SMART thinking!

I’ve seen this fan at several trade shows …thought you might be interested too.

How They Work

Big Ass Fans are the highest quality, most meticulously engineered HVLS fans on the planet. HVLS stands for High Volume / Low Speed, meaning Big Ass Fans move a lot of air with their size (which is up to 24-ft. in diameter), not speed. Moving at a low speed means less energy used for operation, translating into more energy savings for you. And Big Ass Fans aren’t just for the warmer months. Big Ass Fans can save you money and keep you comfortable year-round.

SMART thinking! What do YOU think? Comment above left.

Thanks to Peter Lippman, Assoc AIA, REFP of JCJ Architecture, author of Evidence-Based Design of Elementary and Secondary Schools: A Responsive Approach to Creating Learning Environments for pointing out this lovely school in his recent article The Responsive Designer in the Spring Issue of Learning by Design.

The Gateway School Program Strengthens Individual Learning Styles

The Gateway School, New York, NY – designed by Andrew Bartle Architects Studio is a wonderful example of a school built around the problem-based style of instruction.  The Gateway School is a leader in  the education of children with learning disabilities.  The following is an excerpt from the program’s description statement.

The Gateway Lower School Program is a unique setting in which the academic, social, and emotional growth of students with learning disabilities is carefully fostered. Enrollment is limited to allow small classrooms of eight to ten students where learning is highly individualized as well as opportunities for the student body to meet together for large group learning experiences. These larger learning contexts facilitate a strong sense of school community and help prepare students for transitions to mainstream educational programs.

Instruction in reading and math is conducted in smaller group settings in order to teach to the specific needs and skill levels of each child. …These multi-sensory approaches to learning ensure that students develop a strong structural basis for future academic success.

…Gateway’s atmosphere is structured, warm, and nurturing. Emphasis is placed on the development of each child’s strengths and talents as well as the foundational instruction necessary to address his or her specific learning challenges. Gateway is committed to helping each child develop a strong sense of self-worth and independence, a concomitant respect for others and an ability to function well as a member of a group.

Because the program calls for small group, individual, and group activities, the school is designed to be highly flexible and agile – allowing students independence within the learning setting.  The reception provides a sense of lightness and color with intimacy and texture, providing a kid-scale, welcoming entry.

Welcoming Entry at the Gateway School

The classroom area is small but flexible with integral small group breakout.  Individual attention can be provided to students by teachers or peers in a way that is subtle and non-threatening.

Gatway Classroom is highly flexible with integrated small group rooms.

Hallway alcoves cleverly provide an area for one-on-one interaction that is fun and “cave-like”; they are located adjacent to classrooms so as to provide maximum visibility with auditory privacy.  The alcoves make great places for students that prefer a higher level of privacy and quiet for reading or study.

Alcoves off the Hallway provide areas for Study and One-on-One Learning

The Gateway School is SMART thinking!  What do YOU think?  Leave your comments on the upper left.

Related SMART thinking! Articles

To See or Not to See

Emotions in Working and Learning

Creativity Crisis in American Schools

Jump Up and Learn

15 Things to Consider in 21st Century Learning Environments

Modern One Room Schoolhouse

School of One Turns Educational Models Inside Out

With the HOKKI, wiggling in your chair is no longer an offense punishable by exile to the hall.

I had the great pleasure of seeing the HOKKI in action at the CEFPI San Jose Conference in 2010 and actually snagged one of these clever little stools for my office.  VS International launched the HOKKI at NEOCON in Chicago last year.  I definitely recommend taking a look at what a great tool they can be in the classroom – linking movement and learning.  Below is an excerpt about the HOKKI from the VS website:

HOKKI comes in a variety of heights for any age group

Our HOKKI is something special:

Sitting on HOKKI means playful movement, activity and high spirits. A dynamic stool for everyone, for use in kindergarden, school, play areas and at home. HOKKI is available in three sizes, so that children and adults can enjoy HOKKI in equal measure.

