Here’s an idea for anyone who teaches kindergarten. When setting up or rearranging your classroom, enter kneeling to see how your students experience the space. For instance, what is in their sightline? What resources can they reach? Does the setup facilitate and encourage independent learning? This fun, fresh approach has completely changed my perspective on the ergonomics of my teaching environment; I even lowered the whiteboard and corkboard in a new classroom, so that students would have easy access to them.

—Emily Allen, OCT
Winston Churchill Public School, Waterloo

Have a classroom tip to share?
Send it to us at ps@oct.ca and if we choose to publish your helpful tip, you will receive a $50 Staples gift card!
Check out our Professional Practice research archive at bit.ly/16mofMi.

Twitter Chat for Teachers

You’re a hashtag away from joining a conversation created just for you — the first “edchat” for Ontario teachers. Amy Bowker, OCT, and Allison Fuisz, OCT, launched #ONedchat last September (a back-to-school themed discussion), after realizing there was a hole in the Twittersphere when it came to sharing information about the education system among their peers. — Stefan Dubowski

These Ottawa-based OCTs are getting educators across the province talking shop and sharing tips on a variety of topics, including technology, critical thinking, and student mental health and wellness.

For those of you not on Twitter or unable to participate the first Wednesday of every month (from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.), visit the archives via the ONedchat website at onedchat.wordpress.com. Check the site as well to see what Bowker and Fuisz have planned for upcoming chats and to suggest topics for discussion. Links to mobile apps and other education resources are available on the Ontario Linked Resources page; feel free to suggest additional tools by clicking Share Ontario Resources.

Follow @ONedchat to strengthen your network of smart, engaged Ontario teachers, and for an opportunity to share richer and deeper insight into modern classroom challenges. “I love Twitter,” says Bowker, a Grade 1/2 teacher at Ottawa’s Elizabeth Park Public School. “It’s another level of support.”

Don’t miss out on the next virtual conversation, “Classrooms of the Future: Looking Ahead 10 Years,” scheduled for March 4.