Rethinking Learning Spaces at #EDnado: The Fall Storm

Monday, October 12, 20158:02 PM



On Saturday, I had the pleasure of presenting at the fall EDnado, a free education conference. A while back, I wrote about my experience at last Spring’s EDnado, which might have been my favorite conference ever. This time, the event was held at the Corbett Experience Center in Norristown, PA. Corbett sells innovative furniture for education and was an incredible place to learn at. 


Everywhere you turned was a new type of seat, desk, or learning environment. Everything was comfortable, customizable, and movable. From rolling desks and tables that come together and apart to white board walls and charging ports everywhere, the learning environment truly inspired creativity, communication, and learning.

My classroom has always been fairly traditional in terms of physical space. Last year, I moved from rows to a double horseshoe layout, eventually changing to small clusters of 4-5 desks. This year, my classroom has a similar layout, but I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would want to change.

My classroom from the start of this school year. 

I’m a huge fan of whiteboards and simply could never manage writing with chalk. In the past, I’ve mounted my own white boards, taped on the wall from Home Depot’s panelling, and last year put up an extra as a Wall of Hashtags for students. It was so much fun to have students write hashtags all year long.


Now I want to do more. I’d love to find the support and funding for new desks, like you see pictured below. Chris Aviles inspired us by telling his students’ story in crowdfunding new desks for their classroom. Checkout their amazing commercials below.




But to start simple, it’s all about the dry erase paint. I want to paint everything I can get away with and create opportunities for learning all over my classroom and school. Walls, desks, and everything in between. Wish me luck. 


Thanks to the EDnado team and KI for the opportunity and the expeirence. I loved presenting at EDnado, enjoyed learning at sessions, had a blast catching up with friends, but most of all left with a mission:

How can learning spaces empower students, inspire creativity, and support collaboration? How can I change my learning space to best serve my students?


This will be one of my driving questions as the school year progresses, and one I hope to find realistic answers for. As always, I'd love your ideas and feedback on Twitter or in the comments. 

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