Sitting on the HOKKI is a Delight

 

The old contrast between sitting and moving has now been broken up: HOKKI is a product with simple and clear basic design which, through its simplicity, allows versatile use. It  is easily manageable and intuitively understood. Children continuously discover new ways to play with HOKKI, it sets no barrier to a child’s imagination.

The controlled free movement stimulates the entire body in different ways. This kind of acitivity liberates and increases the sense of well-being. Body and mind are activated and an existing urge to move  is supported productively.

HOKKI Comes in a Variety of Colors

 

The seat-contact surface makes for increased sitting safety. With the recessed structure of the rounded down seat edge and the firm stand HOKKI offers children flexibility as well as manifold hold.

SMART thinking!  What do YOU think?  Would you purchase this stool for your classroom?

Related SMART thinking! Stories

One Desk. One Chair. K-12. Really.

Jump Up and Learn

Stand Up for Learning

Ball Chairs Get Students’ Attention

Flexible Teaching Walls

Library Learning Fun

The Third Teacher

Heard about this great design guide (click below to download) from Playscapes:

 

Here’s an excerpt for the Playscapes blog about the Design for Play Guide -

Another helpful playground rubric is the set of ten design principals offered by the organization Play England in their publication “Design for Play: A guide to creating successful play spaces”, by Aileen Shackell, Nicola Butler, Phil Doyle, and David Ball.

Successful Play Spaces:

1. are ‘bespoke’

2. are well-located

3. make use of natural elements

4. provide a wide range of play opportunities

5. are accessible to both disabled and non-disabled children

6. meet community needs

7. allow children of different ages to play together

8. build in opportunities to experience risk and challenge

9. are sustainable and appropriately maintained

10. allow for change and evolution

The Design for Play document illustrates each design principle with further explanation and illustrative photos…many of natural playgrounds recently constructed in the UK, as excerpted here. A must read!

Here’s a few photos of great playspaces featured on the Playscapes Blog –

Mounds Inspired by the Lord of the Rings Hobbit House Spa Fields London

 

"Hobbit" Mounds Spa Fields London

 

Compacted Soil Makes a Delightful Path

 

Path at Pittsboro Kiwanis Park

 

Garden of Senses in Copenhagen DK

 

Playground at Garden City Canada

Playground at Garden City Canada

 

Playground at Garden City Canada

 

Wavefield by Maya Lin

 

Play on the Wavefield by Maya Lin

 

Playscape by Groundwork - London

 

Pretty SMART thinking! What do you think?  Leave your comment here.

Here’s of the biggest complaints I hear from educators regarding student computers:

• Desktop units take up too much space, are hard to power (cords everywhere) and limit the use of the classroom (which leads to the other problem – they have to BE in a room for security);
• Desktop units and laptops are expensive! Not near enough $ to fund and maintain computers for the elusive 1:1 kid to computer ratio;
• Laptops are expensive, get dropped, don’t get shut down properly and are, therefore, never charged when you need them – which should be (of course) on a spontaneous basis- cause learning’s organic isn’t it?!!!
• Laptops don’t hold a charge long enough;
• PC’s and laptops require training of the teacher and the student and who has time to be a technology wiz anyway?!

But now we have the Apple iPad (R) - a cheaper (maybe affordable! *finally*) technology tool that engages children immediately with little or no instructions or training.  Believe me when I say this – two of my children received them for Christmas.  By the end of the day they had: a) customized their screens, apps, and passwords; b) explored a plethora of social media; and c) grudgingly (at Mom’s insistence) learned to use the “Pages” app ($9) similar to Microsoft Word ($55-365).  The iPad is light and moveable -highly conducive to differentiated teaching methods and settings.  The lower price allows for easier damage replacement as well.

Now Bretford is offering a PowerSync mobile charging cart for IPads.  Here’s what’s great about the product:

• Charge 30 iPads in one cart;
• The PowerSync Cart for iPad allows you to sync up to 30 iPad devices with iTunes, moving all your selected apps, books, videos, music, and Podcasts to each iPad, according to your specifications,
• To enable syncing, simply configure each iPad in your collection to sync with iTunes, place it in the cart, and connect the included 30-pin dock connector cable. When all your iPad devices are configured, you can connect the cart to your Mac, and sync all 30 devices with iTunes.

