Technologically Savvy: Techstanding: Instructional challenge #2

The Scenario

Your school has just been notified that you have $150,000 to spend on creating a classroom of tomorrow in which teachers in your school will rotate through this space so that everyone has the opportunity to experience teaching in this environment. You are the lead educator and you’re your responsibility to create a "blueprint" of what this classroom would look like and how you would spend the money. The money may be used for equipment, professional development, furniture -- anything that you believe will make this the best learning environment for your students. Your learning space has to reflect both high and low end technological resources, keeping in mind that the teachers who rotate through this space will need to be able to replicate some of what they do in this learning space into their own classroom.

The Instructional Challenge

Your instructional challenge is to draft a plan in which you describe what this environment will look like, how you would spend the money, and how you will create a space that includes both high and low end technological solutions, keeping in mind that this classroom will be a model for other learning spaces in which the schools may not have the money or resources to go completely high end.

The Solution

What would you do to make your classroom more innovative, exciting, interesting ….not boring?

We’ve come a long way from one-room schoolrooms. Today we’re looking towards the classroom of the future. The difference is how the room is configured. Long ago, classrooms were a single room that children learned all their subjects in (math, reading, etc). Now, children are learning in several rooms dedicated to a single subject (math class, English class, music room, etc.). Adults are learning in a single classroom also, but they’re attending topics they chose to take. In other cases, children and adults alike are learning online. However, I’m going to keep the focus on taking a look at classrooms of tomorrow. I’m going to discuss how to reconfigure a single classroom to integrate low and high end technology.

Classroom of Tomorrow ‘Blueprint’

This is just a blueprint, which means you can expand or decrease the amount of products to fit your classroom’s environment. You can also mix the low & high-end technology to create a more dynamic classroom. Remember, depending on the size of your classroom will determine how many low & high-end technology products you will need. So take that into account as you read through this blog. A description of each technology is explained below along with price points.

**As of the date of this blog submission, the prices are accurate.

The classroom will have a flexible partition dividing the room in half. One-half of the room depicts low-end technology and the other half depicts high-end technology. In the low-end technology side, there are three rectangle tables (each sits two people) alongside one wall, six HP Pavilion p6700z CPUs w/HP S1931a Diagonal Widescreen LCD Monitors PCs (loaded with MyiCourse software) on the tables, a portable media presentation cart (one per classroom), six 2 GB flash drives (one per student), a SMART Slate w/Bluetooth (one per instructor), and a TV/DVD combo system on a mobile cart. Each product will have a note on it detailing its functions, where to order it, and how much it cost. Cost of low-end technology room design: $3,807

In the high-end technology side, there is a SMART Board w/projector (one per classroom), a SMART Table (one per classroom) in middle of room, four mobile corner computer desks configured in a circle (depicting group work), four individual pop-up workstations along a wall, and four Amazon Kindles w/Wi-Fi on the bookshelf located along the partitioned wall. Each product will have a note on it detailing its functions, where to order it, and how much it cost. Cost of high-end technology room design: $22,065

With flexible seating arrangements, smart boards, mobile workstations, and various interactive technologies, classrooms don’t have to be ‘boring’ anymore. Classrooms can be innovative and exciting. You can also ‘go beyond’ the traditional classroom environment with online materials that your students can access, research, collaborate, etc. Think of this room as an open source classroom, which showcases principles and practices on openly sharing with anyone who would like to add, change, or use the products in the Classroom of Tomorrow.

$128K will be used for professional development for teachers to learn about their new technologies and, if they need to, they can train their students too.

Given the technologies mentioned in this blog, I would implement the SMART Slate w/Bluetooth. I would start off with using it with a computer, projector, and a screen. This is simple enough because most classrooms are equipped with these devices. When finances permit, I’d add in the SMART Board w/projector combo. This kind of mobile technology would help me to connect with my students on a digital level. I also like the idea of being able to reposition the tables using mobile computer desks. This would allow easy group configurations to allow the students to collaboratively work on group projects.

Partitioned Room: take a room and partition it to cut the room in half. The partition should have an opening in it to allow people to move freely between both sides of the room.

Technology Descriptions

$0 - MyiCourse.com course content management is free with unlimited number of courses you can create. MyiCourse allows you to provide continuing education courses on line, again, at no cost. You have the choice of creating a public or private university. A public MyiCourse.com university allows anyone to view and complete your course(s). However, a private MyiCourse.com university allows only people you invite to view and complete your course(s). A private university would be good for an Intranet website. Who’s accountable for myicourse.com courses? Accountability/responsibility belongs to the course creator(s). The time required to create a course is approximately 60 minutes, depending on the amount of content within the course. For students who complete a course in myicourse.com there is a built-in transcript feature, the student is able to obtain immediate electronic proof of all completed course work.

