Comments on Talking about the future of education - in rowsTypePad2007-06-24T10:10:59ZEwan McIntoshhttps://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2007/06/talking-about-t/comments/atom.xml/David Warlick commented on 'Talking about the future of education - in rows'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e008d33d9988342007-07-06T09:50:11Z2007-07-06T09:50:12ZDavid Warlickhttp://2cents.davidwarlick.com/Ewan, Your point is very well taken. It's our tendency, as children of the industrial age (at least at my...<p>Ewan,</p>
<p>Your point is very well taken. It's our tendency, as children of the industrial age (at least at my age) to work in straight rows, performing repetitive tasks.</p>
<p>I too have to confess that I was surprised at the layout, but it's what we were left with. After all, it wasn't an unconference site that we were using. And there were so many of us.</p>
<p>But the truth of it is that most of the NECC EduBloggerCon was spent in small rooms where we carried our chairs in and sat where it was comfortable for conversation. A few folks sat on tables. I do not recall anyone sitting cross-legged on the floor. We are simply not as limber as Dave Winberger.</p>
<p>You can get a better sense of the even from a rickety video I put together when I got home (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLuWXmY3iWY).</p>
<p>But, once again, you make a very good point, that I do not wish to dilute. We still tend to think in straight rows.</p>Steve Dembo commented on 'Talking about the future of education - in rows'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e008ceda3288342007-06-28T19:46:44Z2007-06-28T19:46:44ZSteve Dembohttp://teach42.comTwo of the other rooms formed in circles, with the people who arrived first forming the inner circle and other...<p>Two of the other rooms formed in circles, with the people who arrived first forming the inner circle and other people crowding around hte outside. In that one, the tables were set up that way, so that's the way we set. </p>
<p>I think another question we should be asking ourselves is, if the space we're in doesn't fit our goals, why don't we just re-arrange it? How hard is it really to move a few tables? Not very. But how hard does it seem to be for us to realize that the tables can and should be moved? Much more challenging.</p>
<p>Great point...</p>Chris Lehmann commented on 'Talking about the future of education - in rows'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e009875ed188332007-06-26T03:40:14Z2007-06-26T03:40:14ZChris Lehmannhttp://www.practicaltheory.org/serendipityThat's me at the front of that room... and I hated the set up of it. What you don't see...<p>That's me at the front of that room... and I hated the set up of it. What you don't see is that we tried to just gather in a circle of chairs in the front of the room, but then there were too many people, and it turned into much less of a discussion than I'd hoped, and much more into a "session." </p>Chris commented on 'Talking about the future of education - in rows'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e00986eb5288332007-06-25T17:57:46Z2008-01-25T00:49:22ZChrishttp://profile.typekey.com/ChrisFuller/Wholeheartedly agree, I know that the most stimulating and inspiring web 2.0 chat I've ever had was with Paul Harrington...<p>Wholeheartedly agree, I know that the most stimulating and inspiring web 2.0 chat I've ever had was with Paul Harrington and JOe Dale at the recent eTwinning conference in Nottingham. Every time a new idea was suggested, conversation spiralled- until we were told off for missing the bus back to the hotel. Oops.</p>Graham Wegner commented on 'Talking about the future of education - in rows'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e00986eabb88332007-06-25T12:18:36Z2007-06-25T17:55:58ZGraham Wegnerhttp://gwegner.edublogs.orgEwan, I have to admit that I didn't really notice the rows until your post - partly because the first...<p>Ewan, I have to admit that I didn't really notice the rows until your post - partly because the first edubloggercon pics I saw coming through were from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34879177@N00/tags/edubloggercon/" rel="nofollow">Brian Crosby,/a> and they showed a lot of the attendants broken into smaller clusters. What looks <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12807598@N00/606878148/in/set-72157600447758471/" rel="nofollow">informal</a> actually is just the tail end of what <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12807598@N00/606740977/in/set-72157600447758471/" rel="nofollow">you spotted</a>. I concur about generating more unforced spaces in events like this - having been a part of a <a href="http://talo.wikispaces.com/swapmeet07a" rel="nofollow">TALO Swapmeet</a> where the participants were scattered around the room with a couple of projectors beaming up stuff, going back to rows with one person holding the floor seems to go right against where forward thinking educators need to go. It sounds very much like Scottish classrooms have a lot in common with Aussie schools in terms of flexible grouping and seating. Personally, I get my students to help design the way the classroom desks are arranged and where the resources are located. But then again, Scotland is a progressive place in the education sphere and at least, Australia has progressive tendencies.</p>John commented on 'Talking about the future of education - in rows'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e200e00986570388332007-06-24T12:24:27Z2007-06-24T12:24:27ZJohnhttp://www.sandaigprimary.co.uk/pivot/johnjohnston.phpHi Ewan, As you know Primary classes in Scotland are a lot more unconference shaped than EduBloggerCon mostly groups of...<p>Hi Ewan,<br />
As you know Primary classes in Scotland are a lot more unconference shaped than EduBloggerCon mostly groups of children around tables. <br />
Children moving to sit on the floor like Mr Weinberger when they do need to watch a presentation. In many primary classrooms the grouping is flexible with children regrouped or grouping themselves for particular activities. At Sandaig our classrooms are semi open plan which give a lot of flexibility of space. Many classes of older children are capable of rearranging furniture to suit activities.<br />
Our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/troutcolor/tags/ictsuite/" rel="nofollow">ICT suite</a> is laid out to encourage peer communication. Now the CRTs are replace with flat screens and clearing up the lines of sight I expect even more peer tutoring.</p>