Apps for the iPad/ Related Info:

IEAR.org is a non-profit organization comprised of educators who evaluate and grade educational apps for iPads. Click here to see tons of recommended apps..most free.

Related SMART thinking! Blog Entries:

India’s Amazing 35$ Tablet Computer

Do Schools Stifle Creativity?

Creativity Crisis in American Schools

100 Video Site Resources for Educators

Schools not Prepared for e-Textbooks

15 Things to Consider in 21st Century Schools

50 Best Blogs for Education Leaders

Upcoming Technology Trends in Education

SMART thinking!  What do YOU think of this product idea?  Comment by clicking “comments” on the left.

Here’s a great resource for educators, architects, and facility planners! Wenger has published a great planning guide for music facilities.

Click here for the free download

This Planning Guide is designed to help you — music educators, administrators, facility planners, architects and consultants — focus on the fundamental requirements of the Music Suite. Though it is written from the perspective of the music educator, your entire planning team can use this information to create a Music Suite that is both effective and exciting. The following guidelines are the culmination of 50 years of Wenger experience. By visiting with thousands of music educators, we understand what it takes to make a Music Suite successful and what seemingly insignificant design elements can jeopardize its effectiveness.

This Planning Guide is designed to help you — music educators, administrators, facility planners,architects and consultants — focus on the fundamental requirements of the Music Suite. Thoughit is written from the perspective of the music educator, your entire planning team can use thisinformation to create a Music Suite that is both effective and exciting. The following guidelines are the culmination of 50 years of Wenger experience. By visiting with thousands of music educators, we understand what it takes to make a Music Suite successful and what seemingly insignificant design elements can jeopardize its effectiveness.

SMART thinking!  Thank you Wenger!!!

What do YOU think? Is this guide helpful? Post your comment below.

SMART thinking! from SIS-USA

One desk and chair for all grades - even adults. No kidding.

SIS-USA has launched a unique new line of classroom workstations designed to accommodate ALL grades, with NO special tools. The product line, called up.grade was the result of collaboration between educators, educational facility planners, architects, interior designers and industrial designers.

Multiple chair and desks heights - from one desk and one chair.

The criteria for design was simple – create student workstations that can fit every student, any time, anywhere, any grade – that the teacher can adjust with one simple tool and not have to call maintenance. No more “special desks” for the bigger kids. No more furniture graveyards of broken, mismatched furniture parts.

Desktops can be cut in many shapes - scale shape shown.

Now add the criteria that the furniture line must be easily reconfigured, be able to be moved around in the classroom simply and easily by students, and accommodate the bouncing and movement of students in the chair. Voila! Up.grade.

Read more from Facility Management News…..

Tell us what YOU think! Would you use up.grade in your classroom?

Transparency has been a much debated topic in schools lately.  At odds are several issues:  student security, visibility, natural daylighting, and distractions.

Numerous studies show that students’ test scores as well as teacher retention are directly related to daylighting in schools.  Teacher retention is also related to the quality of the work environment (Buckley and Schneider, Teachers College Record.)

With the increase in project-based learning, teachers are using areas such as circulation corridors and patio areas to extend classroom work areas.  This is possible through visibility: more windows, transparency in doors, sliding glass doors, glass roll up doors and semi-transparent panels.  The transparency allows for the extension of the classroom and simultaneous supervision of all of the students.  Some have worried about the distractability of students in such spaces yet many schools say that – with consistent expectations of classroom behavior – this is an issue that can be overcome within a short period of time.

Security experts who subscribe to the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design tout the value of “watching” – or the process by which the collective help to passively supervise the few who may seek to make trouble.  Informal and engaged watching help keep schools safe by keeping many eyes on the action.

Here are some examples of how schools today are using transparency to enhance the learning environment. SMART thinking!!

