From interactive whiteboards to tablets, tech-savvy classrooms offer new opportunities to enrich the educational experience. Without the best classroom layout, however, a learning space can impede technology access, visibility, and effectiveness.
To ensure each classroom supports your school's technology investments, Business Interiors by Staples offers these tips:
1) Be a traffic cop. Students need clear visual access to whiteboards and other technologies. Overcrowding, jumbled desk layouts, and heavy, inflexible furniture can dampen the experience, so ensure intuitive layouts and open traffic patterns to maximize the technology's usefulness.
2) Power up. The growth of wireless connectivity and mobile devices has reduced the need to make space for a jumble of cables near furniture. When you install new classroom furniture, look for products that have built-in power outlets and other charging mechanisms.
3) Light the way. Classroom lighting requirements change along with technology. Avoid screen glare and prevent eye strain by dimming lights and lowering shades and blinds as needed.
4) Use mobile furniture. Today's classrooms often accommodate multiple audiences for different purposes. Lightweight, mobile, and nesting furniture makes it easier to transition classrooms between purposes. Mobile furniture in particular provides good visibility to classroom technology.
5) Encourage collaboration. Informal learning areas and touchdown stations allow spontaneous interaction outside the classroom. This fosters collaboration among students and staff while supporting tablets and other mobile technology.
