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Fresh new learning spaces feature entire walls, tables, and even floors pulsing with colorful, connected interactivity. Collaboration and learning go hand-in-hand for students who have access to these dynamic tools, and teachers in the following four schools are seeing exciting new levels of engagement.

DREAM SCREENS

Dutchtown Middle and Lake Elementary schools, part of Ascension (LA) Public Schools (APS), have been 1:1 with iPads and had interactive whiteboards for years. But the recent addition of Promethean ActivWalls and ClassFlow software catapulted student engagement to a whole new level. These huge (six by eight) “dream screens” transformed classroom dynamics by adding new layers of interactivity and collaboration.

Using ClassFlow, teachers send content (differentiated if necessary) to students’ iPads. Because they receive responses instantaneously, they can share these with the class and also quickly address misunderstandings.

“The ActivWall takes it even further,” says Dutchtown eighth-grade science and social studies teacher Larry Ashlock-Chambless. “The students can ‘mirror’ or ‘airplay’ with the ActivWall (up to 20 students can write on the board at once). The level of learning increases and … there are lots of opportunities to critique and see how others think.”

Maximizing the Potential of 1:1

This engagement extends across all disciplines. Jessi Toups, seventh-grade math teacher, says, “As effective as iPads in our classrooms are, I didn’t understand their ‘maximum’ potential until I was able to mirror eight students’ equation problems on my ActivWall and watch students who ‘didn’t get it’ catch their own mistakes … and correct work from the live student work projected on my board … It’s a math teacher’s best case-scenario … students begging for ‘just one more problem.’”

Student-and Data-Driven Classrooms

With the creative polling tool, students can answer a question on their iPads, discuss with a group to construct their “perfect” answer, and submit that to the ActivWall. Eighth-grade math teacher Glenda Mora says, “The students are eager to participate because they know it will make their work better.” It’s a student-driven classroom, Mora says, where as a teacher she can make quick, data-driven decisions to

Easy and Flexible Tools

When it came to choosing interactive projectors for the new walls, director of technology and innovation Matt Eggert was impressed that Epson not only provides easy tools for those learning the technology but also “the flexibility for our SMART and Promethean teachers to integrate their lessons without having to worry if we have those proprietary boards installed.” They mounted BrightLink interactive projectors in every K–8 classroom and in six high-school classrooms. Anywhere Projection One of TFA’s most ingenious innovations for transforming spaces was to mount a projector on an ELMO cart with movable arms so educators can project interactive games and content anywhere—onto tables, walls, and even onto floors. With these kinds of adaptable tools, teachers can make learning more dynamic for all students. See some of this innovation in action at https://vimeo.com/145516957.

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