Gareth is director of education advisory company 'the-learning-crowd'. With significant 'trouble shooting' school leadership experience and major involvement with transformation and new school design in the UK and abroad, he remains in demand by a range of clients. Previously Gareth was senior advisor to the Minister of Education (Cayman Islands) on education transformation. This blog tracks his life, views, good ideas and nightmares, but not too seriously!
One of the key concerns of any teacher we meet when considering new learning spaces is storage. Teachers always want more storage for resources, supplies and then for many many things, that can only be called 'stuff'!
Many teachers are prolific hoarders because a range of 'stuff' really will come in useful one day". Touring a school recently, the dreaded tatty cardboard boxes, plastic bags and plastic crates emerged, full, overflowing, never used, firmly in place and never moving. I banned them lying around in my school years ago for this very reason. They never look good and start creating a tatty environment before we start.
During one design engagement, a teacher asked where her 29 filing cabinets were going to go. I'm sorry but no one can regularly use 29 filing cabinets. I am fairly certain that many contained 'stuff' that rarely saw the light of day.
This is an interesting conundrum as more and more schools, or senior teams at least, plan to go to almost all 'on-line' resources. There are now a number who have declared that books will be largely library based - everything else, resources etc, will be on virtual learning environments and work done on hand held devices eliminating the need for exercise books. This is probably the way forward in the 21st century. Therefore there will be less need for storage. I worry if all the staff in these schools have bought into the vision yet and how much support they will get for this big move. It is a massive step for many.
Seeing all the old boxes, bags and crates in the school I visited, I also did wonder what would happen if and when there was no room to 'carefully store' them. Especially as school staff become more mobile, more technologically dependent and have less access to their own dedicated rooms.
Will staff lose all their physical 'stuff', and if they do, will it be replaced with a special dedicated on-line site just for 'stuff' - even if it is 'virtual stuff'?'
Labels: 'stuff', 21st century learning environments, handheld devices, mobility, shared spaces, storage, virtual learning environments
I enjoyed this comment.. teachers leave c**p everywhere... and we never use it...... it's just we hate chucking anything away. Stuff is too polite term for it really.
I've moved school fIn mom one where the Head was ruthless about it. My new school the Head does not even see it. It's grim.
It's not always out fault - there just is not enough storage to put all the things we need. Anyway, I like my bags - at least know where everything is.
Try teaching in a Centre for Learning. There is no space to put anything down. There isn't even anywhere secure to leave your laptop.
the laptop comment is a serious point - the push about having technology means we have to look after it in every school.
Detroit-transplant Ouizi has been making a name for herself since she moved to the city in 2014. As a now-established artist in Detroit, her art has spread like weeds throughout the city. What she paints though, is much more beautiful.
Ouizi is known for her sweeping brush-stroke floral paintings and the GMRENCEN is lucky enough to have one inside the building. You can find Ouizi’s pink-flower mural inside the GMRENCEN-Starbucks on Level 2, next to the United States Postal Office and Edible Arrangements. Have you seen it already?
Louise Jones paints under the name “Ouizi” (pronounced wee-zeh) and moved from Los Angeles to Detroit in 2014, now calling the city home. Ouizi’s street-art offers close up views of detailed floral arrangements and patterns, often looking like a wrap around a building.
The 29-year-old artist began painting when she was a child and has been evolving her craft ever since. Ouizi’s painting technique of large brush strokes has been heavily influenced by her Chinese-American culture, specifically integrating Chinese calligraphy into her murals. She equates her murals to writing a story or reading a short story.
Here is my newest mural in Detroit!! It is located near the intersection of Michigan and Junction. Thank you to the AIA Detroit – Urban Priorities Committee, Rena Bradley in particular for envisioning the M(i) Town Pilot Project. Thank you to the Michigan Avenue Business Association for helping to execute the plan and Southwest Solutions for helping fund the project!!