If you’ve been reading SMART thinking! for awhile you know that we’ve done a couple of stories about the Urinal Fly (see “Something to Aim For”) – a great concept to help boys reduce …um…”spillage” at the urinal.  So here are some funny urinals “aimed” (sorry couldn’t help the pun) at keeping restroom floors clean from Xinjo.com.

Don't Know if it makes music or not!

Robot Urinal

Cartoon Character Urinal

Flower Urinals

For Soccer Fans

Wow. These are some powerful statements about the condition of our schools – as viewed by students. Please take time to visit the “Through Your Lens” exhibit by clicking HERE.

Linda, New Orleans

This From the 21st Century School Fund:

Through Your Lens is a collaboration of The 21st Century School Fund, Critical Exposure, and Healthy Schools Campaign to raise awareness of the need to fund school buildings that support learning and provide a safe, healthy environment for students and teachers.

By sharing photos and stories of what they see every day at school, students and teachers will provide us all with an honest window into today’s school buildings.

Background

This year, Congress met to discuss the future of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known most recently as No Child Left Behind. ESEA is the major federal vehicle for providing funds and support to K-12 education in low-income communities. It also sets the criteria and standards by which the federal government measures school improvement. However, through numerous Congressional hearings and the issuance of a White House Blueprint for Reform, school buildings have largely been absent from the conversation.

Participating Students from McKees Rocks, PA

School buildings must be part of nation’s conversation about education. Quality education requires quality spaces, something that millions of students lack.

We know that millions of children, especially those living in low-wealth school districts, spend their school days in poor quality, unhealthy, and overcrowded buildings that cause health problems and limit educational opportunities. All students and teachers have the right to adequate, appropriate learning conditions that will allow them to strive for and achieve the goals being set for them. No single level of government can accomplish this alone. We must create a new federal, state, and local partnership to ensure that each and every single community has sufficient resources to provide high-quality school buildings to their students.

We need to show our elected leaders what our nation’s school buildings really look like and how important they are to student learning. That’s why we’re gathering and exhibiting photos from students and teachers across the country showing the reality of their school building conditions.

Help make sure that decision-makers at all levels of the conversation have a clear view of our nation’s public schools: invite your legislators to view the exhibit today!

SMART thinking! kudos to 21st Century School Fund.

Got this invite from the EPA and thought I’d share it…

Discover the Link Between IAQ and Student Productivity!

Improving Indoor Air Quality and Academic Performance -
Facility Maintenance is the Cornerstone

EPA Tools for Schools Program

Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 12:00 PM ET.

Register today for this free webinar!

Speakers:

• Yasmin Bowers, American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
• Michele Curreri, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program
• Frank Di Nella, Keller Independent School District

Facilitator:

• Roger Young, Roger Young and Associates

Attend this webinar to:

• Learn about the impact of indoor air quality on student health and academic productivity.
• Hear current academic performance results from a school district leading the way in incorporating and sustaining an IAQ management program.
• Gain insight on ways to identify, address and prevent IAQ problems in school environments.
• Develop guidelines and proven methodologies that you can start using immediately, including training, reporting and leveraging technology.
• Discover the importance of using a maintenance management system.

This webinar is offered at no cost to participants. Don’t miss your chance! Register today at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=s3yrb36cocfe.

Please note: This webinar will be approximately 90 minutes. You will need a high-speed Internet connection and a telephone line to interact with speakers and other participants.

First saw this on Daniel Pink’s blog:

These great Fast Lane -Volkswagen videos prove it…behavior CAN be affected by environment and specific outcomes. Some call it “emotional intelligence” – the importance of emotions in work outcomes.  Here specific outcomes are linked  to emotional satisfaction.   Love it..SMART thinking!

Along the same lines, the fun theory folks believe that behavior can be changed for the better by making tasks, chores or less desirable things fun!  I can definitely think of ways this might apply to teaching  and learning.

Here they get people to not only throw their own trash away, but hunt the surrounding area for more to throw in! Brilliant!

