Back to School Classroom Setup: Making Technology Accessible

As students and teachers head back to the classroom, teachers are preparing their classroom for students to be interactive within. When setting up your classroom, teachers should first think about the traffic flow of students.  How will students enter and exit the classroom? How will students interact throughout the classroom? How will students have access to the resources and materials throughout the classroom?

Seating arrangement is an important aspect of classroom accessibility and management. Some things to think about would be how much space between each seat and aisle, and is there enough room for an aid or assistant to work next to a student.  Also, the overall arrangement of the desks should be considered to allow students to become the most interactive with their peers.  Classroom Architect is a great resource for teachers to use when designing their classroom layout.

Teachers should also plan the placement and access to technology in the classroom.  Many classrooms now have clusters of computers for students to use, along with a shared printer, document reader, DVD player, or even an interactive whiteboard.  The computer center should be easily accessible and teachers should be able to see all computer screens for student monitoring.  Other classroom technology should be accessible for students to reach and easily use when needed.

Check out the MangoMon Website for more tips on how you can create an accessible classroom for all learners.