Physical Environment of Classroom

Friday, March 22, was the last day of two weeks of TCAP testing. While my students tested and I walked around giving sharp pencils, picking up dropped items and handing out lots of boxes of Kleenex I did a lot of thinking about the environmental layout of my classroom. 

So you might be thinking, why am I writing about this topic now at the end of March. The reason is one word: iPads. It has been one month since becoming an 1:1 classroom and I am noticing how differently my students are working. During the limited time we were not getting ready for testing, taking the test or moving desks to their original location after testing, the students were working together on researching Native American Indians of Colorado. Students worked in "tribes" to research specific topics such as food, shelter, clothing and art, music, and games. Students were given the choice of where they wanted to work around the room. 

The first thing I noticed was that out of the eight tribes only one tribe used tables to work at. Most students were sitting or stretched out on the floor the whole time they were working. As I don't allow students to work under the desks there wasn't a lot of space left with so many kids on the floor. Another observation I made was that most of the tribes were highly engaged in their work and were exchanging ideas and resources with similar tribes (Arapaho, Sioux and Cheyenne) who were also on the floor. This type of interaction has been very challenging for this particular group of students this year so I was delighted to see and hear the different discussions and interactions. 

During the last week of school prior to spring break, I let the students choose where and with whom they sat. After forming 5 teams, instead of the 7 teams I usually make, the kids noticed that they had created a large open area on the floor. I noticed that all the desks were squished to one side of the room and there was one super large group of squirrelly boys ; ) 

As the week progressed, this large open space was utilized for many different activities during the day and reinforced my belief that I need to change the physical environment of the classroom.

With only two months left of school, I am not sure how much modification I am going to implement, but with our upcoming units on Food Chains & Webs and Colorado Life Zones I will definitely begin experimenting with the furniture arrangement. I will also begin collecting containers, pillows and other items I find that can be used to create a new classroom environment for my current and future students.

iPads, YouTube and QR Codes

Every other month my grade level displays student work on one of three hallway boards. March is our month and with all the craziness that has been going on in 4th grade lately we were having a difficult time deciding what to display. My teammate, Evan, suggested that we post students' leads to the Super Power stories they are currently working on. I liked the idea, but wanted to jazz it up a bit.

What about posting QR codes?

Last summer at the ISTE conference in San Diego, many of the presenters were displaying QR codes with links to additional information. It was so much fun to scan the QR code and access the additional resources that I wanted to use them with my students. 

As my team was discussing how we would share the students' work on the board, I thought it would be fun to have the kids record their lead and post a QR code so students, teachers and parents could listen. Now I had to figure out how to do this.

The experiment begins

My students began by using AudioMemos Free to record their leads. Once a student made a recording they would then email the file to me. As my email began to fill I realized that none of the recordings had an URL that I could use to make a QR code. I also realized I really didn't want each of the almost 90 fourth graders emailing their files to me. I had to find a different solution. 

Let's make a video

Watching my students create their audio recordings made me stop and think, "Hey, they should be using the camera to record themselves! That would be much more interesting." Now I had to figure out how to get an URL attached to a video. After much trial and error, I finally realized that YouTube would be the easiest way to upload video since it will give each individual recording its own URL. 

First, I created a new channel on YouTube for our school at http://www.youtube.com/user/CentennialElemCO 

Having our own channel helps me organize the student videos and provides an email address that can be used to send individual videos; thus saving my inbox from exploding. Additionally, I am able to monitor, manage and edit information posted to the school channel. 

Next, I created a Google Form where the URL could be copied and complied into a spreadsheet. This helps me keep all the recordings organized by student name, URL and class. Once the information is in the spreadsheet I can copy the URL and paste it into a QR generator createqrcode.appspot.com which gives me a QR code. 

Students as creators

My students have become adept at moving back-and-forth between apps and websites on their iPad Minis. They were able to work together to create quick videos of each other reading their Super Power leads then email the video to YouTube. My class then visited the two other fourth grade classes and used their minis to video every fourth grader in the school reading their lead. Personally, I think having my students conduct the recordings for the other classes was the highlight of the project. My students were so focused and engaged as they organized and directed the recordings of the other fourth grade students they didn't even realize they were learning how to be great leaders.

Pictures of iPad Mini charging case

Here are a few pictures of the book display case I turned into a charging station. The case holds 30 Minis and each student is assigned a place. The iPads sit on the shelves best if the charging cord is placed towards the ceiling hence the cords being in sight. The back of the case is a mess but is working well.

Getting Ready for Students

Before placing the iPad Minis in the hands of my students there was a lot that I needed to do to get the Minis ready. Here are a few things I had to address.

Apple Configurator

I am now in charge of managing the school set of 30 iPad 2s, the 30 iPad Minis in my classroom and the eight 4th grade iPad/iTouches. Previously, without the new Minis it would take me up to 3 hours to install updates on all the machines. As you know, finding that kind of time is almost impossible so with the help of the district Information Technology and Library Services department and the district IT department together, a 13" MacBook Pro was purchased for my school. 

The MacBook Pro allowed the Apple Configurator program to be used to manage all the iDevices in addition to utilizing the Apple Volume Purchasing Program (VPP). I must say using Apple Configurator makes a huge difference in the amount of time needed to install apps--minutes instead of hours. Apple Configurator is not an easy program to figure out, but with the help of the IT department, the Apple website and information on the internet I am learning how to use it.

Lightning Connector

Our school has a lot of iPads for student use. We have a large locking cart where the school set is kept. Upon ordering the Minis my first thought was that we could use the big cart to sync both the iPad 2s and the Minis. All we needed was an adapter for the Lightning connection. Sounds simple, but in reality that just didn't work. Each adapter costs $30 and we needed 30 of them. That was just too much money. 

After weeks of researching alternative solutions, I finally decided on the Datamation Systems 8-Port Charge/Sync station from Amazon.com. This charging system is very easy to use, lightweight, sits on a table top and can be used with any device with a USB connector. Syncing 8 Minis at a time is a fairly quick process. What I really like is that when one or two of the Minis needs a quick adjustment (some of the apps didn't install because I forgot to check them) I am able to reinstall quickly with little time lost by the student. If you are looking for a syncing solution for your school, I recommend checking out Datamation Systems.

Charging

My next question was where to put the Minis in order to charge them. I decided to use an oak book display case that I had in my classroom. This case was built years ago by a former teacher's father and given to me when she retired. I didn't want to destroy the case so I drilled holes in the bottom of each of the six shelves. The holes can not be seen so it can be used as a display case again someday if needed. I found two 16 outlet power strips on Amazon which I was able to hide in the back of the display case and run the charging cables up through the holes. Five iPad Minis sit on a shelf allowing for charging while students are not using them. So far this is working out well.