Progressive Schools Are Transforming Communal Spaces Into Tech-Centric Hubs

There is a fascinating new trend sweeping our nation’s schools that is blowing the top off of traditional teaching methods. Such radical and much-needed transformation is picking up speed and has reached, and even transcended, “The Tipping Point,” which is, in Malcolm Gladwell’s words, “that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” Focusing on increasing access to advanced technology is a key motivator for progressive schools’ move toward these tech-centric spaces, with the end goal being increasing students’ technological skills and knowledge.

So just what do these new tech-centric hubs taking root in our schools look like? Think STEM labs, esports arenas, and new broadcasting studios where savvy students can create cutting-edge podcasts and original video compilations.

For example, one particularly progressive school in Ohio, Steubenville City Schools, recently broke ground on a $12 million STEM building, while another forward-thinking educational institution, Indiana’s Greensburg Junior High School, has just created a lab in which students are learning about design and robotics in a tech, engineering and math lab. And this is just the beginning of what school tech-hubs will offer in the new future as this trend spreads like wildfire through not only our nation, but throughout the world. The possibilities for learning through tech are veritably limitless.

Chandler Unified School District in Arizona is just one of many schools across the nation to transform its tired school communal spaces into tech-centric hubs, more specifically by developing an esports program that integrates virtual reality lessons via gaming systems. According to their CTO, Colleen Flannery, “Esports offers numerous benefits for students, including using, learning and strengthening technical skills and ‘soft skills’ such as communication, teamwork and decision-making.” These hubs are changing the nature of learning within schools by putting technology into the hands of students.

The benefits of transforming little-utilized school communal spaces into these tech-centric hubs are many, but primarily they promote the coming together of innovation, ingenuity, and creativity for not only students, but the community as well. Tech-centric hubs in schools are becoming the norm rather than the novelty and are projected to become as mainstream as a library.

Increasingly, school administrators, faculty, staff, and school board members are coming together with the common purpose of transforming their little-utilized school communal spaces into these fascinating tech hubs of learning. While this is advantageous, it is equally important that they agree on what they want to accomplish by instituting a particular learning technology within the walls of their school. Once the primary objectives are agreed upon, they can more effectively come together in the common goal of choosing the technology programs they would like to implement.

In addition, high-quality technical support and training for students and teachers alike on adapting to these new modes of learning facilitate easy transitioning to these new modes of active learning.

Implementing these tech-centric hubs in schools sounds great, but just why is active learning so important in the first place? Better yet, how will active learning occur in these designated tech spaces? Through active learning (hands-on learning), students will learn from actual experience and from each other. This is accomplished “by trying out different learning methods, supporting each other’s ideas and, most importantly, allowing space to think and act for themselves.” And how do educators fit into these spaces? Far from being outsiders, teachers will serve as ever-present guides, ready “to assist when needed, to support when required, and to be open for adaptations and students’ input.” Schools are increasingly pushing the boundaries of tech-ed, ushering in a transformative mode of learning in which students are encouraged to star as the director in their own education.

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