$10 per student - SanDisk - 2GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive.

$74 per two students - Virco - 30" X 48" Rectangle Table 483048. This table can be combined with like tables into multiple configurations.

$99 – Radius Corner Wood Bookshelf, two-shelf bookcase.

$109 per student - HP S1931a 18.5" Diagonal Widescreen LCD Monitor. Resolution: 1366 x 768, dynamic contrast ratio: 15,000:1, response time: 5 ms, 16:9 aspect ratio for optimal widescreen viewing, anti-glare panel, VGA and DVI-D (with HDCP) connectivity.

$139 per student - Amazon - Kindle Wi-Fi. It has a 6" display with E-Ink technology; supports PDF, HTML, TXT, DOC, DOCX, MP3, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC and MOBI formats; 4GB built-in memory (3GB available for user content); Wi-Fi connectivity. Holds 3,500 Books, quieter page turn buttons, share meaningful passages, PDF reader, easily carry all of your documents on the go, and read-to-me w/Text-to-Speech technology (Kindle can read English-language content out loud to you). Watch video - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Y27P3M/ref=kindlesu-1

$153 per student – Corner Computer Desk, fit this compact, triangular shaped computer desk into a corner, or use it in the classroom in clusters or rows. The corner shape makes room for a computer and separate writing area. You can specify the longer side to the right or the left, or order two of each at a special price to create a cluster. These corner computer desks can be assembled at varying heights between 25" and 33" to accommodate users of all ages. This design works best with laptops or tablets.

$279 – Toshiba 19" class 19SLV411U TV/DVD Combo

$299 per student - HP Pavilion p6700z series CPU. Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, AMD Sempron(TM) 150 processor [2.8GHz, 1MB L2, up to 4000MHz bus], and 2GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [1 DIMM].

$353 - Portable Media Presentation Cart. This attractive wood media cart encloses a full-size media cabinet for A/V presentations on-the-go. Two internal shelves and a storage drawer provide for all your equipment and materials, while the sliding upper shelf accommodates your laptop. The top surface is a perfect place to set up a laptop projector, converting the cabinet to a presentation cart.

$439 - WS200 Bundle, SMART Slate and Bluetooth Wireless Adaptor. The SMART Slate connects wirelessly to your computer, and has a slim design for easy transport around the classroom as you teach. It enables you to control applications wirelessly, and as you use the pen to write on the slate’s surface your handwriting displays on both your computer screen and the SMART Board™ interactive whiteboard. On its own, it functions easily with a computer, projector and screen.

$879 – Flexible Divider Wall, made of polyethylene foam and acoustical fabric that absorbs 80% of human voice sounds. Available in three colors, the fabric is also tackable and Velcro-compatible. A unique ribbed panel design allows this wall divider to roll into place in serpentine fashion with no wheels required.

$1,575 per student - Flip Top computer tables.

$6,499 - SMART Board X885ix with UX60 Projector – 87. The 885ix offers users an extraordinarily natural learning experience that makes it easy to interact with lessons. It enables two users to instantly start working on lessons at the same time, allowing each user to work in a way that is intuitive to them.

$7,999 – SMART Table - The SMART Table is the first multitouch, multiuser interactive learning center for primary students. Designed to encourage collaboration, discussion and consensus building, the table gives early primary students a gathering place to explore digital lessons, play educational games and work together on interactive learning activities. Groups of students can simultaneously touch objects on the surface and enjoy a playful kind of learning. The possibilities for fun and teamwork are limitless on the table – from sliding an elephant across the surface, to following a trail of clues or mapping the human body. And the table’s interface is so intuitive that students can get started on activities quickly and easily. Watch video - http://smarttech.com/table

Photo Area

Amazon Kindle w/Wi-Fi

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Corner Computer Desk (mobile) - Cluster workstation

Photo courtesy of ergoindemand.com – workstation designs

Flip Top tables are offered in Solo (shown with integrated Keyboard Tray)

Photo courtesy of eondesigns.com

Portable Media Presentation Cart

Photo courtesy of ergoindemand.com

SMART Board w/Projector

Photo courtesy of smarttech.com

SMART Slate

Photo courtesy of smarttech.com

SMART Table

Photo courtesy of smarttech.com

Toshiba 19" class 19SLV411U TV/DVD Combo.

Photo courtesy of Toshiba.com

Vicro Classroom Table 30x48. Sits 2 people.

