Studio

The Learning Lab Studio is a cross between a classroom, a video studio, a black box theatre and a maker space. We can move dynamically from hosting a group of PhD students from Physics improving their public speaking skills in the morning to teaching Theatre students to code their own AI bots for avant-garde creative projects. We can teach professional lighting techniques to students in a course on Japanese cinema (at right) and then help an Expository Writing course use visual argument-mapping as a way to understand core moves in academic writing.

One key feature of the studio is the tight relationships between 

• the equipment and materials of the space
• the staff that works in the space, and
• the teaching and learning that takes place there

Usually the experts that design a space, the staff that procures and maintains the equipment, and the teachers and students that use the space are quite separate. And this can slow the pace of innovation. 

But in the Learning Lab, we possess in-house skills (running across the entire team) in media production, full stack development, data visualization, oral presentation, set design, and, most crucially, in teaching and learning. And this sets us up to move very rapidly in response to new developments.  

If we hear of a new AI tool for transcription on Monday, we can write the code for a prototype Tuesday, hang the microphones and route the cables on Wednesday, then design and deliver a workshop designed to take advantage of it on Thursday (and usually it moves more quickly than this!).