HoverCam has announced that its new Pilot X digital teaching station is now shipping. The teaching tool enables teachers to interact with and share content to displays in the classroom without being tethered to a computer or display.  The Pilot X combines a tablet computer with an Intel CPU, wireless 4K presentation capabilities, microphone, and a fold-out document camera in one  wireless station.

With the HoverCam Pilot X, teachers and presenters can work from a mobile teaching podium featuring a slide-out keyboard.  The 13-inch, 10-point-touch tablet can be unlocked and used anywhere in the classroom.  The system includes HoverCam's 4K 13MP document camera that folds out.  A built-in wireless HDMI transmitter beams content to any interactive flat panel, projector, or display in resolutions up to 4K, while HoverCam's ClassFusion software enables interactive whiteboarding and annotation for lesson recording. 

More information on HoverCam and their full line of products is available at hovercam.com.

NorvaNivel, an education company (www.norvanivel.com) known across Australia for its “Agile Classroom,” recently launched in America. The TX-based company designs, manufactures (100% made in the U.S.) and installs learning spaces that cater to students’ individual needs and learning styles and subject matters such as computer learning, STEM and STEAM.  

Through the use of agile furniture such as contemporary tables, workspaces, stools, bookcases, caddies and seats, each space can be rearranged and transformed into a different learning setting in just seconds.

The following videos help to visualize NorvaNivel’s overall concept within the classroom:

 Penrith Christian School .mov

 St Luke’s Catholic College.mov

Spectrum Industries Inc. introduces its newest lectern, the SLIM Lectern.      

The SLIM Lectern is Spectrum’s thinnest lectern that aims to convert any classroom into a lecture hall. Its two shelves can store and hold laptops, iPads, and other learning materials; it also features AV cutouts and rack units to facilitate integrating technology. 

Spectrum’s newest lectern is available in a variety colors from Spectrum’s Expressions Line.

Seville Classics, a supplier of ergonomic standing desks, announces the expansion of its AIRLIFT® line of sit-to-stand desks.

Offering more range, the AIRLIFT® S3 Electric Standing Desks feature a three-section frame that rises from 24.8 inches to a maximum height of 51.4 inches. The desks include dual motors that lift up to 264 lbs. at 1.49 inches per second. The desks also feature a curved desk top (54" x 30") that is available in a black, white, or walnut finish. A push-button controller stores up to four height settings.

Launching in October 2018 will be the AIRLIFT® S3 with gray base, providing users with the option to select between gray, black, or white bases. The AIRLIFT® S3 is available now for $529.99.

[How Classroom Design, Technology and Furniture Can Enhance Student Learning]

Also being introduced is the AIRLIFT® Gas-Spring Corner Standing Desk Converter Riser. Seville Classics’ corner converters feature a tapered top that is ideal for cubicles and corner desks. The AIRLIFT® gas-spring pneumatic system lifts up to 33 lbs. and provides nearly 12.9 inches of height adjustment. The desk converter also offers an extra-wide desk top (43" x 23") that fits multiple monitors and laptops, and includes a detachable keyboard tray. The AIRLIFT® Gas-Spring Corner Standing Desk Converter Riser is available now for $229.99.

Seville Classics’ AIRLIFT® S3 Electric Standing Desks and AIRLIFT® Gas-Spring Corner Standing Desk Converter Risers can be purchased via www.sevilleclassics.com.

At a CTO summit this summer, I joined a group of educators discussing the effect of spatial design and furniture selection on learning. It was clear that attempts to influence learning by changes to spaces and furniture had not always met with success. One tech director described how the new flexible furniture was still being arranged in the same uniform rows as the old table-arm desks. He was frustrated that the time and effort to remodel the space appeared to have been wasted.

The facilitator in the CTO discussion, Maureen Miller, has not yet had the opportunity to fully renovate all classrooms at Winnetka School District 39, in Illinois (the District is just completing an educational facilities master plan). However, her district was successful in encouraging students and teachers to innovate and modify their current spaces. The district has given away design grants for teachers to modify their spaces and furniture. Maureen shared that teachers have implemented improvements like flexible furniture and marker boards on horizontal rails, to enable the existing spaces to be more adaptable.

When I visited this Maureen’s district a few years back, there was a sense of excitement from students. I saw examples of students energetically attacking unstructured problems and taking ownership in their learning assignments. Two of her students recently served as panelists at Tech and Learning Live Chicago.

A school renovation project I was involved in underscores the role of spatial design in supporting instructional practice. In addition to my District CIO role at a past school district, I was also the building committee co-chair for a complete high school renovation.

[What’s New: New Tools for Schools]

As the building design team grappled with the possibilities for technology, furniture and spatial layout of classrooms, we decided to create prototypical classrooms. Teachers could sign up and use the prototypical classrooms, have their classes experiment with audio-visual technology, and try out student desks, student chairs and teacher furniture. They could also check out a breakout room for small-group discussion.

Student and teacher feedback influenced the selection of student desks, chairs and the teacher’s station. The labs also helped the design team to refine the materials for the room, ultimately settling on full-height marker surface on two walls, and tackable surface on a third wall.

Earlier this spring, I toured the renovated high school, about 6 years after it was completed. I saw students working individually and in groups, in breakout rooms, in hallways, and throughout the classrooms. The math department chair told me about students working out math problems on every available writing surface, including desks, the marker surfaces, and even on windows.

My site tour showed a school where spatial design, technology and furniture combined to enhance individualized student learning. What made this deployment successful when others in my summer discussion were still looking for results? From my experiences in this district, I know that individualized student learning was already taking place before the renovation. In discussing this question with the math department chair, he remarked that the push for individualized learning was really driven by the classroom teachers, with leadership by department heads, and strong support from curriculum and administration. Classroom teachers were ready for the renovation because they had already been planting the seed of innovative instruction in the existing high school.

