EDU221RoomArrangement

toc =What you need to know= Chapter 1 in //Classroom Management// describes the importance of organization in the classroom.

Remember that this textbook has good and useful information in it, but does not hold all the answers. On the topic of room arrangement, there are many differing opinions. Which one is correct is up to you and your comfort zone and your students. Check out these alternatives:


 * [|Feng Shui in a classroom] (notice that it talks about the importance of no clutter on the walls).
 * [|A student-centered, friendly classroom] (this is a story about an elementary classroom but notice how every inch of wall is covered with great things that set a positive tone).

=Tools for this assignment= You are now going to do an assignment that utilizes technology to draw room arrangements. Below are several tools you can use.

__**Web 2.0 tools**__
 * 4teachers.org online tool: http://classroom.4teachers.org/**
 * If you don't see what you want, it has drawing tools, so you can add it
 * You can only rotate shapes by 90 degree increments, so if you want to show room items at 45 degree angles or any angle other than 90, you'll need to draw them in yourself using the pretty rudimentary drawing tools (but atleast it has drawing tools)
 * It's by the same people who bring your Rubistar, so if you created an account for your rubric, you've already got an account
 * Log in and you can save your floorplan, you can even build multiple floor plans


 * Kaplan's tool: http://kaplan.floorplanner.com/**
 * If you want results that look like blueprints, this is the one for you--very detailed choices
 * It's a little more complex to use but you can figure it out
 * A lot of the choices are for early childhood classrooms, but you can adapt and still find what you need
 * You have full rotation capability
 * You can make very detailed choices down to exact measurements (which can sometimes make it feel very persnickety)
 * You can switch from 2D to 3D...very cool/fun feature
 * It will probably take longer to build something with this tool, but if you like "real" design, you'll prefer this tool
 * The words "ground floor" appear at the top and it looks like a drop down menu (ooooh a multi-floor classroom?!), but in my experience, that only deletes what you've got and there were no choices...maybe on a different day?
 * In the top right corner is a "share" feature (wanna put yours on Facebook??). Email it to yourself and then when you want to see it OR add more to it, just click the link in your email.


 * Scholastic's online tool: http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/class_setup/**
 * You can't save what you've created, only print it. So if you stop or lose your internet connection, everything will be lost and you have to start over again.
 * You can either print the diagram to paper and then scan it, OR if your computer has the capability, you can print it straight to .pdf, OR you can take a screen shot of the finished diagram and put it into a Word document or make it into a .pdf.
 * You can only rotate shapes by 90 degree increments, so if you want to show room items at 45 degree angles or any angle other than 90, this tool will not present an accurate representation.

Here are 2 diagrams of possible configurations of the Computing Center 104. They are .pdf files made using the Scholastic tool. [| computerlabcirclearrangement.pdf] [| computerlabchairarrangement.pdf]

__**Other Tools to Choose from:**__
 * The drawing tools in Word**
 * Here are some diagrams made using Word of possible configurations of a room in the Education Center.
 * http://sp07.wikispaces.com/Room+Arrangements


 * Make sketches by hand and then scan them**


 * Paint, Gimp, Photoshop, . . . any other drawing tool of your choice**


 * Photographs**
 * Take a photograph of your mentor's room (with his/her permission and without students)
 * Rearrange the furniture to the "other" arrangement and take another photograph
 * Return the furniture to the way your mentor teacher had it unless s/he prefers your second arrangement


 * Combinations**
 * It's okay to create one diagram using one tool and the second diagram using a different tool
 * Feel free to build a diagram using one tool and modify it using a second tool


 * Feel free to do a web search and find other tools or use whatever you're already familiar with**

=What you need to do=
 * 1) Using the tool(s) of your choice make 2 scale drawings of your mentor's classroom (or as close to scale as you can get). One scale drawing should be the way the room is currently arranged. The other scale drawing should be of another possible configuration of the room (it can be better or worse or "just different" than the way the room is currently arranged).
 * 2) Capture the diagrams (screen shots, .pdf file, graphic, . . . ) and create a digital document or electronic presence that shows the two diagrams.
 * 3) Compare the two rooms based on the 5 keys to good room arrangement from the chapter. Your text can be a bulleted list, an outline, a paragraph...whatever suits your style and what you have to say.
 * 4) Create a document (Word file, wiki page, Web page, .pdf, . . . ) that contains both diagrams and the text that is the comparison.
 * We should be able to see simultaneously the two arrangements as well as your comparisons (don't make the reader click on multiple files or have to open multiple windows to see the two diagrams).
 * Do not tell which arrangement is your mentor's current arrangement.
 * 1) Post the document or a link to your final creation to the class artifacts page.

=Assessment= Do you have one graphic showing a possible way to arrange a room? 20% Do you have another graphic showing a different configuration of the same elements in the same space? 20% // [Note: if you remove furniture or introduce new/different furniture to the room arrangement, you will earn 0 for this section, even if you have a graphic. The objective is to see how you can rearrange the same furniture in the same room.] // Do you compare the two rooms on each of the 5 keys to good arrangement? 50% Are the two graphics and the text visible all at the same time on the same page (wiki page or Web page) or in the same document that is viewable on the Web? 10%

=Additional Resources= [|Termites] is a software application you download that helps with seating charts...getting students in good places. You can enter data such as a student that needs to be at the front of the room, these two students can't sit together, etc. It will generate random seating charts based on student names that you enter as well as data.