Group items tagged

"The first thing that stands out upon arrival at Hellerup School, where 640 students between the ages of 6 and 16 study on the former site of the Tuborg brewery in Denmark, is the absence of a fence separating the school from the street. Inside, there is no office to greet visitors. Instead, small shoes litter the floor and children of all ages sprawl on couches doing homework, play foosball or run about the open space that substitutes for classrooms. "

"What does a public school classroom have in common with a museum exhibition hall? The answer has nothing to do with oversized models or informative laminated labels - and everything to do with the joy of learning."

I have come to see a disturbing trend among some teachers' work environments. I've come to hear how some teachers feel like prisoners to their Professional Learning Communities. 

non-training learning using social media

"This paper will discuss the benefits, problems, and possible solutions to teaching a Microeconomics class in a completely paperless classroom. The use of the iPad is examined as a tool to move students from the typical technology infused classroom into a truly mobile environment. "

In many classrooms, the picture is all too familiar: desks in rows, a clear front of the classroom, podium off-center in the front, etc.. Does this image speak to the beliefs we state about 21st Century Learning? Are these spaces best capable of fostering the development of our vision for a well-educated global citizen? Have the spaces been intentionally designed in a way that supports learning and teaching?

As building work gets underway for a new school, Gareth Nutt, head of property and regeneration at Neath Port Talbot council, describes its unusual circular design. The classrooms in this new school will be circular so all pupils feel included. The building environment is controlled with windows which automatically open when rooms get too hot. This clip was first published on BBC News Online on 15 January 2009. Please note this clip is only available in Flash.

"As educators continue to weigh the many considerations attached to allowing student-owned handheld devices on campus, Speak Up asked parents what good they think the use of mobile technologies would have on their children's education."

Interesting to look over the perceptions reported by parents.

Image gallery of learning spaces built by some Australian schools

A series of four ILE Expos held across Victoria in 2010 focused on exemplary practice in new or modified spaces at different ages and stages of learning.

"This ongoing series by English photographer Julian Germain, entitled Classroom Portraits, began in schools in North East England in 2004. Since then, Germain has taken large-scale portraits of classrooms from North and South America, Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East and has amassed an impressive 450+ portraits of schoolchildren in over 20 countries."

"The Alliance for Excellent Education recently released Culture Shift: Teaching in a Learner-Centered Environment Powered By Digital Learning. The report advocates that a culture shift to a learner centered classroom environment is needed to prepare students to meet the challenges and demands of a global economy"