Rolly chairs and media ecology: Applying communication theory to the activity permissible classroom

Abstract

This article addresses classroom furnishings from a media ecological perspective. I tell the story of how ‘buoy’ and ‘node’ chairs in an ‘activity permissible’ classroom ‘cooled-down’, complicated, and undermined the educational environment. In particular, I explain how the ‘message’ of these furnishings – the extensions afforded by their design – clashed with both pedagogical needs and the subject-matter of the course. I conclude that ‘activity permissible’ furnishings are not necessarily ‘better’ furnishings, and that the media ecology of furnishings is an essential consideration in the designing and assigning of classrooms.