All About Me: My 21st Century Classroom

Here is my 21st century classroom!

I chose the colors blue and green for the walls of my classroom. I used a combination of colors in my room that should compliment each other and provide an environment that stimulates learning my students and not cause a distraction. Its said that color schemes in a school classroom can be used to increase comfort and promote learning.Studies have shown that light blues and purples have a calming effect on learners, and are a good choice in classrooms where the tension frequently runs high. Since I have the colors blue and green in my room, they will help create an environment that helps to stimulate learning and prevent anxiety. I will most likely work with students that have emotional and behavioral challenges, so using a light blue on the walls will form the foundation for the tranquil space that will help them learn. Warm tones like a green can provide a relaxing atmosphere that allows learners to focus on their studies rather than be distracted by their environment. These colors have also been shown to stimulate creativity, and provide students with a welcomed boost as they go about their daily work.

I have read that is an effective technique is to paint the teaching wall a deeper or brighter shade than is used on the sidewalls. That is why I chose blue to be the color that will be on the wall with the white board and smart board, and green to be on the side walls. This does two things: It attracts attention to the front of the classroom, yet the eyes get a visual break when focus is shifted to the sidewalls. Also, I liked that the green and blue combination gave the room a more "green" and earthy or worldly feel.

A warm, well-run classrooms is said to begin with the room's physical layout; the arrangement of desks and working space, the attractiveness and appeal of bulletin boards, the storage of materials and supplies. The physical layout reflects a teacher's teaching style. Since I want students to collaborate in small groups I have the desks organized so that they are in a cluster of four. But for whole-group discussions, such as lecturing and note taking the clusters are still set up in a manner where everyone can see the board. There is also an individualized and relaxed work station that includes carpet and beanbag chairs to make the students feel more at home while doing certain assigned work activities. The way the shelves are located in the room makes use of easily accessible materials and supplies, and can eliminate delays, disruptions, and confusion as students prepare for activities.

The seating arrangement is designed in a systematic way so that the organization of the seats helps the students to feel more organized. Sometimes, this sense of organization is helped if students have assigned seats. The seats are also arranged to reduce traffic distractions. For example, as students get up to go to the bathroom or pencil sharpener they should not overly distract students they pass. There is also plenty of space for foot traffic, especially around areas where supplies are stored. When students come into the class room they can be in a routine of gathering needed materials on the shelving units and then sit down at their desks and begin working on what ever the instruction is on the Interactive White Board(IWB).

Since more and more classrooms are being integrated with technology, I decided to have computer stations located on the perimeter of the room so that students may be more focused on working.Studies have found that a technology rich classroom is the perfect place for that level of specialized learning. In this particular classroom it shows desktop computers, but I would love for students to be able to use mobile and touch devices. I want my classroom to have laptops or Ipads to help my students succeed through technology. Technology can improve focus and boost students' self-esteem, not to mention teach them valuable skills like fast, accurate typing and using online search engines to find trustworthy sources for research.

Through using different online tools and programs, I will be able to differentiate my classroom and have my student connected. A great online tool is using wikispaces. Each collaborative group can work on each of their topics and complete a wonderful class made master copy. I could also have the class use google drive which uses the same idea of having a collaborative group, but with the drive every group member can edit at the same time, which really helps with building equal and fair work habits.

Twitter and Tweet Deck are also great sources of positive networking. Through these social networks students and people from all around the world can be connected and interact with one another. To make sure of this happening, assignments will be assigned so that my students can be engaged in their community and even be engaged in with experts on a research topic they have been asked to complete. These online networking tools are what can make my class closer together. To also keep the parents involved and connected I can create a chat and discussion board on my schools web site to make sure everyone can be on the same page with what going on.

I will continue to grow as a learner and a professional by establishing a PLN. I must be able to learn from my content area-specialist and get lesson plan idea from master teachers. I must continue to learn about new technology and how to integrate those into my teachings. I will need to find collaborative solutions by using interesting links to education news.

For students who have accommodations that will need to be, I have the more relaxed environment with the beanbag chairs if stress or school itself bothers these students. Other issues such as in my teaching, I will have to adapt and modify my teachings and differentiate my activities accordingly to mean the needs and exceptions of these students.

Here is a video that can explain how to setup a classroom