Welcome to the classroom of the future?

In Kelly O'Hara's Grade 4-5 split classroom, students don't get disciplined for jumping out of their seats, or scolded into tidying a messy desk.

That's because O'Hara, a teacher at Alexander Public School, has embraced the concept of the 21st-century classroom, or as she refers to it ..."the deskless classroom."

In her classroom, kids are free to lounge on moon chairs, stretch out on floor mats to complete assignments on chromebooks, or if they want, sit in a more traditional school desk.

"It's more about 'let's get comfy,'" O'Hara said, "and 'let's get down to work.'"

The design of the deskless classroom stresses the learning environment and how to incorporate the presence and benefits of technology.

"It's all about the layout of the classroom," O'Hara said, "[getting] away from typical structure of rows of desks. All the resources are placed around the room. It's open concept. And generally more comfortable."

The idea for the change came when the school's principal asked her to apply for government grants to adapt classrooms to the 21st century.

"I jumped at the opportunity," O'Hara said, "but I asked [principal Denise Goodmurphy] do you mind if I just go deskless right now, regardless if I get the grant? So I brought in some stuff from home, and started eliminating desks.

It hasn't been a difficult transition, for O'Hara or her students.

"I've always had students who've needed to stand and jump around, or who just like to lie down on the floor to work," she said.

"But this encourages cooperation," she said, "with desks, it's kind of hard to let the kids get comfortable. When you're' sitting on a plastic chair all day, it's not very comfortable. Sometimes it's hard to pay attention."

As for the work itself, O'Hara said that it's easier to monitor students' progress. The deskless classroom is paperless, and kids submit assignments using the Google Classroom platform

"I can see who hasn't started working, who hasn't completed their assignments," O'Hara said, "I can send feedback while they're' working. It's fantastic. We're getting familiar with technology, which is where we're heading."

She's also noticed a drop in behavioural issues, as well an increase in completed work.

Before the change, O'Hara said, "this used to be the loudest classroom."

"[Now the students are] very productive," she said, "students who don't like manual writing get a lot more typing done."

"There's a voice recorder on the chromebooks, too, so if you have any students with learning disabilities or a language issue, they'll be able to produce a piece of writing through the chromebook."

As the kids, parents, and teachers all get used to the new type of learning environment, one thing remains certain, at least at Alexander Public, Kelly O'Hara's classroom is definitely getting ready for the future.

"We're just, in a sense, as the kids say, 'chilling.'" O' Hara said.