A School With No Classrooms

 

"There’s a whole new classroom model and it’s a sight to behold. The newest school system in Sweden look more like the hallways of Google or Pixar and less like a brick-and-mortar school you’d typically see.

 

There are collaboration zones, houses-within-houses, and a slew of other features that are designed to foster “curiosity and creativity.” That’s according to Vittra, which runs 30 schools in Sweden. Their most recent school, Telefonplan School (see photos below) in Stockholm, could very well be the school of the future.

 

Architect Rosan Bosch designed the school to encourage both independent and collaborative work such as group projects and PBL. Even the furniture is meant to get students learning. Bosch says each piece is meant to “aid students in engaging” while working.

 

The un-schoolness doesn’t stop with the furniture and layout though. The school has no letter grades, students learn in groups based on their level and not age. Most of all, admission to the school is free as long as one of the child’s parents pays taxes in Sweden and the child has a ‘personal number’ which is like a social security number to our U.S. readers (www.edudemic.com)."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back-to-School Technology Checklist

As the new school year starts up, many of your clients and teachers may be wondering how to integrate technology into their classrooms. Below is a great article and comprehensive checklist from Edutopia to identify technology needs and integration. If you have any clients who are exploring tech in the classroom, this could be a great starting point for them. Take a look and share with others who might find it helpful!

"As the school year begins and teachers inventory their supplies, set up and decorate their classrooms, it's important to think not only about how they will use technology in their classroom, but about how they will ready their classrooms and their procedures for using technology. The following checklist will vary depending on the kinds of technology in use, the access teachers have to technological devices and the nature of services (like wifi) available at the school.

Technology in the Room Full Time

Many teachers are lucky enough to have all-day access to computers or other technological devices in the room. As we're kicking off a new school year, here are some things to think about.

• How will you arrange the room so that all of the students can see the board?
• How will your students travel through the room to avoid upsetting hardware?
• Where can you effectively store your netbooks/laptops/tablets to maximize learning space and provide clear pathways?

Limited Access to Technology

For those teachers who are not lucky enough to have the technology housed in their classroom, there are other situations to ponder.

• If you're signing out a projector to place on a desk from time to time, where should that desk be located? If you'll be sharing a netbook cart, how easily can the cart be navigated through the classroom entrance? Are the desks or tables arranged so that the cart can be placed in a non-intrusive location?
• If there is a mobile projector with the cart, is there a clean, white place to project an image? Is the lighting on this surface conducive to image projection? Will you still want space on your dry erase board or chalkboard to write? In that case, you'll need a separate wall for projecting.
• Another big issue is power. Where are the nearest outlets? Will you need an extension cord? Is there wifi or will you need an ethernet cable to reach the wall? Is there an Internet drop close enough?
• And, finally, what are the procedures for signing out materials and where do you sign them out?

Technology Must-Knows for Back to School

No matter what your access to technology is or the type of technology you are using this year, make sure you are aware of four things:

1. What technology do I have access to and for how long?
2. Who are the point people to talk to about my technology needs or issues?
3. What are the guidelines for teachers? For students?
4. What is my responsibility for the technology? And what is the students' responsibility?

Getting all of the answers to these questions squared away now will allow you to focus on what really matters: teaching! (www.edutopia.org)."

To view the original article, click here.

Active Learning Spaces by Steelcase

While this has been around for a while, the Active Learning Spaces guide by Steelcase is an awesome tool to share with your customers. Filled with insights, thought starters, research, case studies, images and more, Active Learning Spaces is a great starting point for customers to begin the process of bringing their classrooms into the future.

If you haven't already, share this guide with others or take a look if you haven't seen it in a while.

Click here to view Active Learning Spaces.

Enjoy!

Teaching and Learning Experiences in Active Learning Classrooms

In a video from McGill University in Montreal, students and teachers describe their positive experiences in active learning classrooms. Take a look at these powerful end-user insights. Please share with your clients who are looking to create more interactive classrooms of their own!

Steelcase: Design Solutions for Education

Below is a great article from specs+spaces that talks about Steelcase's work with Node and Verb. Take a look and share with your customers. Valuable insights here!

To view the original article, click here.

Steelcase: Design Solutions for Education

08/05/12 Sara McLean | specs+spaces Editor, Dunn-Edwards Corporation, Allied Member ASID, CMG

During NeoCon 2012, North America’s largest design exhibition, Steelcase Education Solutions provided a showcase of collaboration and engagement between student and teacher by introducing a first-of-its-kind table-based collection of classroom furnishings called Verb, and has enhanced its award-winning learning chair, Node. Dr. Lennie Scott-Webber, IIDA, Director of Education Environments at Steelcase, provided more insight into the launches by discussing the need for a more collaborative environment in schools today. “Children need an active learning environment today to be able to get the most out of school. The world has changed but the classroom has fallen behind the times.

This situation has helped inspire Steelcase to form the Education Solutions Group and study trending student behaviors.” Dr Scott-Webber and team found that a traditional classroom environment where there is a typical, rectangular classroom, with students sitting on one side while the teacher presents on the other, creates a culture of passive engagement by the students. On the other hand, the real world is trending toward a collaborative environment where people solve problems and generate new ideas together, driving up innovation.

Verb, the table-based collection of classroom furniture includes table-based learning spaces, each with its own whiteboard. These whiteboards assist in easy-access classroom collaborative settings that also provide students with note-taking surfaces during group projects. Positive aspects of these whiteboards include becoming instant displays for sharing with classmates as well as easy space-dividers during test time. Other furnishings in the Verb collection include instructor stations, which provide adjustable lecterns with storage; student tables, which are chevron-shaped to enhance sight-lines amongst the students and faculty; and board displays, which are easels that display whiteboards.

Node, the award-winning chair from Steelcase, now has even more features including an adjustable-height five-star base with worksurface, a new tablet stand on the worksurface and it comes in nine new signature colors to help schools express their brand. The new signature colors include crimson, purple, green, burgundy, blue, orange, brown, gold and red.

And what about color in classrooms? Steelcase has studied changes in education for years and color is one component that cannot be overlooked. Dr. Scott-Webber, when discussing the classroom environment with me stated that color is coming back into design, “Gone are the days of white walls and dreary setting; children need excitement and one way we added a punch of color into the class room setting is through our Node chair collection. It’s a small dose of color so it’s not overwhelming to the room, and kids are sitting in the chairs most of the time anyway.”

Many studies have been conducted through the years on the best uses of color in the classroom, including research by Dr. Scott-Webber. All concur that color is an important factor in the physical learning environment and impacts student achievement. And though these studies vary somewhat in how much the role of color should play in a class room environment, most recommend a variety of colors within a room to reduce eye strain, boredom and passivity.

The 6 People Needed To Implement E-Learning In Your Classroom

This is a great infographic by Lean Forward for people who are just beginning to integrate e-learning in the classroom. Take a look and see where you can fit in. Can you take on more than one role? This is the perfect starting tool to help you work with clients who are moving into the 21st century classroom. To view the original article, click here.

The Must-Have EdTech Terminology Cheat Sheet

Keeping up with the ever changing technology of the classroom, and the subsequent terminology that comes along with it, can be overwhelming and messy. Check out this great infographic to help you navigate the language of the 21st Century Classroom.

To view original infographic, click here.