Winston Churchill said, “we shape our buildings and afterward they shape us.” However, Churchill was referring to how to rebuild the House of Commons, which had been badly bombed at the end of the Battle of Britain, during World War II. He worried that if the shape of the House of Commons were changed by expansion, it would change the look and feel of the proceedings there. He was not trying to create a new type of behavior. In his mind, the crowded, intimate setting of the House of Commons meeting room encouraged the kind of healthy debate that was already taking place there. He felt that debate was essential to Great Britain’s democratic process and should be sustained.

In the same way, I think the redesigned high school I visited was encouraging the type of healthy instruction that was already taking place there. A new school design would not necessarily have led to new instructional methods, but the new design did make it easier for teachers to allow students to flourish.

Wherever you are at in the design and renovation process, I encourage you to develop a wholistic approach to your thinking about the elements of technology, furniture and spatial design. Start with your instructional direction, then use of all three elements to foster the type of instruction your district desires. While these elements by themselves will not generate changes in instructional practice, they will certainly provide the soil to nurture best-practice instruction, to the ultimate benefit of your students.

Craig Williams has 30 years of experience working with schools, focused primarily on providing visionary consulting and support. A former school CIO, Craig emphasizes pragmatic improvement in all areas of IT, from internal infrastructure, to effective instructional software and public-facing technologies. He is the Director of Infrastructure Consulting Services for Client First Consulting Group (www.clientfirstcg.com).

Peerless-AV® announces the launch of its Motorized Collaboration Cart (SR598ML3).

The Motorized Collaboration Cart now integrates the use of actuators, making it easy for users to raise and lower touch-enabled displays. Designed for applications such as education and corporate settings, the cart interacts with touch-enabled technology.

The Motorized Collaboration Cart is ADA-compliant, offering display height adjustment up to 25.6". The Motorized Collaboration Cart is UL962 listed and features a safety limit function, which automatically reverses direction when a collision is detected in an upward, downward, or lateral force.

[What’s New: New Tools for Schools]

The Motorized Collaboration Cart offers a six outlet, 2160 joule-rated surge suppressor and a 15-foot pre-installed cord in the rear of the cart, as well as a large enclosure with space for small PCs, additional cables, and keyboards, and an opening for external WiFi antenna. The base is designed to fit easily through doorways, but does include rubber bumpers to prevent damage to walls and doors.

For more information about Peerless-AV’s Motorized Collaboration Cart, visit https://www.peerless-av.com/en-us/professional/products/sr598ml3.

Spectrum Industries Inc. introduces its newest active learning solution, the TechCenter.

The TechCenter is available as either a single (27.75” wide) or double (51” wide) unit. There are a number of different display options, including optional dry erase boards and the ability to hold up to two 70” monitors. This new product features a removable rear locking panel that provides access to an optional 12 RU rack cube that can hold all AV or IT equipment.

[Spectrum's New Flex Active Flip Table Introduced]

The TechCenter offers an optional power module featuring two power outlets and two USB ports. Electrical options include the Power Switch, eLogix Timer, or the PowerProdigy to charge multiple devices. The TechCenter is ETL listed to the UL60950-1 standard.

Spectrum Industries Inc. has introduced the Flex Active Flip Table, a revamped version of its Flex Active Table that was founded in June of 2017.

The Flex Active Flip Table has the ability to flip creating more classroom space due to its storage and nesting capabilities. Spectrum’s new product is available in different widths, worksurface depths, and is ADA compliant. The Flex Active Flip Table’s one step release allows the top of the table to flip.

Paragon Furniture, Inc.has recently launched a new website designed to help customers and partners navigate Paragon’s product portfolio and new learning space resources. The site includes environment and product imagery that can be downloaded, product information including specifications, videos and symbology, as well resources aimed to address the questions and strategies around implementing active learning spaces in K12 schools.

[Spectrum Introduces Pivot Jr. Workstation]

Paragon products can now by accessed by using new search features located in the main navigation of the website. Users can search for product by product type or series, as well by environment application. Product pages include a download section that is a collection of cut sheets, symbology, assembly instructions and applicable knowledge or training materials such as articles or blog posts as they relate to that specific product. Product pages also include easy to use model number charts that expand, product configuration drawings and color option charts.For a look at Paragon Furniture’s new website and to learn more about the learning space resources, visit http://go.paragoninc.com/e/311741/2018-06-08/7d3b3/124497794.

Spectrum Industries Inc. has expanded its Expressions Line, now offering new color options for its products.

Added to the Expressions Line were five new colored laminate and eight new metal finishes options. The new metal color additions include spectrum blue, yellow, signal red, light blue, orange, lime green, white, and warm gray. The new laminate colors include royal blue, island (green), café sienna, navajo red, and gray.

[New Tools for Schools]

“With color being an important part of the educational environment, we wanted to add more colors to the Expressions Line to help brighten up the classroom,” said Dave Falkner, Spectrum’s Product Manager. “Based on customer feedback from our partners and end users, color is important. The 13 colors added to the line creates a great amount of color combinations suitable for any environment.”

Spectrum Industries Inc., has introduced the Pivot Jr. Workstation, which offers height adjustable features, mobility and flexibility to be used as a student desk or small lectern.

Features include:

• Backpack and cup holder
• Height of the Pivot Jr. can adjust from 27-42 inches
• Available with either casters or glides

The Pivot Jr. is made of a scratch-resistant powder coat and high pressure laminate worksurface.

Spectrum Industries, Inc. announces the introduction of the Pivot Workstation, a mobile, lightweight lectern that allows the instructor to move to each student group.

The Pivot Workstation comes in two different sizes, a 36” and a 48”, both offered with the optional cup holder. The electric lift legs can be operated through a battery pack or power cord. A foot rest can also be added to the legs for extra comfort. Locking casters provide for easy mobility. There are also a number of work surface storage options, including under-surface storage with or without a locking door and a pull-out keyboard tray. A modesty panel can also be added.

