3 Easy Steps to Prepare for the Return to the Classroom
by Natalie Schlueter & Michelle Koclanis
Adjusting seems to be an understatement for this past year. Teachers and administrators alike had to learn how the inner workings of online teaching, socially distanced classrooms, and the use of more technology more than ever before. It was, and still is, a learning curve for everyone.
As we step into a new chapter in modern schooling, returning to the classroom will be unlike anything done before. Preparedness is more than just prepping materials, it is about prepping classroom design with COVID-9, technology, and health and safety measures in mind for the school year. The new technological considerations that elementary school teachers and administration will have to navigate will be something that has never been seen before.
Classroom management is among the greatest challenges a teacher faces each day; adding technology and social distancing concerns to this mix makes management even harder. With the right steps and plan in place, teachers can maximize the productivity and feel they have a firm grasp on their classroom space moving into the Fall of next year.
Read on to find the simple three step process to feeling prepared to return to the classroom with technology solutions in mind.
1. Survey each school, classroom and social area for adequate charging solutions.
The classroom design after COVID-19 will look much different. Mobile charging solutions will primarily be a topic of conversation as schools re-examine their setup moving forward. To get started, consider what each classroom does and what purpose technology has in that specific learning environment.
Gym: TechGuard Connect® Charging Lockers will be a good option so students can charge their devices with the assurance that they will not be stolen, damaged, lost, or misplaced while they are at gym class.
Stationary Classroom: A charging station that can sit on top of a counter or get mounted to a wall like the CUBE Micro Station® is a good option for a small footprint product with lots of power to charge devices when students need them charged. Plus, the station comes with numeric ordered bays to keep track of whos device is whos.
Mobile Classroom: The mobile classroom trend is something that is going to be consistent with schools reopening. Be prepared with mobile charging and storing solutions. A charging cart like the CUBE Cart® Pre-Wired will ensure that student devices are ready and charged at all times and that they can be moved wherever the students are going.
The first step to effective classroom management in K-12 schools involves designating a leader with single point accessibility to survey each classroom and social area where charging stations and/or carts are needed for teachers and students to power devices throughout the day. This person should have a thorough understanding of technology in the K-12 environment and should be able to pre-plan any pain points and problems that may occur.
2. Collect data and report back to administration.
After surveying of classroom and social spaces is through, report back to administration a list of areas that are lacking necessary charging solutions. Not only is it important to report areas with the largest need, but also areas with the smallest need and success stories from other schools to show the return on investment from purchasing these carts to top administrators. Expensive products must be paired with added value.
Here are some success stories to refer to when presenting your findings:
- Marymount of Santa Barbara used Bretford’s Pulse® cart to assist their needs to store and charge Chromebooks and Ultrabooks in their highly used innovation labs. The cart’s sophisticated charging system constantly re-evaluates the demand for power and concentrates on the devices that need to be charged. This allows for easy access to devices when needed in a space where technology use is a necessity for proper learning. The technique used on this solution extends battery life of the devices and ensures students have access to technology.
- Jonesboro High School used Bretford’s 10-Bay TechGuard Charging Lockers to provide a personal experience for storing, securing and charging individual laptops, tablets, and phones. This high school was located in an area of high theft and students expressed worry about bringing devices home. Additionally, the school’s infrastructure was old and lacked enough electrical outlets needed to charge student devices.
- The 8th largest school district in the US, deployed 23,000 Dell Chromebooks to 203,225 students across the district. When doing this, they had to consider the charging solution necessary to manage these devices. With the external outlet in each classroom being used to charge teachers equipment, it was necessary to invest in charging solutions for mass management.They chose Bretford’s CUBE Cart® for it’s 36-device capacity and digital timer that charges and devices quickly and safely from one outlet.
When drafting the list of necessary technology products for your school, make sure to include success stories and detail the return on investment. If the benefits of the charging solution outweigh any cost, then it will be clear to the administration that these solutions are necessary in order to properly function in the classroom and other learning spaces.
3. Call an expert at Bretford.
This is a lot to take in at once, and if a school or district has never had to manage this many devices, it can be a daunting task. With new restrictions in place for a while to come and each student relying heavily on devices, whether it be their own or not, it is clear that device management is here to stay. Ensuring you have a plan in place will make for an easy return to school.
How can you get this plan? Talk with an experienced Bretford representative today to take the workload off of your to-do list. Don’t waste time trying to figure out which solutions you think you need, let Bretford do the work. We offer solutions, sizes and budget friendly options that can seamlessly fit your unique district, school and classroom electronic device charging needs.
Call us today at 800-521-9614.
Gain an in-depth look at some products today by visiting our blog “The Best Technology Solutions for the Classroom” to know what you think best fits your need!
Gain Productivity, Increase Effectiveness, Leverage Actionable Intelligence with Bretford.
CUBE Cart® Pre-Wired
iPad . MacBook . Chromebook
This charging cart is ready to roll! Fully assembled and can charge up to 65W devices. Save valuable hours on each deployment.
Pulse® Cart
Chromebook . Userbook
The Pulse Charging Carts’ flexible design, intelligent charging, and world-class reliability is ideal for any business or learning environment.
TechGuard Connect® Charging Lockers
Laptop . Tablet . Phone
Mobile device locker that combines charging in every bay with keyless access control. All centrally managed from the cloud with Bretford Connect®.
