NEWS Nearly one hundred participants joined the digital kickout marking the conclusion of the Learning Lab Hybrid project. The session provided a summary of four years of work exploring and developing hybrid learning environments.
After four years of exploratory work, the Learning Lab Hybrid project concluded with a digital kickout arranged within the network Rum för lärande. Under the theme Hybrid teaching: hype, hope or everyday practice? nearly one hundred participants gathered on Zoom to hear reflections and insights from the project.
Learning Lab Hybrid Umeå is a collaboration between Umeå University and Akademiska Hus aimed at building knowledge about how space, pedagogy and technology can be developed together to support future learning environments. Since its launch in autumn 2022, teachers have been able to test and refine new teaching approaches in the specially equipped room in the Natural Sciences Building, supported by both pedagogical and technical expertise. The project runs until 2026 and a final report is planned for release early next year.
The kickout was moderated by Eva Svedmark, Director and Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Educational Development (UPL). The panel included Karin Fahlquist, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Informatics, Thomas Mejtoft, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Christina Wink, Space Planner at the Property Management Office, and Rasmus Karlsson, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Political Science at Halmstad University.
Åse Tieva, Senior Lecturer at UPL, and Kajsa Winnes, Learning Environment Developer at Akademiska Hus, who have both played central roles in the project, opened the session with an overview of Learning Lab Hybrid’s development from 2022 to today.
During the session, the panel and project team shared broad insights from the work, highlighting both challenges and successes as well as new lessons learned. The discussion illustrated how hybrid learning environments bring together pedagogy, technology and spatial design in ways that are both complex and full of potential.
– Hybrid teaching is no quick fix. It requires thoughtful planning where pedagogy, design and human interaction are key. Technology enables, but pedagogy decides, summarised Åse Tieva.
With the kickout concluded, work continues on compiling the project’s findings. The final report, to be published early next year, will provide a deeper overview of the results and the insights that can support the development of future learning environments.