The return to school coincided with the first consecutive days of sunshine I’d experienced since Slovenia. At the end of last term I had decided to replace the orange monolith (which had previously been full of a colleague’s resources and simply served as a display board) and mini stage with another computer workstation, primarily to be used by learners to record and edit video off the network.
I was overjoyed to see the space released by removing these two items. Now I had a large display area between whiteboard and door as well as space (and power) for a small desk in the future. This display space is the most prominent in the entire room so I wanted to make its contents stand out as well as be accessible to my learners to allow them to evolve the content and take responsibility for recording their class’s development. I intend to try SOLO taxonomy with a number of my classes this session and have put up a few items to get started with thanks to the inspiration of Tait Coles, Darren Mead and Pam Hook.
I also wanted to increase my visibility to learners and other educators so I’ve taken the simple step of putting my timetable on the door. This is nothing spectacular as I remember my university lecturers doing the same but hope that this will reduce unnecessary email asking where I am hiding!
Before the end of last session I also began to investigate recommended reading lists for learners. Not necessarily textbooks but non fiction (and fiction hopefully!) that are related to the field of Computing Science and ICT. I plan to liaise with the school librarian to ensure copies are available or put on the wish list for the future.
Also to enhance learner engagement with the wider community I intend to put up a list of computing-related events going on the local area. I also want to make further use of the digital frame in the corridor to display pupil work, thought process and reflection.
By removing a few items of furniture I’m hoping to enable my learners to interact with the classroom environment rather than be served by it which, on reflection, is how I approached my classroom design last year. And while I mean interact in the most low-tech way possible, the newly rejuvinated gyromouse and Promethean tablet may help in their own way too.
