Archive
component:where.learning-spaces
Blended Case Study: Leadership Public Schools
Leadership Public Schools (LPS) is a network of four small high-poverty high schools in Richmond, Oakland, Hayward, and San Jose, California. These locations (and nearby Summit Prep and Downtown College Prep) are the best example of great high schools combining the historic benefits of small rigorous and supportive environments with the potential of incorporating personal digital learning.
Steelcase Invites Students to Imagine Their Future
This year, Steelcase launched the 100 Dreams Classroom Project as a part of our “100 Dreams, 100 Minds, 100 Years” centennial celebration. Steelcase is a company dedicated to providing great environments where employees can do their best work. To commemorate its 100th anniversary, the company is looking to the leaders of tomorrow to see what dreams they have and how they hope to achieve these advancements. For the project, we designed a simple lesson plan for teachers to download online and implement in their classrooms, which invites children to use crayons to envision the future.
Extreme “Make” Over Computer Lab Edition!
Lately, with all this focus on mobile learning, the computer lab has been getting a bad rap - labeled as a place where students sit disconnected from each other, learning how to type or create PowerPoint presentations. That method of using technology is already outdated and, frankly, boring. But, the reality is, most schools have a computer lab and I’m not sure we want to throw them out just yet! They’re not (all) bad places. They are just not always being used effectively.
Innovations High: Tour the Future of Education
This May I had a personal tour of the future of education. I toured Innovations High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. I left supercharged by the potential and, honestly, a little bewildered that a traditional school district had actually created this blended learning marvel I witnessed.
When Glee Meets FIRST for Coffee and Leaves With an AA
College Board should develop CBFlex, a school-in-a-box offering featuring all the stuff in CBSchools but in a high access flex format. Imagine a school that looks more like Starbucks with a black box theater and a project lab—Glee meets FIRST Robotics for coffee. When students attend competitions, no problem, the school goes on the road. The whole school is cloud-based and completely portable.
10 Reasons Every District Should Open a Flex School
Using a flex model, every community can afford to have a great high school. Every community should have a flex option that provides a fully supported individualized pathways to graduation. Every community should use a flex model to leverage local resources and meet specific needs. Every district should open a flex model so that everyone can visit and experience the future of education.
Change the space, change the program, expect high outcomes
Stephen Harris directs the Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning (@scil). It is the research, creativity and development unit of a K-12 school serving 1300 students. His philosophy is change the space, change the program, expect high outcomes.
Marysville WA Wins School Architecture Prize
Congrats to our neighbors to the north in Marysville WA for winning the Learning by Design Grant Prize. They worked with DLR Architects and Architects of Achievement and created a spectacular new campus.
Learning STEM in Classrooms Modeling the Future
The typical elementary, middle and high school classroom is filled with chairs and desks, chalk and erasers, and a teacher and students. There is also closet space for backpacks, cabinet space for educational tools and wall space for exemplary student work. Does this traditional classroom provide the best teaching environment for teachers and the best learning environment for students? The answer depends on what needs to be taught, and we are quickly finding out that educational needs of the future look much different than the past.
The Green Schoolhouse Series – 21st century learning classrooms
It used to be educationally valuable to use Styrofoam balls to create a fairly basic representation of the solar system or to study simple earth science through a paper mache volcano craft project. Likewise, chalk and erasers were precious tools of the trade for teachers, while yellow number two pencils and plastic protractors were the standard of choice for students. Lunch hall dining used to consist of fast-food quality meals--but not anymore.