ABSTRACT
A school turned inside-out and dispersed into a city could be made more viable by embedding digital interactions in physical and natural elements. The ‘Internet of Things’—the digital augmentation of everyday physical objects such as screens, sensors, devices, clothes, bikes, plants, etc. – can create fluid forms of wayfinding, exploration and discovery. The Distributed School model of schooling challenges existing approaches to safeguarding. A distributed school model is harder to build a wall around; however, the expectation of this provision is not universally applied. This dispersed schooling approach also touches on a broader question regarding the impact of digital technology on education—one faced by universities most keenly. Digital technology can unlock a more fluid use of space, and a richer and more complex form of teaching and learning. Making it really work for our spaces and places of learning, as well as our towns and cities, could facilitate such a transformation.