Humor also plays a part….this video (created as a take off on the popular Old Spice commercials) for the Harold B. Lee Library encourages students to make use of all the amenities at the library…thanks to Christian Long at the Be Playful Blog for pointing this one out!

History (from wikipedia)

The Ron Clark Academy, housed in a renovated red brick warehouse, is located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia, and accommodates fifth through eighth grade students. Students are from low wealth to high wealth families. Clark had planned to build the school for ten years before construction began. Along with the proceeds of his two books The Essential 55 and The Excellent 11, Clark raised additional funding for the project which eventually cost over $3.5 million. The academy was established on June 25, 2007. Classes began for students on September 4, 2007.

Technology and facilities

Each classroom provides students with technology such as notebook computers, interactive whiteboards, digital cameras, projectors, and audio video equipment. In addition to the technologically-equipped classrooms, the school provides students with accessible amenities such as a recording studio, a darkroom, a two-story vaulted ceiling library, a gymnasium, and a dance studio.

The Ron Clark Academy uses donated computers in all classrooms and offices. As a result, students will be able to study photography, music production, and business leadership.

Library/ Cafe

Student population

The students that attend The Ron Clark Academy come from a range of backgrounds, including students from high wealth families. Students must go through an application process in order to be accepted into the school. Only 50 students were accepted out of 350 applications the first school year. Students must be nominated for the school and then must apply. Students’ applications are then reviewed by Ron Clark and other teachers and students are selected to be interviewed by the school. If accepted, students’ parents must sign a Contract of Obligation in which parents agree to volunteer 10 hours of their time each quarter. They also will have to allow their child to go on mandatory field trips essential to the curriculum.

Check out this video about the school from CNN. SMART thinking Ron Clark!

While this is not the only great kinesthetically-attention-enhancing (is that a word?) furniture for schools, I appreciate that the Safco company has provided some links for funding and grant opportunities on their web page.  Below is a description and video about the stand up desks.  SMART thinking Safco!

“The stand up desk allows students to feel less confined and helps them stay focused in the classroom.  It offers improved body ergonomics, expends excess energy, allows for better oxygen flow to the brain, improves handwriting, and is being studied for increase in caloric expenditure which could help fight rising childhood obesity statistics.”

Click Title Slide to See the Presentation (hint log in to google docs for full access!)

Obviously, “form follows function” when designing highly-responsive school environments and understanding the key survival skills 21st century learners will need is one way to identify “function.” The 15 considerations that follow are key “survival skills … for careers, college, and citizenship in the 21st century” (Wagner), skills for a participatory culture, and key characteristics for the environments needed to support communities of learners, local and global (Jenkins.) 15 Skills to consider are:

1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
2. Collaboration and Leading by Influence
3. Agility and Adaptability
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurial-ism
5. Effective Oral & Written Communication
6. Accessing & Analyzing Information
7. Curiosity & Imagination
8. Engagement
9. Personalization
10. Global Competencies
11. Social Equity/ Responsibility
12. Community Focus
13. Arts Integration
14. Maintainability, Safety and Security
15. Sustainability

Read the whole article here….

Just visited New Orleans and toured the schools that are being rebuilt, modernized and replaced after the storm.  What a big job these folks are facing!  Our tour guide, Kenneth J Ducote, PhD, AICP, has been working with the Orleans Parrish School system for years and was a wealth of information.  I salute his passion and perserverence on behalf of the children – especially children of poverty and color.

Our tour took us by the Phyllis Wheatley School, built in 1954 for one of the oldest black neighborhoods in New Orleans as an attempt to build quality facilities for minority children of the area.

Today, the school is being considered for replacement by the Orleans Parrish School Board. Preservation architects have fought hard to have the school remodeled. Below is an excerpt from docomomo US.

