Technology is all around
us. It permeates our lives in ways both
obvious and obscure. And even more
importantly, it’s advancing at a rapid
pace. Given our familiarity with
technology in our daily lives, as well as the immense benefits that it brings,
why shouldn’t we harness it for the power of education in the classroom? There are countless ways to integrate both
old and new technologies into student learning, and I will be spending the next
year exploring many possible avenues. In
the meantime, though, it doesn’t hurt to plan.
So on that note, how do I envision the physical layout of my ideal
classroom?
For
starters, I would prefer to have the students’ desks arranged in two large
blocks with an aisle in between them.
This would give me the space to traverse the classroom a bit while I
lecture, rather than confining myself to a narrow strip of space in front of
the board. As for my own desk, it would
be situated at the back of the classroom, out of the way of everything else. Importantly, my desk would need easy access
to a wall outlet so that I could plug in a computer, be it a desktop or a
laptop.
Speaking
of electrical outlets, I can speak from personal experience as a student and
say that they are invaluable for people who want to take notes on a
laptop. However, they always seem to be
in short supply, which usually forces me to switch my laptop battery into a low-efficiency
power-saver mode. In other words, access
to outlets can be a huge hassle, and I don’t want my students to suffer through
ordeal. This is why it is essential that my dream classroom
include plenty of electrical outlets on the floor scattered amongst the
students’ desks. Of course, this rule
only applies if the school allows students to use laptops in class.
As
for other technologies, I cannot forget to include various means to present
information to the class during lectures.
First and foremost, I would require a tried-and-true overhead
projector. While they may seem archaic
by some standards, I really appreciate the ability to write on transparencies
and turn them into a sort of dynamic visual element during each lesson (drawing
on maps is a prime example). For those
with more advanced tastes, an ELMO projector could serve a similar purpose,
though I wouldn’t be able to reuse my paper visual aids as effectively as
transparencies. I would, however, be
granted the benefit of color. Perhaps a
ceiling-mounted projector linked with my computer would give me the best of
both worlds. In fact, a truly ideal
classroom would contain all three, giving me plenty of options for presenting
my material.
This
is only a vision, and my reality could vary widely depending on the affluence
and learning climate of the school in which I teach. If there’s one thing I’ve gathered so far, it’s
that flexibility is an important part of the teaching profession. Should it come down to it, I’d be ready to
teach with nothing but a blackboard and printed resources. I’ll have to wait and see.