Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/859531
Real-life, real-time connections " The reimagined classroom is always evolving," says Heather Toll, an eighth- grade teacher at Green Valley Middle School and member of the Fairfield- Suisun Unified Teachers Association (F-SUTA). "It is more about the kids and less about me." She has always allowed students to move around, as she does herself when she is employing QR codes, Apple T V and a smartboard. "My kids have desks, but they can move their chairs around. Much of the time, they sit on the floor," she says. Instead of prohibiting cellphones, Toll encourages students to use them in their assignments, along with Chromebooks. "Some kids can actually write essays on their phones. I see them pounding away on them," she says. Her students have also taken to Twitter, which allows them a bigger audience. They respond to one another in Twitter chats, and often draw comments from parents or even district staff. " They 've learned that what they say is being seen by other people. They see things are more global than they thought," Toll says. "Students need to have their own voice. I facilitate and guide them. Sometimes it's hard, but it's more collabora- tive. I find that kids will take leadership of the classroom." 38 cta.org Back to School B R I G H T I D E A S Technology transforms instruction For Toll's colleague, seventh-grade teacher Dalal Mansour, technology is the way forward. "It lets me give students immediate feedback. Google Docs allows me to comment as they are writing. I've even been at a conference and still been able to leave comments on their work," says Mansour, also an F-SUTA member. "I know which kids to target. I don't have to call someone up to my desk — it's more private." Mansour says her students are more engaged in their assignments, and because the tools lend themselves to collaboration, they can work together on the same assignment at the same time. She acknowledges that technology must be used correctly. "We need technology that trans- forms instruction. If we are just using it as a replacement for paper and pencil, it becomes a very expensive pencil." An aspirational comfort zone "Reimagining class is a makeover of your everyday classroom to allow stu- dents to be comfortable," says Teresa Basin, fourth-grade teacher at Rail Ranch Ele- mentary School in Murrieta. This year, Basin was inspired by a former student now acting in Bizaardvark, a sitcom on the Disney Channel. Basin turned her class into "Basin- wood," her own version of Hollywood. "I want my students to know that if they can dream it, they can do it," says the Murrieta Teachers Association member. Students each have their own star. A sign above the sink reads, "Each one of us has a little bit of gold inside of us." There is also a "Walk of Fame" with pho- tos of students and their families. "I spend more time with my kids than their parents do," Basin says. "School is a refuge for them. It's our home away from home."