“The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School is in danger of demolition by the School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish. The elevated school was designed by the architect Charles R. Colbert (1921-2007) in 1954. The cantilevered steel truss structure is solid and clearly did not flood after Hurricane Katrina. The building suffers only from neglect. It is one of the most innovative monuments of mid-century Modern architecture in New Orleans. The design was recognized by Progressive Architecture in 1955. Mr. Colbert received the Louisiana AIA Medal of Honor in 2006.”

While I am personally in support of saving historically and architecturally significant buildings, I believe that no building of historic significance should be placed above student learning or a community’s best interests.  After touring the site, it is clear that the Wheatley school has a number of issues that will significantly interfere with every student’s right to 21st Century learning.  Most notably:

• The site, at just 1/6th of the size recommended for a school of 800 is too small for play areas and fields needed for a quality physical education program;
• The elevated structure – built to keep the school from flooding – doesn’t work for Kindergarteners and 1st graders who can’t be located on the 2nd floor due to fire code regulations – so they are relegated to a ground floor portable building; which defeats the concept in the first place.
• The elevated structure was designed to provide playgrounds underneath but creates a wind tunnel effect in practice; further, the completely open ground floor means a fence must surround the site – adding to the prison-yard aesthetic.
• The original structure was completely transparent – great idea for natural light and views but a bad idea for glare on the the whiteboards and heat gain.  Sound daylighting principles are more appropriate for a learning environment.
• The small site precludes having a gymnasium, music rooms, performance spaces, science labs and a host of other spaces needed for a quality instructional program.

The resources that will need to be expended to remodel this facility are significant and the essential drawbacks of small site and elevation are not solved.  The OPSB must consider how to get the highest and best use of funds for student instruction…students are the history that must be most important to this great community.

The Treme/Lafitte neighborhood has not been supportive of  remodeling the school (click here for a NPR story), even though the building has been placed on the World Monuments Fund Watch List.

Definitely, this is a building worth preserving – as a community center or other community resource, but it doesn’t meet the needs of a quality 21st Century Learning Environment.

Children's School in Stamford, CT photo credit: MaryAnn Thompson Architects

Spotted this project at SchoolDesigner.com…

From MaryAnn Thompson Architects:

“The program for the Children’s School, a school for 60 children 2-8, was given to us as a “one room schoolhouse”. The two age groups of the school are housed in two classroom “wings,” both joined and separated by the entry area in which quiet activities are located to calm the child upon arrival.

Roof planes subtly tilt against one another to let in light from above between their skewed forms, and they define the classroom spaces below them without the use of walls. The younger children occupy the east-facing wing as they are only in school in the morning; the older children occupy the west wing to take advantage of western light. The scheme has multiple relationships to the exterior play areas with doors out from every classroom.

The shifting plan allows for a fragmented reading of the building that reduces the scale of the mass to be more in keeping with the scale of the child. It also prioritizes the subjective. In order to fully understand it, the building must be occupied and its spaces engaged. The spatial sequence is one of hide and reveal. The building offers a sense of journey and moments of epiphany for the child in its unfolding layers.”

The school has won numerous design awards and is a champion for student’s individual learning styles.  For more pictures and the full story CLICK HERE.

SMART thinking!!

Amelia Wagner sits on a WittFitt chair while working at her desk; photo credit: Amy Correnti www.rrstar.com

This from Cathy Bayer at the Rockford Register Star:

Students at Spectrum School have had their standard chairs replaced with WittFitt chairs – a chair like an exercise or stability ball with feet.

The chairs help to increase students’ attention level and improve posture.  Each chair is fit to a students’ size and the cost is comparable to the old chairs – about $30.  Schools can buy about five different sizes and students can change seats as they grow.  Balls can also be inflated or deflated for comfort.

Teachers observe less wiggling and leaning forward.  The balls help to exercise the stomach and back muscles because one needs to concentrate to stay upright.

SMARTthinking Spectrum School!!

From Schooldesigner.com:

“Chartwell is the 1st LEED platinum K-12 campus. It also has a goal of achieving net-zero electrical usage (grid neutral). This school has inspired the EPA to start a design for deconstruction competition and is a role model for the State of California´s ambitious initiative to mandate grid neutral schools by 2010. This school campus includes the best-known practices for energy efficiency and creating an optimal learning environment.”

