Designing the Classroom Curriculum Designing the Classroom Curriculum | Page 165

Lynch, Smith, Howarth
ICT in schools it is possible to see the changes that are taking place in learning spaces. Of course the flipped
classroom is a change in classroom pedagogy, leading to changes in the learning space to make the flipped
classroom more effective. Are desks in rows facing a teacher the most effective structure for a flipped
classroom? If the teacher is no longer lecturing to the class, a collaborative work space arrangement of desks
and chairs would be more effective, for both teachers and students included in this pedagogical approach.
Thus the teacher can visit small groups of students and discuss the activities they are undertaking in an
effective manner. In this way technology has promoted change in the way we organise the learning space.
For example the ‘Connected Classroom’ is another technological innovation with the potential to change
classroom pedagogy. It has broadened the possibility of what can happen within the classroom walls. As
Boss reports,
‘Nothing terribly earth-shattering happened the first time elementary teacher Krissy Venosdale used
Skype to connect her Missouri students with children in another state. “It was kind of awkward at
first,” she admits, recalling their first attempt at video conferencing. “Everyone was new to it and
kind of nervous.”
Nonetheless, she knew she had found a digital tool she would use again and again to take learning
deeper in her inquiry-based classroom. "When we hung up, my students said, wow --we just talked
with kids in another state. And I realized, here was a way to open our classroom to the world," she
recalls thinking.
Ever since, Venosdale and her students have continued bringing the world -- virtually – to bringing
their small community south of St. Louis. Through a project called KnowGlobe, they regularly talk
with students on other continents, learning in the process about time zones, cultural differences,
global weather patterns, and the state of education worldwide. If they come up with a project question
that requires the expertise of an astronaut, space engineer, or Egyptologist, they ask their teacher to
"tweet it out" and track down an expert for a Skype interview.
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