Softer ‘Software’ & Furniture for 1:1 Adoption
So everybody’s looking for the latest “software” tool to implement 1:1 laptops in their school environment, but are you thinking about the “softer” ware that students sit on or use around their classrooms or hallways so that they get a great, flexible experience while they’re using their laptops? Â At SAS, we’re falling deeply in love with Luemmel, a German-designed chair that comes in as many colors as an iPod nano, and it can be used as a recliner chair, or as purpose-built laptop chair for students or adults alike. Â This kind of easily portable furniture is already at the heart of heart of many flexible collaborative learning zones that we’re designing at our school.
Essentially, we’re looking at a series of “collaborative learning zones” that consist of flexible chairs and tables, including flexible furniture, like Luemmel chairs and beanbags, plus “booths” like those that you would find at diners and restaurants. Â Learning should be comfortable and organic, and the furniture and environments that you choose will seriously play into the success of the areas that you design. Â At the core of our “resdesign” is observation of organic student use of our spaces, which has led us to believe that power sources are a quintessential component of any effective piece of furniture design. Â Form + function = a great formula for active student use of space.
If you have ideas or experience of designing spaces for collaborative learning, please respond to this post. Â We’re all looking to learn from each other in this department, and your knowledge will likely enrich the decisions and experience of many readers at UTechTips. Â Please contribute!
Great furniture – I’ll take a classroom full! I watched your Apple Assembly video as well – looks great and I was part of history!
I love beanbags for the reasons you mentioned. One thing to consider is head lice. When we bought all these bean bags for our school, we never thought about head lice. So every fall, we battle with the lice…having to put the beanbag chairs in plastic bags until the lice are under control.
I don’t think vinyl would be nearly as comfortable…in fact a bit sweaty in warmer weather. But it wouldn’t have the lice issue.
Hi Marsha, thanks for the “heads (lice) up” on that situation. It’s good to have that kind of information. We haven’t experienced any head lice problems with our beanbags, but I guess the main point here is that we’re trying to move away from completely “slumpy” furniture towards furniture that is both comfortable, functional, and flexible for our students. The Luemmel chairs that I mentioned are a great option, but I’m sure there are many other options out there. In terms of ‘collaborative spaces’ we’re also seriously seeking out ways to set up “booths” where students can sit in organized meeting spaces to work together. The problem with bean bags is and other “loungers” is that they don’t necessarily bring students together to chat and collaborate – we’re actively looking at creating spaces that are ‘engineered’ and designed to generate shared learning.
Thanks so much for sharing – we’re all going to benefit from your tip!
Softer ‘Software’ & Furniture for 1:1 Adoption | U Tech Tips http://ow.ly/Apho Creating flexible and collaborative learning zonesQuote