Top 10 elements of a 21st Century Classroom? The Learning Environment and Resources

1. Innovative
2. Open
3. Aware
4. Rspectful
5. Flexible
6. Cooperative
7. Differentiated
8. Global
9. Integrated
10. Focused

I would like to create a classroom that is open and encourages learning, thinking, and sharing.  The 21st century learner is one who uses to technolgy to enhance their learning and communication.  Also, as differentiated instruction becomes more and more the norm I hope to see classrooms reflect the idea that not only do indivduals learn at different paces and in different ways but that these differences can be stengths that balance each other out. 
A strong 21st century classroom will reflect these differences and utilize them to build stronger collaborative teams that are greater than the sum of the parts.  Technology will play a large part in the classroom and will be used more and more as it becomes an even more integrated part of our society.  It is important as this integration grows that we still remember how to communicate with each other as people.  However, by using technology we can expand our classroom to the entire world.  This will help prepare our students for the global society they live in.
Currently I have a few desktops in my classroom and the students have the option of "renting" a laptop for the school year to use throught my district's one-to-one laptop program.  These computers allow us to utilize many web-based programs for online collaboration and virtual labs.  We also have vernier labware that can be used in live labs to obtain more accurate and precise results.  Many students carry their own cell phones and .mp3 players.  I would like to see educators start to use these as educational tools instead of just thinking of them as educatinal nuisances.