If your classroom is like most, you probably use every square inch of available space. I love to step into learning spaces that feel like museums of living history. Ceilings, walls, and tables are covered with artifacts showing evidence of student understanding. Many teachers put up exhibits to reinforce everything from the big ideas of a discipline to classroom-management strategies. But how often do you step back and take a thoughtful look at what's on display?
Linda Hartley is an educator from the United Kingdom (a native of Scotland now living in London) who used that question as the starting point for an action research project. A former teaching assistant, she began conducting research as part of her studies at the United Kingdom's virtual-learning Ultraversity. By bringing Web 2.0 tools into project design, she has set off a global conversation.
This work is manifested on her site, Classroom Displays, which is both a Flickr group for photo sharing and a blog for reflection. (The Classroom Displays blog was nominated for an Edublogs Award in 2006.) The result is what Hartley calls "a visual conversation" about those ephemeral displays that come and go from classroom walls and school hallways. Some 270 educators from around the world have joined the Classroom Displays community, and many more regularly stop in for a look.
I'd almost forgotten this article but not the lovely day Suzie and I had in London :-)
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