Ideapaint: One Year Later pt 1

A little over a year ago, my classroom and I entered a contest for a classroom makeover from Ideapaint and we won.  We were the first winners of their 360 contest and my entire classroom was transformed into a writable surface.  Ideapaint is a fantastic company.  Great people, a great product and truly innovative.  If education were a game, Ideapaint is not trying to play it.  Ideapaint is trying to change the way the game is played.

As part of winning the contest, Ideapaint documented the makeover which you can watch below.  I watched the video today for the first time in months and it still gives me a sense of pride in what I do when I see it.

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Since I have been using Ideapaint for a little over a year, I thought I'd reflect back on exactly what Ideapaint is and what it isn't.

1. Ideapaint is not a cool way to learn traditionally

If you are considering painting your classroom desks/tables with Ideapaint (and I strongly recommend you start there), I feel you are missing the idea if you have students only use the surface to take notes of your lectures. Can this be done? Yes. Does it make sense occasionally? Yes.  But, I feel you would be making a mistake by doing things this way all the time.  

One of my favorite sayings to my students is, "You have to find the right tool for the right job."

Ideapaint is a tool that is meant for collaboration and to think outside of the box.

If your tool is not restricted to the confines of a paper and pencil, why would you use pedagogy that only thinks inside that box?

2. Ideapaint is a great way to go paperless

Working together on "peer pressure" scenarios

Digitizing Notes

When you can write on the tables, get ready to digitize everything!  Notes on the board? Snap a picture.  A student wants to bring in their own device? Sure thing.  Brainstorms that want to be remembered? You bet.  I have found that using my smartphone to capture what I write on an Ideapaint surface has become invaluable.  I use Evernote to process much of these things (I'll post on them at a later date) but, it is essential to document what is written on the surface and it is easy to do. 

 I let students do this as well.  Each collaborative group in my class has access to an iPod touch that I provide them and I allow students to bring their own devices as well.  The management of all of these devices is a whole different beast, but I think you get the idea of the possibilities.  They really are endless.

3. Ideapaint is a great way to turn your classroom into a collaboration hub

Walk around activity

I mentioned it above, but what Ideapaint truly allows me to do in my classroom is getting students to collaborate, to manage projects, to move around the room and to learn by thinking through problems with other people.  A typical activity that I know many teachers do: The chart paper walk around. Students walk around the room and add to a chart that is taped to a wall.  Then, those charts are discussed as a group.  With Ideapaint, this can now be done just by writing on tables and walls.  Something about that is just fun.  I still hear comments one year later about how fun it is to write on a surface that in every other class you are not supposed to write on.  I think we often forget that if we truly want to create life long learners, then students need to like what they are being asked to do.  I have taken this collaboration to another level this year, by taking the original tables that were painted for winning the contest and creating "mobile stations" in several areas of the room.  Students will not typically be sitting at these stations, but have the opportunity to move to the bigger space as needed.  These areas are available to collaborate on projects and use mobile technology (1 Google Chromebook down, 11 more to go) at a moment's notice.  

Since, I was bringing more desks into my room, guess what?  I had more painting to do.  Good thing I had a few extra kits leftover and was able to finish that painting today.  In one week, my students will be able to write on them.  As the Depeche Mode song goes, "I just 

can't get enough."

Ready. Set. 

Freshly painted tables :)

What ways do you use Ideapaint in your classroom?  What ways can you think of to inspire students to collaborate with Ideapaint tables?  I'd love to hear your ideas as well.