

DOWNLOAD GUIDE: The Journey of Education
In order to design optimal educational spaces, where learning and well-being go hand in hand, we have published this Guide: The journey of Education, supported by the voices of experts from all fields associated with the sector.
DOWNLOAD GUIDE: The Journey of Education

 

Six years ago, Fernando Sansaloni, Educator and Head Teacher of the Cotes Baixes Secondary School, undertook the process of changing the school's organisational model and aspects that hindered the implementation of new learning methodologies such as obsolete subjects, teachers specialising in a single subject, rather limited timetables or an assessment system that did not take soft skills into account, which are fundamental in any learning process.

The Director of the Department of Health Architecture and Equipment at Ramón Esteve Estudio,  Ana Boscá, puts forward new architectural proposals. She explains how architecture has traditionally been static but now it must respond to the flexibility needed in classrooms and, in particular, the adjacent or complementary spaces that add value: a library, canteen, corridors, entrance hall, outdoor spaces, all become part of learning, going beyond the traditional classroom as the only space for acquiring knowledge.

The global pandemic has also been an accelerator for the creation of flexible, collaborative and fluid products. It has forced us to think about furniture for these fluid spaces, as sought by education, no longer in the future, but in the present, where technology and digitalisation are fully integrated, states Marcelo Alegre, Product Design Engineer and CEO of Alegre Design.

Jorge Vergel, Founder, CEO and Director of Kassani Diseño, with more than 25 years' experience as a specialist in equipping educational spaces, highlights that the pandemic has taught us that there are different ways of learning. People and schools learn to evolve, to adapt and to adjust to these new situations.

In this regard, new technologies, agile methodologies and the constraints of the new normal are also having, and will continue to have, a transformative effect on education spaces.

The agile methodology is based precisely on the assertiveness and responsibility of each team member. It involves prioritising projects and results, allowing for autonomy, freedom and flexibility. In order to be able to work practically in this way in the classroom, Actiu has created Agile Collection, an innovative concept with solutions to quickly and efficiently redesign a space to adapt work and study environments to the new agile methodologies.

Space has a lot to contribute to the transformation of education. The design and layout, as well as the choice of furniture, has a positive impact on collaboration, creativity, productivity and general well-being. This is also true for the use and optimisation of every square metre.

And, if every square metre is put to good use, it is of the utmost importance to ensure the quality and safety of these educational environments. Gaia by Actiu®, is a smart platform that equips workspaces with sensors to obtain data on usage and environmental conditions, allowing for the necessary measures to be taken when managing an educational institution.

The last year has therefore given way to a new landscape and new needs: social distancing, safeguarding health and increasing digitalisation. Hybrid teaching (remote + face-to-face) is now a reality. Any space can be used for learning and technology is a fundamental part of the new pedagogical dynamics. All learning takes place in some kind of physical environment, therefore, the characteristics of that environment can, and do, have a significant effect on educational outcomes. Now, more than ever, there is a need to put in place The Journey of Education with a view to ensuring learning under optimal conditions.