EHDD Architects; Photos Michael David Rose.

Click here for the full story on SchoolDesigner.com.

SMARTthinking!

Just had the privilege of seeing Jonathan Kozol speak at the Mid-Year CEFPI Conference. If you haven’t ever read Savage Inequalities or Shame of a Nation, you need to.  Posting a link of his 2005 speech at CSU Sonoma. Kozol starts speaking at about 9:24 into the video.  It’s about an hour long speech, but MAN is it worth it…he makes a passionate and compassionate statement for underprivileged students in America.  And as a facility planner I have visited some of these environments he speaks of….we need more people to carry Kozol’s torch.  Enjoy.

“Pick battles big enough to matter;
small enough to win.”

From Huffington Post: Residents look on as rescue workers search for victims at the 'La Promesse' school after it collapsed in Petionville, Haiti, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008. The school, where roughly 500 students crowded into several floors, collapsed Friday during classes killing at least 75 people and injuring many more. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

The Council of Educational Facility Planners International and Schools for Children of the World are creating a task force to assess and eventually help repair Haiti Schools. The following is a description of volunteer services needed from the SCW website:

Initial Assessment:

o Structural engineers  with seismic expertise to assess the safety of remaining school facilities

o Volunteers to assist with the clean-up efforts

· Schools that can be repaired will need:

o Project Managers to manage project funds and provide project oversight

o Architects and Engineers to provide design solutions

o Contractors to make the needed repairs

o Fund raisers to identify and secure resources

· Facilities that cannot be repaired will need:

o Project Managers to manage the project funds and provide project oversight

o Contractors to help with the demolition and cleanup

o Educational Facility Planners, Architects, and Engineers with seismic experience to plan and design replacement facilities

o Fund raisers to identify and secure resources

Click here to find out how to donate or sign up to travel to Haiti and help out.

From District Administration:  “ARAMARK recently  launched Cool*Caf a new elementary school dining environment that incorporates the company’s newly designed wellness menus that exceed U.S. Department of Agriculture and state-level nutrition guidelines. Cool*Caf uses animation and student-inspired themes and messages on walls that promote good health.”

According to a USA Today article about Cool*Caf, the concepts include:

•Hefty selections. Fresh fruit and veggie “bars” are being installed with five or more fresh selections in each. Kids can take as many fruits and veggies as they want as part of their meal.

•Splashy décor. Cafeteria serving areas are being redecorated in bright colors with kid-friendly characters and signage.

•Shorter lines. Express lanes are being added so kids who bring lunch don’t wait in long lines for fruit, veggies or milk.

Another healthy trend in schools is the use of local farms and even school grown gardens.  According to District Administration,”many districts have also begun sourcing some of their produce from local farmers—a win-win for both parties. The national Farm to School programs connect schools with local farms to improve student nutrition, provide health and nutrition education opportunities, and support local small farmers.”  School districts such as LA Unified have encouraged schools to plant their own gardens and create a composting program. Very SMART thinking!

There seems to be a lot of interest out there around this topic with our facilities friends in schools so I thought I’d post another story from NPR about the Urinal Fly.   It seems that reducing “spillage” can be fun.  Click here to see the full story at NPR….

Okay this blog is all about SMART thinking…but Diesel has a point! Most brilliant ideas started out sounding stupid!  As visionaries, we need to go out on a limb sometimes.  So go out and think stupid folks….dreaming is what moves us forward.

Be Stupid

ipods and other handheld devices will become integral to learning

These top trends from THE (transforming education through technology) -

#1:  eBook readers will continue to proliferate. No chance of replacing textbooks immediately..but the day will probably come.

#2: Netbooks functionality “Priced at $200 to $300, these small, inexpensive computers are helping to bridge the technology divide that exists at those schools where individual students don’t have access to their own laptops.” (THE)

#3: Teachers will expand the use of interactive whiteboards or similar (less expensive) technology being developed.