Chances are you’ve probably seen Ouizi’s murals in the city before. She has two adjacent murals in Eastern Market, and she is closely associated with the farmer’s market because of it. Ouizi even designed the official poster for the 50th anniversary of Eastern Market’s popular Flower Day in 2017.
She also has outdoor works along the Dequindre Cut, on Agnes Street in West Village, and on the corner of Michigan and Junction in Southwest Detroit. Indoors, you can find her work at Astro Coffee, Craft Work, Red Hook Coffee, Chartreuse, and of course our own GMRENCEN-Starbucks.
Ouizi also has a nine-wall, three-story high mural collection at the Grand Rapids Ballet. Nationally, you can find her work between Atlanta, Brooklyn, Chicago and Hawaii.
Botanical master Louise Chen aka @0uizi created this glorious one-of-a-kind coffee mural for a new store by our our Licensed Store Design Studio at Detroit’s GM Ren Cen.
As we prepare for 2019 Go Scotland Tours will still be offering a limited amount of tours for those travelling to Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness in the cold winter months. Scotland’s landscape changes throughout the season so don’t miss out on the opportunity to see the snowy mountains and glistening lochs. A perfect time of year to escape the crowds and grab a wee dram of whisky on one of our distillery tours. Join one of our group tours from city centre or hire a private guide for your own personal tour experience of Scotland in the winter.
Keep up to date on tour offers in Scotland with the Go Scotland Tours Newsletter. We will let you know new tours being offered from all different types of themes in all parts of Scotland. Very often we will have specials that we post on our Facebook Page, Twitter, and Blog. So make sure to follow if you haven’t already!
Warm your insides up by hoping on one of our whisky day tours this winter. Go Scotland Tours can arrange one of our proffessional tour guides for a private tour with a tailor-made itinerary. Hear about the fascinating history of Scotland’s famous spirit and how in modern times it has become a strong industry. See the process from the barley to the cask to the glass. What is your favourite whisky? Maybe we have a tour that goes there.
Our Edinburgh Highland Whisky Tour has become a popular way to experience whisky, a castle, and the highlands in one day. We start with a visit to Deanson Distillery which is based just outside Stirling. A unique distillery which is inside a converted mill. Deanston’s Virgin Oak Whisky is one of the only Scotchs that ages in a first use cask. From here we make a quick visit to Doune Castle otherwise known as Castle Leoch in Outlander but before then it was Swamp Castle in Monty Python. Enjoy lunch in a traditional Scottish Pub before your scenic drive through the Highlands. Then the Famous Grouse Experience will be our last whisky stop.
From Inverness or Aberdeen you can go to the popular Speyside Whisky region on a private tour. Speyside has the most concentration of whisky distilleries in Scotland which makes it very easy to see 2 or 3 in one day. Our tours can take you to the most popular whiskies such as Glenfiddich and Glenlivet. Tailor-made bespoke private tours can also be arrange to such distilleries as Macallan, Aberlour or Benromach. Experience the sweet Speyside whisky and beatiful highlands in the winter.
Other private whisky tours available include Auchentoshan and Glengoyne from Glasgow, and Edradour Distillery and Blair Castle from Edinburgh.
– Let us take you on a private whisky tour fueled adventure through the Speyside whisky regions, where we will tour the most renowned distilleries in the country.
– Discover whisky on a day tour from Edinburgh. See the magical process of creating whisky at two distilleries; Glengoyne and Deanston, also views of Loch Lomond..
– Half Afternoon Day Tour from Glasgow to the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond via the River Clyde then tour and tasting at Glengoyne Highland Malt Whisky Distillery.
Discover the capital of Scotland and it’s medieval streets on a walking tour of the Royal Mile. Keep out of the cold and rain and decend to the underground of Edinburgh and hear the chilling tales and ghost stories.
Edinburgh group tours continue to run in the winter time. Such day tours as Loch Ness, Loch Lomond/Stirling Castle, Rosslyn Chapel/Dunfermline, Hadrians Wall/Borders, Wallace/whisky tour and more.
