After quite a bit of encouragement, I wanted to share how I set up my elementary technology lab.

As the technology teacher in an elementary school, I feel like I have the best job in the school. Students want to be in my classroom, so I rarely have any behavioral issues. I believe in classroom management and didn’t know what that looked like in an elementary tech lab, so I had to make it up. It took me a while to figure it all out, but it now works beautifully. First, I need to say that I have a very small classroom. Last year my classroom was enormous, and I was able to have a table workstation, but it was only because I had the space. This year, it is certainly no bigger than the average classroom, so this can be borrowed by any creative teacher. I have taught pre-k -4th in this same set up, so it works for everyone in elementary.

I feel like it is important to include science an math in my classroom, so I do wherever I can. In the first visit, I assign my students a picture. I have 24 pictures of feet of every shape and size from many different species. Each student has that same picture on their computer, at their seat on the floor and in their exit line to leave the classroom. Last year I had the foot at their workstation and on their supply bucket as well.

The students quickly know where they are supposed to be at all times. I meet them at the door and invite them in to their seat on the floor. Once they are ready, I present the lesson to them. If the students are on the floor, they don’t have the opportunity to touch things they shouldn’t. This is a great place to present the keyboard, the mouse or to play a quick introductory game on the promethean board. Once they are ready, I release them in groups of four to their seats to get started with the task at hand.

My first job is to teach them to respect the lab equipment. On the first day, I have them go to their seat and tell me if anything looks worng with their machine. If it does and their neighbors agree, they must tell me immediately. They are responsible for that machine. If something is worng and the next person comes in and tells me, they will get in trouble for the problem. They must tell me before they start working or as soon as the problem is noticed. I did not have one single incedent last year. My lab was as new the last day as it was the first.

I have strict rules for transitions in my classroom that are presented and reviewed the first few months of class. I also have certain steps for them to follow to ask for help. I ask the students to lift their left hand. Once everyone has figured out their other left, I have them place it on the shoulder of the person on their left and say hi. Then I do the same with the right hand. I tell them that these two people are their helpers. If they do not know what to do or can’t find something, they need to ask those people. If the person on the left doesn’t know and the person on the right doesn’t know then they can raise their hand. They can never raise their hand until they ask them first. I check too. I ask their neighbors and force them to remember this rule. This is my biggest life saver. Students hardly ever need my help and they learn to depend on eachother for help. The best part is by the end of the year, the class can run itself. That  is hard to say in a tech lab, because you have so little time with them, but they learn.

When my students finish a lesson and are ready to leave, they must put their keyboard up, hang their headphones up and put their mouse on their mouse pad in front of their computer. This helps me to see when something is left behind or to know when something is out of sorts. I release them to their place in the exit line as they finish cleaning up. These simple processes keep the students focused on the good choices. This is not to say I don’t have a few who make bad choices here and there, but as the year starts to wind down and classroom management starts to go out the window for most kids, they still seem to do beautifully in the tech lab. I really do have the best job!

I do have to add that I always allow my students to talk to eachother unless I am addressing the entire class or another classmate is addressing the entire class. I do request that they only talk to their neighbors and that they stay in their seats, but they are welcome to talk. If they can’t share, they can’t learn to their fullest potential. I often stand back and listen to conversations and most of the time they are completely on task and discussing the topic at hand. I want them to explore outside of my boundaries. I never thought I could handle all the chatter, but to be honest, I don’t hear chatter anymore, just discussion.  I promised myself I would not be a “silent” teacher and I am so thankful I am not. I just wonder how amazing the kids of today will be when they grow up.

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So why feet, you ask? It was the first thing that came to mind when I needed a solution. This year I have decided to make the picture into a project. I am going to have the different age groups attempt different projects around the topic of feet. I am also going to change the feet into something different on a semester schedule as well this year. My thoughts are to use constellations for one semester, Simple machines one semester, Solids, liquids and gases one semester and then the feet one semester. Although you may find some classes just don’t do well with the change, most will be okay. If you need to back it up with a number for consistency all year, by all means add it. I had both last year. They always forgot the number long before the animal foot!

Since science works on those four topics in different semesters, it will work out perfectly. I know I have shared a little bit more than classroom management, but hopefully that will get you started in a direction if you needed a push. Tomorrow is the big day… school starts anew! I look forward to another successful year and can’t wait to find new and exciting things to learn and share! Let me know if you have something fun to add to my classroom set up. I’d love to hear new ideas!