#4: Student’s Personal Devices will become ubiquitous and integral to the teaching process.

#5: Personalized Student Assessment Tools are becoming easier, cheaper and faster.  Students, teachers and parents will be able to evaluate and track students’ progress in order to make timely course corrections.

To see the orginal article click here.

SMART thinking indeed!

This from Huffington Post:

“Today’s schools are an anachronism. They resemble the assembly lines of the industrial era, when they were conceived. Groups of 25 to 30 children, beginning at age five, are moved through 13 years of schooling, attending 180 days each year, and taking five major subjects daily for lengths of time specified by the Carnegie Foundation in 1910. These schools are time-based — all children are expected to master the same studies at the same rate over the same period of time. They focus on teaching — how long students are exposed to instruction, not how much they have learned. They are rooted in the belief that one size fits all — all students can benefit equally from the same curriculum and methods of instruction.

We have learned much about education since today’s schools were created. We know now that what students learn and what they are taught are different, and that learning is what matters. We know that children learn different subjects at different rates, some slower and some faster. We know that children have different learning styles, which make different methods of instruction more or less effective for them. We also know that today’s new technologies offer the prospect of individualizing education for each child and gearing instruction to the student’s particular learning style and most effective means of instruction.” (Levine)

Through an innovative iniative led by the New York City Public Schools, the School of One will focus on the needs of learning versus those of teaching; turning traditional schools inside out by allowing students to focus on their individual learning and setting their own pace for doing so.

Photo Credit:  American Architectural Foundation/
Dull Olson Weekes Architects and Cuningham Group Architect

Focusing on the physical environment of a School of one, the New York City Department of Education’s School of One faculty and staff gathered with architects John Weekes, AIA, of Dull Olson Weekes Architects; John Pflueger, AIA, of Cuningham Group Architects; and educational planner Susan Wolff, director of Wolff Designs. The occasion was a charrette put on last May by the American Architecture Foundation and sponsored by Target.

www.urinalfly.com

Urinal with Sticker

This story comes from NPR…The goal at UrinalFly.com is “to make the world cleaner one bathroom at a time. This simple product works with a man’s basic instincts to produce a cleaner bathroom and perhaps some laughs along the way. Give them something to aim for and you will be amazed by the results.”

According to the product developers at UrinalFly, urinals with the “fly” have a whopping 85% less umm “spillage”…other stickers such as targets are available. The stickers last about a year.

Fly Sticker adds Ummm…a target to the Urinal

This is totally SMART thinking for our boys restrooms!!!

Recycled Bus Parts Make Fun New Bus Stops

Spotted on The Design Blog:  designer Christopher Fennell is bringing new life and a creative, fun twist to bus stops by reusing old bus parts.  We applaud this SMART (and sustainable) thinking!

Totally flexible projection screen, pin up boards and whiteboards can be moved anywhere in the room on the wall-mounted rails

Diagram illustrates wall system

Teachers spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to maximize wall space while still keeping it flexible to work in small groups, large group, and a variety of other configurations.  This wall system allows rooms to be easily changed from one configuration to another.

As the SIS folks demonstrate, each component can be lifted and moved by teachers and even students! No calling maintenance for rearranging the boards.  Great idea and definitely SMART thinking!

Active Voting devices have been gaining popularity as interactive teaching tools in the classroom.  The instructor uses the devices to get immediate student participation and feedback.  The software allows for quick quizzes and polling and gives a real-time response to students.  The software can record each student’s responses to let the teacher assess how well the material is being absorbed; allowing her to adjust the lesson plan accordingly.

I recently had the opportunity to utilize student response devices in a presentation at the Council of Educational Facility Planners Intl Annual Conference  in Washinton DC.  The devices (generously loaned by  Classroom Performance System ) added a whole new level of interactivity and discussion to the presentation.

The next generation of classroom response devices will allow students (or anyone) to utilize PDAs, cellphones, laptops or any web enabled device through a web-based system called SoftClick.  – Molly Smith