Today’s K-12 classrooms continue to host a wide variety of tablets, laptops, and Chromebooks, making charging carts an essential component to any 1:1 or BYOD program. What follows are some of the latest offerings.

ERGOTRON’S ZIP40 CHARGING CART (WWW.ERGOTRON.COM)

The Zip40 is a truly universal cart for transporting, securing, protecting and charging all your mobile computing devices for the classroom. It can be used with tablets, Chromebook, Ultrabook, MacBook, and laptops—almost any device with a display size up to 15.6”. Its integrated PowerShuttle Technology optimizes total charge time while safely preventing electrical circuit overload. Ergotron’s innovative, reliable PowerShuttle power management system charges up to 30% faster than a standard round-robin charging system so devices are ready when you need them.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
Classroom safety extends beyond securing and protecting devices. Using just one power cord plugged into a standard wall outlet, the Zip40 charging cart safely prevents overloading of electrical circuits by efficiently grouping the number of devices that are charged at one time. Additionally, users can easily zip from one classroom to another with 5-inch dual-wheel locking casters make for a smooth ride, requiring 33% less push/pull force than carts with single-wheel casters.

COPERNICUS EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS’ NEW TECH TUB2 MODULAR CART SYSTEM (WWW.COPERNICUSED.COM)

This sturdy and affordable modular cart holds up to 32 devices. The Tech Tubs can be unclipped and placed around the classroom to reduce deployment bottlenecks or to allow individual Tech Tubs to be signed out from a central location, such as a library.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
The modular design allows the Tech Tubs to be unclipped and moved anywhere learning takes place. The Tech Tubs are easy to carry using either the flip-top or the built-in ergonomic handles. When the tubs are returned to the cart for charging, cable management hooks keep cords tidy and the side power timer requires only one plug to the wall. USB charging and syncing hub option also available.

TRIPP LITE 32-DEVICE AC CHARGING STATION CART (WWW.TRIPPLITE.COM)

Tripp Lite’s 32-Device Charging Station Cart provides charging, secure storage, and cord management for up to 32 Chromebooks and laptops. Features include locking, vented steel doors, protective shelves with removable dividers, and lockable casters for easy deployment between classrooms.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
We offer many features found on other carts at a lower price point.

BRETFORD’S EVER CART WITH MIX MODULE SYSTEM (BRETFORD.COM)

The EVER Cart with MiX Module System has the unique ability to be updated rather than replaced like traditional charging carts and a single EVER Cart can support USB and AC-powered devices instead of having multiple carts to charge tablets and laptops separately.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
MiX Modules can be replaced in the future to update the cart for new devices. Cable Management happens outside of the cart. No more bending over or sitting on your knees trying to position cable sets. The MiX Module has easily adjustable slots for matching the width and height of your newest devices, up to 15” diagonal display. The cart has a 45-device capacity, all charging in the quickest possible time, and allows tablets and Chromebooks to charge in the same cart.

LOCKNCHARGE IC 30 CART (WWW.LOCKNCHARGE.COM)

Charge, store, and secure up to 30 devices--almost any device up to a 13-inch screen size. The iC 30 Cart makes the most of its compact size with a top lid that doubles as a work surface and exterior charging status display.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
Because of the top-loading design and baskets by LocknCharge, devices can be deployed in a fraction of the time. In fact, by using an iC 30 Cart by LocknCharge compared to a traditional cabinet-style cart, LocknCharge estimates that 70 hours of instruction time is saved each year. That is almost two weeks of extra class time back into the hands of educators by using a 30-unit LocknCharge top-loading, basket-based cart.

POWERGISTICS 16-SHELF TOWER (SHORT) (WWW.POWERGISTICS.COM)

The newly designed 16-shelf tower has been shortened to better accommodate elementary classrooms. PowerGistics has shortened its popular 16-shelf tower by 7” with the tallest shelf standing at 55” to allow 100% student deployment for all ages, including elementary students. Keeping with the same open concept design, small footprint, and unique cord management, the short 16-shelf wall-mounted tower is making teachers’ lives easier while saving classroom space.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
The vertical design keeps devices organized, compact, and easy to access with an open concept so each stored device can quickly and easily be inventoried. With 100% student management, students learn responsibility and independence while teachers save countless hours managing their transition and teaching time without worrying about device deployment.

LAPCABBY UNICABBY (WWW.LAPCABBY.COM/US/)

The multi-device UniCabby is a flexible, portable cart that can store and charge 20, 32, or 40 devices up to 14” with or without protective cases, bolstering device accessibility. Perfect for tablets, iPads, SurfacePros, Chromebook devices, and more--or mix and match to suit the digital classroom of tomorrow.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
The integrated cable management on each purpose-built, molded shelf is suitable for charging any device up to 14” from laptops to tablets, hybrid devices, and more.

We know makerspaces are still growing in popularity, but we were curious to hear how schools are reinventing rooms and spaces to accommodate other types of learning. Here are three such stories.

RE-DESIGN ON A DIME

The middle school Google Apps innovation team at Richland (SC) School District Two—who call themselves the Google Geeks—wanted to update the school’s computer lab. The team got access to a portable space and worked with an art teacher to solicit donations and purchase low-cost items. Students painted furniture, repurposed tables and chairs, and turned it into an attractive space. “It’s not necessary to buy expensive things on wheels,” says Donna Teuber, director of technology integration and innovation. “Our library/media specialist put casters on old tables and painted them with whiteboard paint so we can write on them.” To tie in with curriculum, students researched caster size and weight ratio.

As Richland Two moves to a blended learning model, Teuber’s team hosts day-long professional development classes to help teachers see how blended learning calls for a different environment. “We tell them, ‘You need to decide what kind of learning you want and then reconfigure the classroom to match that,’” says Teuber.

