Comments on: Help wanted – Building a new secondary school

By: Gordon

Gordon — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

There is a difference between a school for 2010-2020 and a school for the 21st century.

Start with how teaching and learning should be different and how an environment can empower kids to learn differently. What do we provide to support the kids creativity? Ask the kids to be involved in the visioning of this new facility that they will temporarily occupy.

Seems like above is focused on staff.

By: Kate Klingensmith

Kate Klingensmith — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

I would add webcams and microphones, just in case the laptops don’t already have them.

As a former biology and physics teacher, I would suggest making sure that you have at least one class set of lab probes and laptops. For example, 3 years into teaching I suddenly had access to Vernier computers and probes and 12 laptops – it was almost revolutionary. By ‘probes’, I mean the add-on measuring devices that can be plugged into a mini-computer, such as the Vernier handheld. (ex: pH, thermometers, accelerometers, motion sensors, etc) These can be used for all high school sciences. I’m sure that there are comparable, more suitable and practical sets for middle school. Encourage exploration!!

By: mapowell

mapowell — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Fabulous ideas, but I think that doing that for each classroom is ridiculous. Really. I love technology, I integrate it every chance I get. I have computers in my room, I use my elmo, and I can’t live without a projector. My students text me regularly, some twitter with me, I require that hypotheses and summaries be sent to me by SMS. Many teachers think I am nuts.

Here’s the problem. Many, many teachers view technology as an add-on, and getting it to an integration is a paradigm shift. Loading a school with technology is the last step in a journey. Show me the technology professional development that will push through the wall of reticence held by scared teachers first…make it a district goal and FUND it. Then, let them pick and choose what they need and hold them accountable for using it. On a building level, budget for a 5 year roll-out of tech and wire the building with 9 drops a room, a ceiling plate for a projector, wireless access points (not just dumb hubs).

Frankly, at the end of five years, I expect that projectors and elmos will still be critical, but I wonder if the drops, the docking stations, will all be outmoded by handheld devices like the iPOD for everything but paper and report creation.

The hard part of this scenario? One, I am preaching to the choir by posting on this blog. Two, its easier to fund capital expenses out of PPEL funding than it is to fund PD, which is a general fund expense.

Looking forward to comments….

By: Bill Bass

Bill Bass — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

I’m glad to see that they’re trying to plan ahead. In my district we’re backtracking because our electrical infrastructure simply won’t support all of the technology. We’ve been running new lines and adding more power to our buildings as fast as we can. In terms of stuff, I think they’re list has a good start. If their budget is limited, I suggest setting aside money for ongoing support for the teachers in that building. Not tech support (though that’s important too), but instructional support to tie all the technology to the curricula.

By: Scott McLeod

Scott McLeod — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

I’ll add some initial thoughts here. One of the things that I think often is ill-considered is furniture and room size/layout. The community needs to discuss what kind of learning environments it wants to foster. For example, do its current desk types and arrangements foster or get in the way of creative, collaborative learning (with or without digital technologies)? How reconfigurable does the room and its furniture need to be? Is the room designed to handle multiple visual focal points?

By: Dean Henderson

Dean Henderson — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Go for Promethean. Its the best in the business, hands down. What is more important is not the hardware but the curriculum integration. Check out http://www.prometheanworld.com, then http://www.prometheanplanet.com

By: Jeff Johnson

Jeff Johnson — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

I agree with Scott re: furniture. Why not have tables and chairs with wheels so the room can be as flexible as possible? It's pretty restrictive to have 1930s style desks in any learning environment unless you expect people to sit still for long periods of time. Tables should be shaped so they can function alone or in a group arrangement. I saw an article recenlly about standup desks being used at a school in Minnesota. Pretty progressive thinking. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/us/25desks.html http://www.dwell.com/daily/blog/40440372.html

By: Jeff Johnson

Jeff Johnson — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

As far as technology goes, the building needs to be adaptable. What is “state of the art” today will be ever-so-much-less-so (homage to Homer Price) in a few years. It’s hard to imagine what new technologies will be emerging. Multitouch screens (look up Jeff Han’s preso at the TED conference) were a dream a few years ago and now they are coming into the mainstream. The wall-mounted interactive whiteboard may be replaced by interactive slates – one per student, all connected by RF to a projector. And the slate will have a built-in student response device (“clicker”).

And as Bill said, you will need plenty of electrical capacity and access. I’d go for rooftop solar collectors to offset the added cost of power. Green = good.

By: Matt Balas

Matt Balas — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Some fantastic comments and perspectives on this simple question.

Over the summer I was hired as a Director of a program that has the main goal of motivating students in STEM areas. Since this is a brand new program, I was given a budget and a copy of the curriculum and told to make it happen because students will start in eight weeks. Much like some of you have mentioned, I bought SMART boards, doc cameras, Senteo, laptops, computers, software, etc. I also spent money on professional development for me and my instructors. I have been in countless schools where the new technology equipment doesn’t get utilized because the teachers either don’t know how to use or aren’t comfortable using it.

Teach the teacher so they can teach the students…

By: Michelle Baldwin

Michelle Baldwin — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Wireless-capable handhelds, like the iTouch, in classroom sets. When I think of the things I can accomplish on my iTouch for a variety of tasks, I can only imagine what students would be able to do.

Agree with mobile furniture… students should not be sitting in rows in today’s classrooms. Any setup that would encourage collaboration is good- but you have to be able to move the furniture, and that doesn’t just mean the “seats.”