2.5 Supplies Set Up

When setting up your space, you need to think not only about the physical space and furniture, but also about how and where to house supplies. Here are some advice and strategies teachers have used to address these challenges. Also, feel free to take notes and answer application questions on the interactive handout.

Headphone Storage

Hear teachers' advice about headphones. Headphones are consistently one of the most challenging aspects of blended, so having a strategy for their storage is vital to rolling out blended

Click here Links to an external site. for transcript.

Back up Work

Unfortunately, there are times when technology will hit technical difficulties and you will need a back-up plan. Some teachers store back-up work in a file cabinet or plastic bin, but another approach teachers use, as seen at this Aspire Public School, is a cubby on the back of each chair. Having work readily available makes transitioning out of a blended structure quick and easy, and also gives students the ability to pull out the work if they are done early.

Designating Stations: 

If devices are stationary, it is important to assign stations to allow for efficiency during instruction as well as maintenance of devices. Having only one (or even a few) students assigned to one device holds those students accountable to the work space and instills a sense of ownership about that device's safety. Consequently, setting up an area to clearly illustrate the assigned groups is important to think about when designing your space. Here are two examples of different ways teachers posted student groups at a school in Chicago and Los Angeles. The top photo also shows how you can pair station designation with passwords for younger students to easily reference when working independently.

NOTE: If your devices can be handed out individually, it is more important to number and assign the devices themselves than to designate specific groups, since the devices can move. There is more information on this and passing out devices in Session 3: Rolling Out Routines