The district also runs a three-hour learning spaces workshop in which teachers use the design thinking process, discuss extreme types of users in their classes, and collaborate on ways to design an environment that will meet their needs. Many teachers split the room into various zones, including a project zone with a big table, an independent seating area, and a space for the teacher to do small group instruction. Teachers learn how to use bookcases, crates, and other items in the class to separate the areas. “Some teachers use whiteboard markers right on the student desks and then erase it. We encourage that kind of low-cost creativity.”

Teuber is looking forward to expanding the innovation incubator this year and plans to do redesign workshops on location. “We want teachers to see low-cost examples and realize that they don’t have to buy expensive items to make this happen. We talk about getting couches donated and how to search on Pinterest for ideas.”

TOOLS THEY USE
RICHLAND

► Discovery Education Streaming Plus
► Edmodo
► Epson Interactive Projects
► Google Apps for Education
► Google Forms Quizzes
► Google Classroom (LMS)
► Hapara Teacher Dashboard
► iSafe
► Kahoot
► Khan Academy
► Lenovo, Dell and Samsung Chromebooks
► Padlet
► PearDeck
► Pixton Comics
► Plickers
► PowerSchool
► Remind101
► SMARTBoards
► Socrative
► StoryBird
► VoiceThread
► WeVideo
► YouTube

2 CS & 2 ES: CODING, CREATING, ENGINEERING, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Fifth-and sixth-grade students in Fair Haven (NJ) School District visit the 18-monthold Innovation Lab once a week for a blended learning course that covers the Lab’s pillars of technology: computer science (basic coding, app design), engineering, digital arts, and entrepreneurship. The Lab, which is in a shared space—half library/half makerspace—presents the perfect opportunity for students to get exposed to technology that will be important for their future. “If they don’t know it exists, then they can’t get excited,” says Innovation Lab creator and edtech coach Chris Aviles.

Some of the highlights include creating their own version of Pokémon GO in Unity, a videogame-creation tool; taking apart bicycles and other items donated by the community, both in real time and virtually; podcasting; and making animations and videos. Along the way, students learn everything from Scratch and Minecraft to 3D design software.

Since it’s a blended program, there’s a lot of flexibility. “Students choose what they want to focus on,” says Aviles. “They can work in teams or alone, and on any strand at any time. Podcasting is really popular.”

Last year, Aviles saw an opportunity. Students just took their creations home—or worse, left them behind in the Lab. He decided to build Gizmos, a student-run digital school store similar to Amazon, where students could sell their products and learn about entrepreneurship at the same time. Now, students can sell what they make in the Innovation Lab and the money goes back into the Lab. In June, they made their first digital sale. “A student designed Hogwarts in Tinkercad, 3D-printed it, and sold it for $8. By running a digital store, they learn how to handle pricing, shipping, customer service—all the soft skills that makerspaces often do a poor job of harnessing.”

This summer, Fair Haven invested in state-of-the-art laptops as part of a partnership between Dell and the Innovation Lab. Aviles plans to run the Innovation Lab like a startup in which students will be employees and stockholders who decide where to invest the money they earn.

TOOLS THEY USE
FAIR HAVEN

► Arduino
► Audacity
► Beeline Reader
► Black Menu for Google
► Blogger
► Camtasia
► Codecademy
► Chrome
► Dell
► Dropbox
► Explain Everything
► Fusion 360
► Google Apps for Education
► iExplorer
► Meteor
► MinecraftEDU
► MIT App Inventor
► Newsela
► Overviewer
► Pear Deck
► Periscope
► Poll Everywhere
► Print Studio
► Project Ignite
► Raspberry Pi
► Schoology
► Scratch
► TinkerCad
► Unity

PARTNERSHIPS ON LOCATION

For a few years, Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine, was perfectly content with its makerspace. Then, thanks to some major grant money and help from a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who spends summers in Maine, the school was able to upgrade its makerspace with 3D printers, 3D mills, and other state-of-the-art technology. “He helped us secure $30,000 in grants,” says Michael Hale, director of college, career & citizenship + innovation. “We were able to create a DIY Marketplace where students are making jewelry, signs for school offices, parts for wind turbines that are tested in engineering classes, and more.”

Two years ago, Hale started the N+1 mentoring program, which connects students with local community members who do coding, engineering, and STEM design. “Our students are working with people who use technology that is on the cutting edge,” he says. “It’s important for my students to have access to mentors who can help them learn by leaps and bounds.”

In the past, students interned at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. This summer and school year they are learning how to build video games with their N+1 mentors at the University of Southern Maine’s (USM) Innovation Lab. For next year, Hale is trying to set up a program with the Maine College of Art so that students can work with a video game design professor who does 3D modeling. Hale continually tries to expand the learning opportunities.

His current initiatives are focused on creative-process thinking, entrepreneurship, and game design with the HTC Vive, Microsoft Hololens, the Unity game design engine, and Swift iOS coding. As he says, “It’s not just about one class, one teacher, and the right equipment in a static environment. Our students work with state-of-the-art equipment and push things to the edge.”

TOOLS THEY USE
CASCO BAY HIGH SCHOOL

► Aurasma
► Blender 3D creation suite
► eBackpack
► GCC Vinyl Printer
► GCC Mercury Laser Cutter
► Google Apps for Education
► HTC Vive VR Headgear
► Infinite Campus
► iPads; iPad minis
► iWalkthrough
► MacBook Pros; Mac Pros; iMacs
► Microsoft Hololens Augmented Reality HeadgearMDX-40A 3-D Mill
► Makerbot 3D printers
► Naviance
► Swift
► Teachscape
► Unity

TALKING ENCOURAGED

When Sheri McNair, library media specialist at James I. O’Neill High School in Highland Falls, NY, came to her district four years ago, she stepped into a very traditional space that was mostly taken up by free-standing stacks of books, traditional wooden tables, and eight computers that “needed to go,” she laughs.

