It is that time of year again for the Ed Spaces conference and we were lucky enough to have the Conference in our back yard, downtown Kansas City. Scott Rice took advantage of KC hosting the conference by partnering with Steelcase Education and V/S America on a number of key items during the week.  Pilot classrooms were setup showcasing new and innovative ways for students to learn. Scott Rice teamed up with the DLR Group to create an innovated space called “The Learning in Motion Classroom.” This classroom was laid out so that while in lecture mode the seating went from high to low moving towards the front.  When it is time to go into break out mode those same pieces can be zoned for different function and for a variety of group sizes.

On Wednesday, Stacy Roth, Vice President of Strategy and Engagement, kicked off the conference with a session on the “Future of the Faculty Workplace”. These innovative spaces are created for students, yet little has changed in the way schools support teachers. How do we support more positive interactions with students and teachers in space outside of the classroom? Strategies and techniques were discussed on ways to implement new learning styles.

Hundreds of people filled one of the main meeting rooms to listen to key note speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, talk about revolutionizing education from the ground up. Sir Ken urged everyone to step out of the box on what makes someone intelligent and to focus on their strengths. He went on about how people can be narrowed minded in how they think children can learn. What changes are needed to educate all students to meet the extraordinary challenges of living and working in the 21st century?

The evening concluded with a collaborative cocktail hour between V/S America and Scott Rice at the SR Collective space. It was a beautiful evening spent with friends and clients.

Thursday the Scott Rice team hit the expo hall of the convention center and stopped at a variety of different vendors.  The team thoroughly enjoyed the Locktek Ergonomics exercise bike.  What could be better than being able to work while burning those calories! We were also excited to see what new things Steelcase is coming out with in education. The new Verb Flip Nest Table is high on the list.  Not only is it great looking but comes at an even better price point. As we continued through all the spaces we came across NorvaNivel, a vendor who creates learning spaces for the future. The spaces are designed to be center around learning but also to be personalized, inclusive and social.  It is safe to say that we hit all the stops at the 2017 Ed Spaces.  We are already looking forward to November 2018 for EdSpaces 2018 in Tampa!

 

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