Day Tours from Edinburgh– Full day Scotland tours from Edinburgh going to Loch Ness, Highlands, Stirling Castle, Scottish Borders, Rosslyn Chapel. Also Half day walking city tours of Royal Mile and Edinburgh Underground.
New for 2019 we will be offering regular tours from Aberdeen city centre. Tours to Dunnotar Castle, Royal Deeside, Balmoral Castle, Speyside and more. Please check back with us soon for more details.
Granite & Marble Countertops and more. Makeover your kitchen with direct access to local sales, fabricators and installers of Custom fabricated counter tops in 1,000's granite colors, | Your Dream Kitchen Awaits
There is no clear way to say what is "countertop material is better" in general. Its really what is important to you. How we define this is to go over the properties of each material and see what matches with your goals.
Stain/chemical Resistant **** (4 Stars - very resistant but can scratch and discolor in some conditions)
Visual Appeal *** (3 Stars - mimic natural stone more and more - certain commercial applications consistency in color make this a better choice)
Price ** (2 Stars - for the quality material this price is very expensive. knock off quartz does not have the qualities listed above.)
Lets talk about "quartz countertops". Quartz countertops claim to be extremely durable , stain and heat resistant. They are but more and more companies are put out inferior materials. how is quartz countertops made. Basically take any material such as quartz, glass and other materials and mash it up into little pieces. Then compress this material down as tight as possible and inject a material to hold everything together.. I have heard this called resin, epoxy, polymer.. these are all fancy words for plastic. Basically these very durable materials quartz, glass, etc are all held together with a plastic material. The more plastic the more susceptible the countertop will be to fading, and bleaching. The original companies that built the reputation of quartz countertops are now faced with cheaper knock of products that don't have the same durability factors as other countertops materials
Lets talk about the look of quartz countertops. The first quartz countertops on the market were very uniform in color and appearance. Over time the process and product has become more sophisticated. Many quartz products now have attempted to mimic the looks of natural stone. The only way to do this is to change the manufacturing process and the material to control colors of the material by coloring the plastic material. This increases the amount of viewable plastic and requires clear material to construct the countertops.
If you are going to go with a quartz countertop I recommend one with a warranty and a long one. These are going to be pretty expensive but based on what is coming into the market today. You will see more and more people complaining of issues with these cheaper quartz countertops and that will affect the market for the more reputable provided.
Price *** (3 Stars - Supply and demand has reduced cost and made this product more access able to more people.)
Granite became populate for residential home back in the early 80s and has been a market lead ever since. Since the housing crisis of 2007 the demand in the new home market dropped and the market had to respond with a more attractive price point for the residential consumer. Demand grew to remodel existing homes. All materials for countertops try to mimic the look and appearance of granite countertops. Granite countertops will remain a leader for some time to come. Granite Countertops have the greatest perceived value when it comes to selling your home. All other materials do not have the same level of desirability to the general public.
Maintenance is low to once a year applying a sealing application. granite is extremely hear resistant and stain resistance but sealing your stone is important to its long standing beauty.
Durability *** (3 Stars - Marble is used for statues due to it properties and ability to last many life times but for kitchen use this material is not recommended without some kind of intense sealing application.)
Price ** (2 Stars - marble is still one of the most expense materials on the market and is fragile to work with so does cost more to fabricate.)
When it comes to beauty of natural stone nothing can quite match the look of marble and the veining for the whites, blacks, reds and greens. Marble is made from compressed limestone. This is not a very durable material to stand up to kitchen use but has been widely accepted in bathrooms and for fireplaces and other decorative areas. Limestone is porous and can stain pretty easily.
Our mission is to provide you with superior products and services through our network of fabricators. We provide access to some of the best craftsman in the business. We help ensure that your experience with our providers exemplifies the Quality, Service and value that YOU expect. If at any time you have any questions please feel free to contact us during your granite countertop purchase and installation. Granite Countertops