Talking and collaborating are encouraged at the James I. O’Neill High School library. McNair quickly realized that she was spending most of her time scraping the heavy wooden desks across the floor, rearranging the space to encourage classes to come in. So the first thing she did was move the freestanding stacks. “I put the books around the perimeter, which opened up a ton of space. Instant improvement!”

Over the next three years, McNair completely renovated the space, adding carpet tiles, rolling chairs and tables with whiteboard tops, 50 computers, and 60 Samsung Chromebooks. She converted an old classroom into an innovation room by attaching white frosted acrylic panels to three walls and adding pub tables, chairs, banquettes, a TV, and acoustic panels. There are mini makerspace stations with Legos and craft materials, board games, puzzles, a SMART Board, and an 80-inch monitor that’s used for movie nights.

“I inherited an outdated space with lots of rules—no talking, no food, no backpacks, no devices,” says McNair. “Now it’s a multifunctional space where students socialize and collaborate. They bring their lunch and their work. It’s their library.”

Need any proof that a library transformation is worth the time and money? In 2011–12, the year before McNair came on board, students chose to visit the library during study halls, lunch, and after school a total of 6,784 times. Last year, after the library was renovated, students came to the library, on their own time, a total of 24,610 times.

A TRANSPARENT LEARNING COMMONS

When Westlake High School in Austin, TX, modernized its library in 2008, the goal was to create a transparent library so that everyone could see the learning that was going on, says librarian Carolyn Foote. That’s why all of the exterior (and most of the interior) walls are made of glass. In addition, the idea of making the space interactive drove most of the design decisions—including magnetic poetry on the front desk and a whiteboard on wheels.

At the Westlake Learning Commons, creativity is celebrated. There’s also a cafe area where students can eat, hang out, and study. The students voted to call it the Juice Bar, and they can get their iPads repaired there as well. (Westlake is a 1:1 iPad high school.) There’s an Apple TV, charging areas, and bar seating.

As a proponent of the learning commons movement, Foote made sure to provide offices for the instructional partners who work with teachers. “With all of the different people who work with students and teachers in the same place, it’s easier to collaborate. It’s the anti-silo,” she says.

Updates in a computer lab with laptops included curved VS whiteboard tables that can nest together and glass whiteboards on the walls. “Now it’s a brainstorm/project space and a laptop lab. Teachers and students can arrange the room however they want,” says Foote.

Instead of having a makerspace area, the library hosts makerspace events, including a Play-Doh Day and a 3D printer demo by a robotics team. “A library is a place to go for programming so you can prepare students for the libraries in their future.”

SLEEK, STYLISH, AND USEFUL

In 2012, Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami, FL, launched a 1:1 iPad program and a STEAM concentration. Within three months, it became obvious that the classrooms and library would need to be updated. “The furniture in our library and classrooms would not allow for collaboration, so I started looking at learning spaces,” says Fredy Padovan, dean of innovation and technology.

Project work is easy (and fun!) in the Immaculata-La Salle High School library. The school worked with Steelcase to create a classroom in which all surfaces are treated with whiteboard paint. The teacher was able to move around and change the way she taught; students were alert and engaged. “It ignited a movement to remodel all learning spaces by 2018–19. We’re about halfway done,” says Padovan.

Because the library sits in the middle of the 14-acre campus, it needed to be a functional space that teachers could use for a variety of purposes and with quick transitions. They created two media:scape rooms (a Steelcase design) to hold classes of 14 and 21. These rooms have writeable glass walls and U-shaped seating to encourage collaboration. There’s an area with flexible tables and chairs that holds up to 65 people and a presentation area with two flat-screen TVs and couches. Another section will become a tech bar this summer, with 12 iMacs for students to use.

In December, a teacher booked the space for a class project. She set up two stations in the presentation area for students to use as resources, had an iBook showing on a main projector, and ran different videos in other areas. Her 30 students were working on a group project, and this layout fit the flow of their investigations and collaboration.

“We took something from 1960 into the current age, and now it looks like a college campus,” says Padovan. “I gave teachers three weeks to label books they couldn’t find electronically and was able to go from 40 bookshelves down to three.”

MCNAIR’S TIPS

● Make things mobile. Putting casters on furniture is an easy, cheap fix.

● Turn tables into whiteboards. Pressure-sensitive sheets and paints aren’t expensive and enable students to write on tables.

● Ask families for donations. Castoffs and garage sales are two great sources for games, Legos, and gently used furniture.

● Little things make a big difference. Paint! Brighten up the space to make it nicer. McNair’s students voted on colors and the library now has teal, plum, and orange walls.

● Automate processes. With Google Apps, students can sign in and out electronically and teachers can book meeting spaces in Google Appointments.

● Don’t be afraid to apply for grants. Two favorite sources: The Institute of Museum and Library Services (imls.gov) and The Meemic Foundation (meemic.com/the-meemic-foundation/grant-opportunities.aspx).

FOOTE’S TIPS

● Make sure the space is student-centered. Even the little things, like a magnetic front desk, convey the message that the space is for the students.

● Observe students to see how they’re using the space. Talk to students; do surveys. That’s how you’ll learn what to do first.

● Use social media to get ideas. There’s great stuff on Twitter and Pinterest, in addition to people to partner with and share ideas. Read blogs and use the power of social media to branch out.

● If it isn’t working, change it up. Foote had armchairs in the juice bar, but once the students got iPads she noticed they were stacking on top of each other to look at their iPads together. She found inexpensive seating cubes online that can be made into an S-shape. She moved the armchairs to another area and now multiple students can sit together on a cube.

PADOVAN’S TIPS

● You need to have buy-in. Take the time to study how the space is currently being used. Which areas are not functional or could be improved? Are students avoiding certain types of chairs?

