I've got this thread going with holdenweb re the ideal classroom configuration.
Like, we're all familiar with conference venues, where we just balance a laptop or share power strips around tables, but for one's workaday environment, where one has more control over layout, what would be your ideal digital math and/or CS track "box car" i.e. would would you want delivered to the top school of your choice? Wave your magic wand, dream, as thoughts are inexpensive and often worth sharing (we have pixels to spare). We got a peak at Microsoft's Codeplex office, no cubes to speak of, all outfitted for pair programming, plus I talked with Josh Cronemeyer of Thought Works quite a bit, and again, XP is taken quite seriously there. So how might our classrooms, including for high school aged kids, prepare them for the real world working environment? They need to give lightning talks, take turns sharing projections, run planning meetings. I've suggested we need teachers to pair up as well, to role model sharing authority, trading hats. The traditional "rank and file" of the Roman Imperial classroom might not be most conducive to the formation of geek-level work habits and skills (imagine that). Like, you'll never be a dev if you're always wall flower Ms. Docile who doesn't know how to "ask the room". We don't want another generation of kiss-butts, like the last one was. The blog post below diagrams what we used at West Precinct (a U shape). I'm not suggesting one size fits all or that every digital math track features the same layout -- though for spreading a brand (of charter school say), a franchise motif actually helps, e.g. Burgerville's are pretty similar everywhere (free Wifi, and now, more nutrition information ** -- good grist for the mill in our newly calorie-conscious Home Economics track (being designed in tandem with Digital Math, for field testing in top notch overseas schools as well as local ones, IAGATP)). http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2009/06/at-work-again.html Kirby ** http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157...@n00/3643447292/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/17157...@n00/3643447414/in/photostream/ _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list Edu-sig@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
