"How can I 'break down the walls of my classroom' without actually having to incur great expenses or construction costs?"

"How can I 'break down the walls of my classroom' without actually having to incur great expenses or construction costs?"

The answer is very simple

·         Today students are doing so much more with technology;

·         They are emailing, texting & tweeting; Facebook can be useful or detrimental but we can use it for research & for study purposes outside school hours.

·         Use of websites or WhatsApp can connect students from all around the world.It is quite evident that restricted classrooms confine limited parameters on students’ thinking and ways of doing things.

·         We need to redesign new educational spaces in order to release new ways of thinking about learning without necessarily tearing apart the walls of the classroom.

·         The main areas of concern here are:  Setting up learning studios, grouping up students into shared learning area to be able to provide spaces capable of supporting the learners individually, in small groups, as well a whole class and in larger groups.

·         Indeed classrooms should be maintained but still go beyond the classroom walls by creating virtual technology learning spaces as a way of integrating technology in teaching and learning.

·         In Uganda, there is a full ‘University’ of technology which shall remain unnamed here which runs without buildings. Basically the teachers and students spend all their time roaming in bushes and tree shades and on the streets of that town-side, interviewing people and communities to learn what they know and then codify their findings using computer technology, which later constitute their dissertations and thesis.

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So, overturning the 100 years of something in education is not easy but we need to open up the education system with technology so that the new generation may not see things like people of yesterday did in their olden days.

·         Old spaces do not consider the entire spectrum of student success. They do not prepare students for a global economy.

·         The proponents of creating new physical learning spaces argue that: it promotes real student engagement and encourages ingenuity since it accommodates the principles of constructivism.

·         For instance, with increased use of computer technology in schools and increased access to learning resources like cyber technology tools and information, students are drawn deeper into a topic than ever before.

·         They can even direct their own learning.

·         To me; this can be done without necessarily altering the physical set up of the classroom.

·          With the advent of the use of technologies in modern learning spaces, teachers use projectors, interactive whiteboards, and computers like desktops, laptops, tablets, or mobile devices, digital cameras, video conferencing, sound and video playback systems, voice enhancement, Wifi, Internet access, and others which need to be attuned to the activities in the learning space for learning to be most effective.

·         On the other hand, mobile technology which is fairly affordable compared to other technology Gadgets can be adopted and used in the classroom and the students would be able to do all the above. However, in the initial stages, emphasis on the virtual learning spaces would be the most affordable more especially mobile technology like Ipads or smart phones.

·         Learning should be limitless. If the ideas around global learning are adopted, every individual on the planet can contribute towards teaching and inspire the next generation.

·          I see a future where there is a mix of educators, students, and professionals in areas of study that can easily be part of a free and open global learning environment – regardless of economic or geographical barriers. Technology enables all of this.

·         Remember; even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.

·          Be one in a million to initiate this technology integration move in your teaching.

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