● Give students choices. Bring in samples of different types of seating and study what the students actually sit in for certain tasks. Choice is important if we want to create independent thinkers and learners.

● One size does not fit all. Each building has unique needs. Spending the time required to identify and meet those needs may mean that your renovation takes six months or longer, but remember: It’s not about a space that looks good—it’s about a space that’s going to be used.

VENDOR LIST

► AGATI Furniture (agati.com)
► Artcobell (artcobell.com)
► Bretford (bretford.com)
► Community Furniture (communityfurniture.com)
► Fatboy (fatboyusa.com/collection/)
► IKEA (ikea.com)
► Interior Systems (isiamerica.com)
► Steelcase (www.steelcaseeducation.com)
► Teknion (teknion.com)

Surely you’ve heard the not-so-funny joke that if Rip Van Winkle were to wake up today he’d recognize only one thing: the classroom, with its cookie-cutter rows of desks and a blackboard and teacher up front. But we all know that mobile devices allow digital learning to take place anywhere—on a bus, a beach, a bed, or at a ball game. That’s why some districts are turning their libraries, unused closets, and classrooms into open, collaborative spaces that better reflect the open, collaborative learning of today.

At Albemarle, students turn walls into graphs, libraries into collaborative learning spaces, and cafeterias into tree houses.

“It really is a mindset shift,” says Tom Murray, state and district digital learning director for the Alliance for Excellent Education (www.all4ed.org). “There’s a disconnect if the spaces don’t practice what we preach in terms of the 21st-century skill set.”

Murray suggests starting with one room or area, often a library. Ask for student input to figure out the needs of the building, your culture, and your community. “Redesign does not need to include expensive, high-priced furniture,” he says. “Take cues form HGTV’s ‘Design on a Dime;’ ask for donations, check out garage sales, reuse old furniture.”

Need a little inspiration? Check out what these four districts have done.

DIY SPACES FOR CROSS-CURRICULAR STEM

High school students pay attention in Elizabeth’s Forward’s Entertainment Technology Academy classroom (top & bottom left); middle school students learn about fractions in the SmalLab. “We’ve tried to focus on every space—floors, ceilings, walls, hallways, classrooms, gyms, libraries, cafes—and ask, ‘How can we design this so students are able to see themselves as learners where they go?” says Pam Moran, superintendent of Albemarle County (VA) Public Schools and 2016 Virginia Superintendent of the Year.

From letting students draw on hallway tiles to create bar graphs and spreadsheets to putting old lawnmowers in the library for students to rebuild, Albemarle does everything it can to encourage students to be makers.

The redesigning efforts started six years ago to make STEM work more accessible to everyone. In 2010, administrators turned a closet in a high school library into a music studio/maker space. “We bought 3D printers and then filled the tool cabinet with stuff from people’s garages, including sewing machines, glue guns, drills, and soldering irons,” says Ira Socol, assistant director for educational technology and innovation. “Students stop in to invent things and solve problems.”

The newest learning space, in an elementary school, has no walls and can house up to 120 students and six teachers. “Every surface, including the floors and windows, is writeable, and there’s a full kitchen,” says Ira Socol, assistant director for educational technology and innovation. Rather than participating in an Hour of Code, the district weaves coding into cross-curricular projects all year long. Already this year, students have cooked Thanksgiving dinner and designed Hovercraft chairs.

The middle schools have mechatronics labs. The people running the labs partner with science, art, physical education, and other teachers to do interdisciplinary projects. Last year, the students decided they didn’t like their cafeteria so they built 16-feet, two-story, rolling tree houses. As Moran says, that’s the type of learning they will never forget.

“If you change the space, it’s easier to change the learning,” says Moran. “When I walk into a library and a student tells me he wants to use a drone he built to help the librarian hang banners on a 40-foot ceiling, that’s a great feeling.”

BRIGHT COLORS, REVAMPED SPACES, AND ENERGIZED STUDENTS

Evanston students get hands-on manufacturing practice in state-of-the-art labs. Back in the fall of 2011, the superintendent and assistant superintendent of Elizabeth Forward (PA) School District visited Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Entertainment Technology Center, where CMU students study game design, interactive storytelling, robotics, and more. That’s when they knew they needed to do something about their uninspired white walls and rows of desks if they wanted to keep students engaged.

Using a $10,000 grant from The Grable Foundation, they turned a computer lab at the high school into a colorful open space with flat-screen TVs, pop art, roller chairs, and a big table. Now students choose from 12 one-semester courses in programming, storytelling, or digital art and leave high school with a portfolio, a game or product they’ve developed, and a Certificate of Accomplishment.

This project’s success fueled several others, mostly funded by grants, including a Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Lab (SMALLab) in the middle school—the only one in the U.S. “We painted the walls purple and green, hung Andy Warhol art, and installed 12 cameras and a projector into an open ceiling,” says Assistant Superintendent Todd Keruskin. In this multimedia arts learning lab, students use their bodies to learn about language arts, math, and science.

Project-based learning and hands-on activities make science fun for Deerfield students. Other projects include turning the high school library into a media center with a TV studio, recording studio, and café; and opening the middle school’s Dream Factory, where students use laser cutters, 3D printers, microcontrollers, and wood shop equipment to learn about art, design, computer science, robotics, engineering, and programming. For one project, students developed and printed their own candy cars in 3D, created vacuum molds, and designed wrappers with nutritional information in Photoshop. Then they made commercials.

Before all of these changes, 70 students had left the district for charter or cyber schools. Today, that number has dropped to 14. “Our teachers say the creative spaces allow them to think and to teach differently—they’re more relaxed, and so are the students,” says Keruskin.