Photo courtesy of edufurniture.com

Links to Additional Technologies Useful in the Classroom

eReaders - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/eReaders/E-Reader-Devices/pcmcat193100050014.c?id=pcmcat193100050014&&initialize=false&sp=-displaydate+skuid&nrp=15&usc=abcat0700000&prids=&cp=1&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1%7E%7Eq70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031%7E%7Ecabcat0700000%23%230%23%2349a%7E%7Ecpcmcat193100050003%23%230%23%2394%7E%7Ecpcmcat223300050025%23%230%23%2346%7E%7Encpcmcat193100050014%23%230%23%23o&_requestid=60276

Microsoft future products demo (video) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIkNcPJuIVY&NR=1

$10K - Microsoft surface table. This surface table is available for purchase later in 2011. The Microsoft Surface® platform enables experiences that change the way people collaborate and connect with a 360-degree interface. And, Microsoft Surface sees and responds to touch and real world objects, with PixelSense™ —supporting more than 50 simultaneous inputs. Microsoft Surface can be used as a table, on the wall, or embedded in other fixtures or furniture. Watch video – http://www.microsoft.com/surface/whatissurface.aspx and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG5n9yJr2Go&feature=related

$300 per student - Samsung - 22" Widescreen 3D LCD computer monitor ENERGY STAR Qualified. 3 ms 3D mode and 5 ms 2D mode response time, 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 300 cd/m² brightness; 1680 x 1050 resolution; DVI and DVI-D inputs; 3D ready. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=6947670640252110488&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=3d+computer+monitors&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960

$499 per student - Samsung - Galaxy Tab 3G (Verizon Wireless). It has a 7" display; works with Wi-Fi and Verizon Wireless 3G network; Bluetooth; Adobe Flash 10.1 support; Android 2.2 OS; measures just 0.45" thin and weighs only 0.8 lbs. Remember, you would have to price out Verizon Wireless’s monthly charge for using their 3G data service. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab

$699 per student - BlackBerry - PlayBook Tablet with 64GB Memory. It has a BlackBerry operating system, Wi-Fi, & Touch-screen display. http://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/ and http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iPad-Tablets/Tablets/pcmcat209000050008.c?id=pcmcat209000050008

$699 per student - Apple® - iPad® 2 with Wi-Fi - 64GB. Same features as the iPad 2 w/3G, but you don’t have a monthly data service fee. Or $829 per student - Apple® - iPad® 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G - 64GB (AT&T). You can add $100 for 1 year of tech support. It has a 9.7" widescreen display; 3G technology and 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; iBooks support; measures just 0.34" thin and weighs only 1.35 lbs. Remember, you would have to price out AT&T’s monthly charge for using their 3G data service. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iPad-Tablets/iPad/pcmcat209000050007.c?id=pcmcat209000050007&&initialize=false&sp=-displaydate+skuid&nrp=15&usc=abcat0500000&prids=&cp=1&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1%7E%7Eq70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031%7E%7Ecabcat0500000%23%230%23%232be%7E%7Ecpcmcat209000050006%23%230%23%238%7E%7Encpcmcat209000050007%23%230%23%233&_requestid=53110

$3,310 per student - Panasonic Toughbook CF-19RDRAX6M 10.4" LED Tablet PC. It’s a tablet and PC in one - a fully-rugged, lightweight, wireless laptop that converts from a powerful notebook PC to a convenient tablet PC with one quick swivel. It can withstand up to a 6-foot drop, weighs only five pounds and has a hand strap. Watch video - http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/fully-rugged-laptop-toughbook-31.asp?tab=gallery&subtab=galleryVideos

References

Bestbuy.com (2011). Apple IPad 2. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iPad-Tablets/iPad/pcmcat209000050007.c?id=pcmcat209000050007&&initialize=false&sp=-displaydate+skuid&nrp=15&usc=abcat0500000&prids=&cp=1&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1%7E%7Eq70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031%7E%7Ecabcat0500000%23%230%23%232be%7E%7Ecpcmcat209000050006%23%230%23%238%7E%7Encpcmcat209000050007%23%230%23%233&_requestid=53110

Bestbuy.com (2011). USB Flashdrives. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from http://www.bestbuy.com/site/SanDisk+-+2GB+USB+2.0+Flash+Drive/8281352.p?id=1171672069828&skuId=8281352

Edufurniture.com (2011). Vicro 30x48 Rectangle Table. Retrieved March 26, 2011 from http://edufurniture.com/products/Virco_30_X_48_Rectangle_Table_483048-160-41.html

Eondesigns.com (2011). Flip Top Table. Retrieved March 23, 2011 from http://eondesigns.com/