designed for learning

Would you want to sit in this for eight hours?

 At ISTE and #140edu I heard a lot about how schools create a clear divide between students' living and learning environments by not allowing students to use their organic technologies such as cell phones and sites like YouTube and Facebook.One of the most personalized thoughts I walked away with from #140edu is that the use, or absence, of technologies is only part of changing the state, or design, of education as a whole.

One of the speeches that catapulted the most reflections and cranial connections at #140edu was from designer creative Christian Long. Holding up a standard classroom plastic chair, Long pointed out that these were devices meant for the practical purpose of stacking and not to cater to the spinal comfort of its customer.

So, let's do some visualization. Think about your classroom (or one you have visited). Does it match much of the criteria that is outlined in this article from School Zone? Here are some ways to think about classroom space:

• The desire is for students to collaborate,  but we separate them into rowed desks when personal space can be given in the form of cubbies or lockers. What socialization tools can be gained by learning how to share table space as an "our" space over a desk that is "my" space.  I started using tables two years ago and would never go back. 

• What if your walls became white walls where students mapped out ideas during collaboration. Bulletin boards were used for function, such as drop boxes and student work galleries. Wordy, graphic heavy posters that inspire distraction rather than genuine inspiration are gone.

• Less is more, it's time to purge my friend. Teacher desks have not been designed for real-life function post 1980; they are the shoulder pads of your classroom. Cut the chord, get creative. Use a smaller surface like a computer desk if needed (mine sits in the back of the room on wheels so it can be pushed against the wall) Get some magnet boards and spice containers for supplies like paper clips and use one shelf in your classroom closet for other every-day use items. When you need to work, spread out on student tables or relocate to the library. (Only if publishers shared this thought by making curriculum packages that had less than five pieces to store and manage.) 

 While in NYC for #140edu I visited the Google offices and was surrounded by space that was designed for thinking and collaboration. Walls in meeting rooms could be written on, healthy snacks were served freely and common areas for brain breaks include Lego's, ping pong tables and areas for exercise. If this is the ideal working environment for adults, why wouldn't we create this same type of environment for our children? When I day dream about the ideal classroom I think about if artists like Frank Llyod Wright, Mies van der Rohe or Davin Stole would take on the ultimate challenge of designing a functional learning space for students and adults. I would only assume that technology would be one of many considerations to their complete composition.

Other articles for classroom design:
From Really Good Stuff Blog
Some advice from Reading Teachers
2009 Open Architecture Challenge:Classroom
Incredible Teacher's Lounge transformation
Expanded thoughts and studies from Jane MacGregor (pdf)