Mira Korber

Another aspect of the transition to an active learning classroom is getting everyone familiar with an entirely new set up and way of doing things. This change will take time and adjustments on the parts of both the students and the instructors. Let students in on the goals of active learning so they are prepared…

When considering available options for setting up active learning spaces, remember locations around campus that can be useful for many groups. If these revamped environments can benefit a large number of students, not only is it more cost effective, but the positive outcomes of the active learning model will be more evident. One of the…

What if the very thing that keeps kids from focusing in school could actually help channel students’ attention? Smartphones are nearly impossible to ban, so working with them can actually allow students to become more engaged, as their lives are so technologically-centered. Since their futures depend on their ability to use technology proficiently, it could…

With the growth in popularity of active learning methodologies, educators and institutions alike are looking for ways to adapt their learning spaces to allow for approaches such as collaborative learning.  In addition to having the right kind of active learning furniture, there are a number of other issues to consider, including lighting, instructor placement and…

A number of different factors are aligning to drive interest in active learning. The need for improved teamwork among students, the explosion in mobile computer technology and the drive for improved learning outcomes are just a few of the reasons that educators are growing ever more interested in methods such as collaborative learning. But to…

Most if not all of us learn fastest and most effectively by doing. This is being recognized in the world of technology and is being dubbed “experiential learning.” Closely connected to active learning, this approach says that learning needs to be internalized through individual activity and effort, and as such, the instructor needs to help…

Cheating at the college and university level has been a problem from the beginning, but it has only gotten worse as technology has proliferated.  As smartphones (read: handheld computers) have become ubiquitous on college campuses, the ability for students to outsmart professors is overwhelming.  (There was even a question posted to Quora asking the best…

From business to education, collaboration and leadership are the cornerstones of today’s workplace. Technology, the ultimate tool for consensus building and problem solving, has shaped how we communicate ideas and develop solutions at a faster rate than ever before. From network building to our instant access to information, the culture of sharing defines how we…

“Modern life demands, and is waiting for, a new kind of plan, both for the house and the city,” famous Swiss architect and designer Le Corbusier said in 1923. His words are still relevant today not only for the home and the city, but also for classroom design and office design. Le Corbusier was among…

Students are constantly faced with academic dishonesty. Unfortunately, although technology has become a powerful learning asset both inside and outside the classroom, it has also become an additional tool for cheating. According to major higher educational studies, an average of 75 percent of students admitted to at least one form of cheating over the course…

Thanksgiving is right around the corner; and if you are like us, you are eagerly counting your steps and tracking what you eat in hopes of maintaining your diet and health regimen during a holiday season known for sugary desserts, over-eating, and often inevitable weight gain. While you may be focused on your current health…

We live in an ever-increasingly health conscious world, with fitness bracelets and apps to track calories and weight loss with the click of a button, and SMARTdesks has now joined the trend! We now offer a complete line of LifeSpan® treadmill desks and bike desk workstations designed for the home and office. Desk options include: electric…

It’s Friday at 3pm. The clock is ticking, employees are fidgeting, and everyone is glancing at the clock. Voices drone and no one’s listening… Every businessperson knows the importance of meetings, but most companies don’t take advantage of the time they have with their employees. Long meetings with little productivity result in wasted money and…

In today’s world, technology is everywhere. One might even say that it runs our lives. From our computers, smart phones, tablets and gadgets, most people are around technology every waking moment. And, for children, classrooms are becoming outfitted with greater amounts of technology to support teaching curriculum and to serve as a new learning style.…

Results from a 2013 Gallup study provided a surprising (and rather dismal) statistic: of 25 million workers polled, only 30% were actively engaged in their work, and the other 70% fell short of their productivity potential. According to the same study, employees who are engaged in their work are enthusiastic, committed participants in their company whose creativity…

Collaboration in the workplace not only allows companies to provide their consumers with the best solutions, but it helps employees stay on task and stay motivated. When looking to start a new business or revamp an existing business, executives should consider adopting a collaborative model. As this article from TechRadar aptly expresses, the prevalence of social media,…

Standardized testing is historically a hot-button topic in the American public education system.  From the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002 and Race to the Top in 2009, to the more recent controversy surrounding the release of the Common Core State Standards in 2010, questions abound as to whether standardized testing can provide an…

According to a study from Deloitte University Press, by 2025 the Millennials/Generation Y will comprise 75% of the global workforce. Born between 1976 and 2001, this generation has a perhaps unfair reputation for laziness and entitlement — and the labor market is soon going to have to absorb them in droves. Despite their renown as…

Early this year SMARTdesks revamped four classrooms at Union County College in Cranford, New Jersey. The project was a collaborative effort between the Design Team at SMARTdesks, the Union County IT department, and other college administrators. SMARTdesks generated layouts for the rooms within a week of receiving floor plans, and through GoTo meetings and live…

Collaboration is trending these days, especially in the education industry. In K-12 and higher ed, some educators strive to foster group interactions in class; others prefer a traditional lecture approach. This week, we spoke with middle and high school teacher Mosie Choudhry for her professional, empirical opinion on the subject. Read on to find out…

Collaboration is becoming the catchphrase of modern office and education institutions. Days of the cubicle are numbered, and straight lines of desks in schools are overlooked in favor of more flexible desk arrangements.What is collaborative learning?Collaborative learning is the process by which students or employees form teams to tackle a significant problem. It can take…

How many hours per day do you spend seated at work? At least 5 days per week, 8 hours per day…it adds up quickly. This BBC article claims that we spend as many as 12 hours per day in idle positions, not including a 7-hour night’s sleep. We’ve all seen countless articles about how sedentary…

According to this Esselte study, in 2004, 48% of American executives admitted to having a messy desk but claimed to know where everything was. In contrast, 12% said that although their desk appears organized, they had no idea where anything was. Ten years later, the problem persists; with increasing distractions from Facebook, online shopping, and…

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use of the word “office” in the sense that we principally use it — “A room, set of rooms, or building used as a place of business for non-manual work; a room or department for clerical or administrative work” — first appeared in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales around…