It has been too long since my last post.
Paris is behind me...sigh...we'll always have Paris!! And I will return!
But for now it's back to reality! And my reality includes lots of kids and lots of computers!
School is in full swing! I can't believe we are finishing week 5 tomorrow!
If you find yourself needing to blend a real life environment (classroom) with a virtual world (game design and web design class) here are a few tips on warming up and personalizing an otherwise cold and techie space!
of course start with a chalkboard (a little bit of Paris)
What's more down to earth than wooden clothespins. I use this space for my EXCELLENT LISTS! and a place to post questions....
Every inch of space gets used. Here dollar store white boards with markers hang on the metal poles which house electrical wires (magnetically attached). Great for group work brainstorming. Cute $1 pails from Target hold pencils erasers and post-it for storyboarding and group work.
For students whose computers face the wall I used cereal boxed cut in half and covered in decorative duct tape as a whiteboard holder.
I find having these tools at the students finger tip very helpful to the design process. Also, In five weeks I haven't lost one pencil. At the end of class I ask the students closest to the pails to make sure there are four pencils. It's much easier to keep track of four pencils than 30!
I hope you found these suggestions for blending the real world classroom with the virtual world classroom.
Do you have any computer classroom management tips you'd like to share? I'd love to hear them!
