Completing the First Iterative Cycle
Welcome back, folks!
So much happened this last week, so I'll condense everything together for you all.
We got our individual prototypes completed and we presented to our class.
I may have mentioned this before, but half of the groups designed their prototypes to suit the teacher, while the other half designed with the students' needs in mind.
There were a lot of similarities in the technical aspects of the four different prototypes. All of the groups included:
Foam cubes
These were REALLY important in each group's design. They allowed students and teacher to get together in a space anywhere in the room - quickly, efficiently, and quietly. The only problem that we encountered was figuring out where we would store 20-something cubes (corner of the room probably works).
Vertical writing spaces
I'm pretty sure all of the groups used some kind of vertical writing space in their prototype; be it blackboard, whiteboard, foam core, etc. Something that I really liked in terms of this idea was having movable white/black boards. This allows students to ideate wherever they are around the room. It also facilitates small-group work.
My mother, who works with designing technology, told me about a vertical writing space that she uses; glass boards. I'm not sure if they would work out for our classroom - depends on cost and the weight of the glass itself - but it's a really fun concept.
Desks are OUT
We all seemed to come to the agreement that we need a new kind of desk that allows for a larger individual space but also promotes group work and discussion. This solves the problem of moving desks together and not having any space/comfort (like on the tiny tilted desks we have now.
Outliers:
Lighting
The lighting that we have in most high school rooms is very artificial and oftentimes too harsh for our eyes, which really isn't good for our eyes or our minds. Having a headache does not stimulate creative thinking at all. Having nice, soft lighting (let's get fairy lights!!) can be a source of inspiration that aids students in the creative process.
Atmospheric elements
From what I remember, only one group focused specifically on the atmosphere of the classroom. The rest of the groups made prototypes that were centered around the technical aspects of the classroom; how it would function with maximum efficiency, etc. The group that was the outlier (not in a bad way) had much more color and creativity integrated into their design, and had taken into account how students would want a classroom to feel. One of the concepts they had added was a new lighting system that would hang from the ceiling and give the room a cozier look.
(love this type of design)
What's next:
This coming week, we'll be making a final prototype by combining the ideas from all of the groups. We'll decide what we like and don't like, what is necessary to have in the classroom, etc.
We will also be writing up a grant proposal (which includes price ranges for all the materials, a logo/brand name, and a persuasive explanation as to why an upgraded room would be beneficial to the students and teacher) and presenting our entire prototype/proposal to the administrators of the school.
Really exciting stuff!!
