Some Thoughts on Classroom Design

With the influx of technology many schools have had to be "retrofitted" to accommodate the technology. This process is often more expensive after the school is built rather than being properly considered before the school is built. Because schools are often subjected to a "low bid process" they also may not get the quality that would be more desirable. Over the years I have seen many retrofitted schools.

Technology: Schools often have to hard wire a school, even with wireless, they may have to create some hubs because the metal and brick in a school can affect a wireless network. The number of computers in a retrofit can be extensive. I was the Network Administrator for a large high school and we had over 2,000 computers. The major problem was the school was very old with a very heavy brick and metal structure, three stories, and had many out buildings that were added later. There are so many examples of problems with this retrofit that all of them can't be discussed here, but an one example was where 35 computers were moved into a relatively new addition and up on a third floor and at the far end of the building. There were sufficient electrical outlets, which is rare and after everything was connected and turned on, the power failed. The building was not wired to take that much electrical load. When the central district was notified, they sent out their electricians and they flat refused to repair this problem. It was determined that the fix would take so much work and cost so much that the decision was to work only 25 computers at one time. This immediately meant that an entire class could not work on the computers at the same time.

Projection Systems: There is a big push to use laptop computers and projectors to make presentations. We ordered projectors and laptop computers for the science department and it took over a year for one to arrive. The process of ordering equipment has many good points and many bad points in the process. One projector in a department that has nine instructors is simply not sufficient to move the department into the technological age. breaking down the equipment and then resetting the equipment creates potential problems and even when set on a movable cart, there are problems. The danger of theft is significant. At one school we had over 100 laptop computers stolen while they were still in the shipping boxes. Laptops, digital cameras, and even printers have been stolen.

The Classroom: Classrooms often are not designed well these days. They are designed for the kind of classroom we had way back in the past when the teacher stood at the front of the classroom and lectured, but are not designed well for the technological age. In many classrooms there is not even one wall that is properly designed to handle a projection and projection screens may be too small or impossible to position properly. In one room after the retrofit, they had lowered the ceiling with a drop ceiling. This drop in the ceiling resulted in the television wall bracket being so high that half of the television would be up above the new ceiling. The construction workers that did the retrofit of the ceiling were not authorized to move the bracket, so the television sat on the floor for 6 months along with the VCR player. I was not allowed to do anything with it because the county workers were scheduled at some point to move the bracket and needed the equipment out and available. (It did take the whole six months.)

Televisions: At one time televisions were placed on carts at the front of the classroom. Now televisions are often placed on wall brackets. Sometimes they are so high that it is impossible to reach the controls. Standing on chairs is possibly more dangerous than televisions on carts. Most of these televisions do not have remote controls. The television on a wall bracket is visible from most points in the classroom, but the size is not like watching a movie played by a movie projector. It is often not possible to "read" anything printed on a television screen mounted on such a bracket. They work well for things like the "morning show", but have less value as an educational tool. (Note: I have purchased two large used color televisions, place each on a cart on each side of the classroom and used a television splitter to send the same signal to both televisions at the same time giving students on both sides of the room a better ability to see the television.)

The Desks, Tables, and Chairs: The arrangement of the classroom is fun to play with, but I have found it difficult to really effectively change. In some classrooms I have worked in the tables had different leg lengths, some had a great deal of graffiti, some had poor surfaces, some chairs had cracks etc. Getting things fixed had been a problem. You must turn in written requests and wait and wait. I have resorted to repairing many things on my own. Often even having a good pencil sharpener can be a problem. A website "classroom.4teachers.org" will let you design a floor-plan for your classroom. I have found that I needed a fairly large area clear near the center front of the classroom to allow use of an overhead projector.

Photocopiers: The use of a photocopier is often greatly restricted at a school. I have purchased my own copier which I have at home. I only use it when absolutely needed, but at least I can use it when needed. The cost of paper and toner is expensive. Our system gave teachers a check fro about $100 each year which I then used for these supplies. You should check with your PTA about providing some equipment and resources.

Un-needed Supplies: Every year I would be given an eraser, chalk, overhead markers, etc. which I may not actually need. I would give what I didn't need back, but the next year I would get the same things again. It is nice that they want to supply us with some start-up materials, but if they asked, we could probably save them some money. Teachers often hoard a lot of things. There could be teachers at a school with enough supplies to outfit a department. Old supplies can become unusable. Paper does "yellow", pens do dry out, and erasers can only be thrown at so many students a day (a joke).

It would be really great if teachers were really consulted about how our classrooms should really be designed and the design should aim at safety, technology,
effective use of space, and function. Naturally there are state and federal rules that must be met in this process.