MANUFACTURING LABS COME OF AGE

After recognizing the need to build more open spaces and enhance their STEM offerings and the appeal of STEM, Evanston Township (IL) High School District 202 opened two new STEM labs at the start of last school year. “We’re a 1.3 million-square-foot high school with three miles of hallways, but we wanted to embrace the new state of the art,” says Eric Witherspoon, superintendent.

Although the district has been offering STEM courses through Project Lead the Way for 10 years, there was not enough emphasis on manufacturing. So they committed to that program and built a manufacturing lab that includes a metal sculpture and welding lab. “We updated very old stuff with lathes, 3D printers, and other items,” says Witherspoon. “We had to get current on manufacturing.”

An expanded, more advanced manufacturing lab was also renovated to include an automated tool control center, a computer numeric control lathe, drill presses, vertical milling machines, modern welding booths, and 3D printers. This lab offers additional STEM opportunities as well as multiple learning opportunities in 3D modeling, automation, programming, and robotics.

Both of the manufacturing labs were funded by donations through the district’s educational foundation and came largely from alumni and local manufacturers.

“Every students needs a high bar of training for college and career readiness,” says Witherspoon. “We’re pleased to offer pathways for everyone.”

RENOVATED LABS AND HANDS-ON LEARNING

In 2013, when Superintendent Mike Lubelfeld came to Deerfield (IL) Public Schools District 109, he put together a task force to look at the middle schools. The group recommended redesigning the 12 science labs in both middle schools to be STEM-ready and replacing home economics and computer apps with a STEM and communication/media arts courses. Around that time, the district also started a 1:1 program with devices and training for grades K through 8.

To make sure the middle school labs were renovated properly, Lubelfeld formed a 140-member task force of teachers, parents, students, and community members. The teachers wanted to use Next Generation Science Standards in a modern learning space, and the students wanted hands-on labs and true experimentation. They also expressed interest in learning about engineering.

The new labs, which are open and bright, have an area with small tables for collaboration and another area for experiments. Lighting is energy efficient and there are energy dashboards that show solar panel electricity, wind turbine electricity, and other measures of real life science. “Every centimeter of the labs is about learning,” says Lubelfeld. “Instead of reading about science from textbooks, our students now do project- and problem-based learning.”

Funding came through general state aid that Lubelfeld put in a capital construction, longterm bonds for long-term facility improvements, and refinancing old debt at more favorable interest rates.

STEM TOOLS THEY USE
ALBEMARLE COUNTY (VA)

► Autodesk software
► Edgerton Center 3-D Printing
► Fable vision Learning Fab@School Maker Studio
► Makerbot Thingiverse
► Maker Shed Robot Kits
► MakeToLearn Silhouette 2D Fabricator
► MinecraftEdu
► Noticing Tools
► Ozobot Kit
► Scratch
► Smithsonian Invention Kits

STEM TOOLS THEY USE
EVANSTON TOWNSHIP (IL)

► Autodesk Inventor
► Bridgeport Mills
► Haas SL-10 Lathe 2001
► Knuth Basic 180 Super manual Lathes
► MasterCAM
► National 250 Hydraulic Shear
► Robot C
► Torchmate 4x4 CNC Plasma cutting table
► Tormach 770 CNC mill
► VEX Robotics Kits

STEM TOOLS THEY USE
DEERFIELD (IL)

► Creative Learning Systems SmartLabs
► Defined STEM
► Discovery Education tech-books, streaming, and professional development
► Lego, makey makey, dot and dash, spehero, little bits
► Node Chairs & Verb Tables
► Steelcase
► TCI Bring Science Alive

Sarah Connell's Growing Apps Presentation explores the use of apps for activating green spaces while presenter Alice Barr looks at how technology can impact and create a positive school culture

The Evolving School Library: Joining Forces with Tech Departments
Many successful school library programs are joining forces with technology departments. This session offers tips for successful library/tech collaboration and tools to remix the Library Media Center for today’s students using podcasts, ebooks, blended learning, and more. Presented by John Marcus, Donna Liebman, Deborah Marshall & Lisa Ward, and Barbara Johnson.

• The Evolving School Library Presentation
• Deborah Marshall and Lisa Ward's Presentation "Joining Forces"
• Deborah Marshall and Lisa Ward's Website Resources

Rethinking Learning Spaces
The right mix of interactive hardware solutions and mobile devices can improve traditional teaching methods with cross-curriculum content and resource-rich lessons. Presented by Steven Baule, Kevin Ryan & Melissa Wilson, Tom Neff and Ed Kitchen.

• Rethinking Learning Spaces Presentation #1
• Rethinking Learning Spaces Presentation #2

Redesigning Your Learning Space on any Budget
Michelle Cooper and Tanna Fiske present ideas and examples for rethinking your learning space- and how to pay for it.

Evolving Role of the Library Media Center
Resources, images and examples from presenters Andy Marcinek, Kevin Windsor, and Jennifer Trombino

Rethinking Learning Spaces
Images, resources and ideas from districts all across the country that are revamping the way in which their classrooms and schools are laid out to accommodate new ways of teaching and learning.

• Resources from Buffalo Grove High School
• Photos
• Video: Reinvisioning Learning Spaces Panel, moderated by David Jakes
• Video: Rethinking Learning Spaces
• Laura Fleming’s slides
• Sherri McNair and Shannon Mersand’s slides
• Slideshows from the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning (shared by Kay Abernathy)
• Karen Fuller and Ian Powell’s slides
• Carolyn Foote’s slides

Looking for a particular Tech&Learning Live Conference? Check out the complete archives here.

One of the main drawbacks to a passive learning environment is that it provides few opportunities for students to develop the skills that are so important in the digital-age workplace. When teachers control the topics and pace of learning, the ways students access knowledge, and the ways they demonstrate what they’ve learned, students can’t develop their creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. And when the only audience for student work is the teacher, students can’t develop the flexible, effective communication skills they need in a digital age.

COLLABORATION SKILLS

All digital-age skills are, of course, important. But it is collaboration that is often identified as among the most critical skills for the future workplace. It is also fundamental to active learning. Collaboration in the classroom can meet two important instructional goals. First, the development of collaboration skills is itself an important learning objective. And second, research conclusively shows that well-designed collaborative activities contribute to improved learning. Incorporating collaboration into a traditional classroom environment poses many challenges. Students need spaces where they can meet with each other. They need access to the tools that support the kinds of thinking that helps them learn, often at the same time that other students are working alone or with the teacher. Digital-age learning environments also need to support collaboration among adults, mentors, and peers outside of the classroom, which are often facilitated by technology. Thinking carefully about how a learning space can support the kind of collaboration that builds confident learners is an important step in designing effective learning environments.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

In the industrial learning environment of the 20th century, communication skills such as writing and speaking were relegated to the language arts class; but in digital-age learning environments, communication is a critical component of every subject area.

Communication in digital-age learning environments takes on far more forms than it does in traditional classrooms. Gone are the days when an occasional essay or speech in an English class meets learning objectives. Today, throughout the curriculum, students are expected to explain their thinking, persuade others of their opinions, and engage readers and listeners. And students must do so not only with words but also with graphic and multimedia elements.

CREATIVITY SKILLS

Creativity is another critical skill in the digital age. We all recognize creativity when we see it—in the gadgets we use every day, in the art that makes us appreciate and think about the world around us, and in the ideas that challenge us and help us grow. P21 identifies creativity as one of the most prized skills for the future, and yet the traditional classroom environment often presents more of a challenge than a support for creative thinking.

Creativity flourishes in an environment where students can take risks and fail, where they have options about what they learn, how they learn, and how to demonstrate what they have learned. Although you can certainly find examples of student creativity in the most traditional classrooms, flexible learning spaces supported by effective instruction can bring out creativity in all students.

Creative thinking is both collaborative and solitary. Students can be inspired to create surprising and useful projects by interacting with peers and mentors. They can get feedback from others and use examples of admired work as models for their own creations. The creative process, however, also requires that individuals find time and space for reflection and self-assessment, thinking through ideas, and imagining how an idea might be brought to fruition.

Creativity is both chaotic and orderly. At the “anything goes” stage, the free flow of ideas is crucial. Students need spaces that support interaction and allow them to keep a record of their thoughts, whether it is digitally, on whiteboards, or chart paper. At some point, however, the ideas must be made real, and a clear process must be followed to transform an idea into a reality. Spaces for the development of a creative idea might include tools and resources such as powerful computers with specialized software, 3D printers, art supplies, or building materials.

Excerpted from the newly-released book, Get Active, Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success, published by ISTE (www.iste.org) and underwritten with support from Intel Education and Steelcase Education.

DIGITAL-AGE SKILLS IN THE CLASSROOM

Consider how the following project in a high school language arts class addresses the digital-age skills of collaboration, communication, and creativity; and how the design of the learning space supports learning.

Small groups of students choose an allegorical novel to read together from a list provided by their teacher. After they have finished reading their books, each group is asked to create a 3D object that illustrates their interpretation of the allegory presented in the book, including a quote from the book for each component of their object.

Each group, supplied with chart paper, meets in a small-group space to brainstorm ideas for their project. One group decides to make a mobile illustrating their interpretation of Lord of the Flies. With a general idea of what they want to create, the group works at a large-screen computer to design and create their mobile. Two students, both are taking a STEAM course, volunteer to use a 3D printer to create some pieces for their mobile. Other group members get art materials, including glue and paint, from a convenient storage location. They put all the pieces of their project together in a production space that features large tables.

The activity concludes with an oral presentation of their mobile to other small groups in a small presentation space. The different groups take turns describing their projects and analyses of their chosen novels.

Step inside the new THINC College & Career Academy in LaGrange, Georgia, and you notice right away that everything seems different from a traditional high school—from the design of the learning spaces to the activities that take place there.

The building itself has the feel of Google HQ—brightly colored carpet tiles, lots of glass walls, and stylish furniture that can be moved around easily to create collaborative workspaces. THINC is located on the campus of West Georgia Technical College, where students can earn dual-enrollment credit. “Most schools have been pushed into this ‘box’ design that can be reproduced easily,” said Ashley Smith, an architectural intern at Smith Design Group of LaGrange, who helped design THINC’s learning spaces. “We wanted to give the space a fun vibe that would be stimulating for teens—something they would be proud of and that would inspire them to be creative.”

The school’s furniture also plays an important role in its design. THINC’s planners wanted tables and chairs that could be moved around easily and arranged in flexible groupings to facilitate student collaboration. They approached a local company, Loy’s Office Supplies, which recommended the EDU 2.0 line of furniture from Bretford.

THINC is a “bring your own technology” environment, and the school offers laptops and Chromebooks for students to use if they don’t have their own mobile device. Throughout its classrooms and common areas, the school contains community docking stations and tables with video monitors where students can plug in their devices and share their screens as they collaborate on projects. There are also many soft, comfortable chairs with built-in power outlets where students can work independently or in small groups.

A NEW KIND OF LEARNING

The school’s innovative design and technology-enabled furniture will facilitate a new kind of learning experience, in which students will be rolling up their sleeves and diving into hands-on, career-based projects.

For instance, in the engineering pathway, students will be working with engineers from construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar to design and build parts for machines used in forestry. Students in the mechatronics pathway will build robotics for use in the auto manufacturing process at Kia. Students in the marketing pathway will operate their own retail store on campus. College and career academies such as THINC allow students “to explore all the different pathways that are available to them,” said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle during a July 30 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school. “That turns on light bulbs for students and gives them a conduit and a purpose for success.”

Dennis Pierce (denniswpierce@gmail.com) has been writing about education and technology for nearly 20 years.