A Lesson in Classroom Ergonomics
By: Shannon Powell
It is overwhelming to think about all of the ergonomic issues that could arise in a classroom. The challenge most people have with ergonomics is not with understanding the concept--rather, how does one fix the problem they recognize they have based upon the education? How can you change your work station so that it is ergonomic?
Most ergonomic professionals will agree that it is not easy, but there are some shortcuts to making a workplace more comfortable. You first have to embrace that your behavior has to change as well. On any given day, ergonomics can be more behavioral change than design change.
Here are a few basics to follow, but remember that change can be a challenge.
Wear comfortable shoes that support your feet while standing. If you are instructing while standing for long periods of time, consider using anti-fatigue mats in locations where you walk and stand most often.
Stay within your neutral reach zone as often as you can; if not, stand on a footstool to reach high objects and move them to a lower position if used frequently. Write at the proper height for your upper extremities so that you don't hold up your arms above your shoulders while writing on the blackboard when communicating information to students.
Avoid bending over to read students' paperwork; when possible, lift the paper off the desk and bring it up to you to read it. Or, sit down while reading and looking at paperwork on students' desks so that you are at their level if only for a moment. A small stool with a back to roll around the class might be a helpful addition.
Avoid carrying or lifting heavy equipment such as paper reams, crafts boxes, books and computers. Purchase a luggage pull cart to transport your work to and from the classroom. The pull carts aren't off limits for teachers and shouldn't be for students either. Using a pull cart to pull your supplies to and from home is a good idea. Make sure to purchase a bag with large wheels and one that has straps so that you can pack it on your back if needed to travel up stairs.
Use proper ergonomic postures when working on your computer. Take ownership in a good chair to support your lower back while seated. Standing in a job can be helpful to the back because there is less pressure on the lower back; however, your legs and back also need to rest, so remember to sit down. When you sit down, make sure you are sitting back and supporting your back against the back of a chair that has a lumbar support.
There are many adjustments to ergonomic chairs; they are typically not big and bulky. Look for a seat depth adjustment, lumbar adjustment, height adjustment, and back angle adjustment as being the highest priorities. Adjust the chair so that it fits and supports your body while seated. Arms are optional as long as they adjust in height and width if needed.
When seated, your legs should be slightly above your hips, with your feet resting flat on the floor or on a footrest.
When typing, your upper extremities should be keying and mousing parallel to your thighs. Your keyboard and mouse should always be on the same level, and an adjustable height keyboard tray and or desktop wrist rests should be in place for avoiding contact stress of the wrists on any hard surface. I recommend adjustable-height keyboard trays approximately 75 percent of the time I assess an employee work station. Wrists should never be in extension or flexion while keying and mousing. Chances are, if you are using your keyboard on top of your desk, your arms are above neutral and you are creating a forceful posture with your arms and shoulders that can add to the tensions of any job.
You should never use your laptop as your primary computer. If you do so, then you should have a docking station and separate monitor. Laptops continue to cause neck and shoulder injuries to many people. Invest in a docking station if you can or plan to build up the height of your laptop to accommodate your eye height, which should be at the top quarter portion of the screen of your laptop. Then you will need to externally plug in a keyboard and mouse and not use the keypads available. Save your laptop for the plane and a late night at a hotel room but not at any workstation you work at regularly.
If you are a bifocal/trifocal wearer, it is important to note that your vision needs should to be addressed by lowering your monitor so that you can view the screen without adjusting your neck out of neutral (i.e. looking up or down to find the screen with the right part of your lenses).
For many workers, including the teacher, there is awareness that there are awkward postures, but there are so many tasks to consider. Many times, the frequency variable of how often one performs the task is hard to quantify.
What my goal is when I assess individual work stations is to try and minimize and or eliminate awkward and forceful postures. It's hard to eliminate the repetition. We have to write on boards that are lower and key and mouse to communicate when we correct homework. We have to bring work home with us where work conditions might even be worse.
We would never drive any distance and feel safe unless we had adjusted our seats, mirrors and steering wheel to fit us in our car. Why then should we take the risk and not accommodate our bodies while in the classroom?
Some classrooms are outfitted with computers set up for students to use. Most likely, all of the monitors are too high for our children when set upon the CPU unit of a computer. Do your kids a favor and turn the CPU units on their sides adjacent to the monitors and position the tilt on the monitor no more than 5 to10 degrees positive. This will help the youth of today be more productive in the future.
Take time to stretch throughout your day and take mini breaks from either a standing or sitting posture depending on your work. Make sure to drink a lot of water and exercise proper breathing techniques through your day. Remember that your body is your temple; take care of you so that you can keep helping others.
Shannon Powell is the president of Active Ergonomics, Inc., www.actergo.com, which specializes in the promotion of pro-active ergonomic programs through education, assessments and products. Powell is accredited at the Accredited Office Ergonomics Evaluator (AOEE) level.
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Case Study
Ergonomics of a Technology-Rich Classroom
Like many other aspects of school life, ergonomics and its definition changes under the impact of ever-developing technology. It is no longer just about comfortable furniture or adequate lighting, just as audio-visual options today are way beyond just the chalkboard and the instructor.
When the school introduces projectors, plasma screens, document cameras, local and distributed video sources with various resolutions, image and sound quality, they introduce new ergonomic challenges, because ergonomics is about the comfort, effectiveness, and flexibility of the overall environment.
Faced with those new challenges, Calvert Hall College High School, a Catholic and Lasallian college preparatory school for young men that is located in Baltimore, introduced a new solution-an integrated AV environment that is not only adequate for the size and configuration of the classroom but is easy and effective for the instructor and students to interact with and use.
"We wanted to leverage technology but concentrate on teaching," said Veronica Phillips, academic technology director. "Our administrators, faculty and IT staff recognize that the emergence of new technologies can revitalize the learning environment."
The core of the solution is an AMX central control system that ties together different display, source and interface options (such as a dozen of remotes, for example) to create an ergonomically effective teaching and learning environment.
"We decided that the AMX touch panel system (www.amx.com) could improve the quality of work for everyone on campus," Phillips said. "The graphical interface is very intuitive and easy to use. The centralized system for maintenance is critical, and the ability to customize the programming is vital to success. The design enables capabilities and limitations of users to be taken into account."
It is important that not only every classroom is comfortable and easy to use when it comes to technology, lighting, etc., but is also centrally managed and proactively supported through automatic monitoring of the environments.
"With the goal of providing the best educational opportunities for each student, we were striving to empower teachers by increasing their comfort level with technology," said Phillips. "AMX control technology seamlessly integrates and manages electronic devices and resources to maximize the pedagogic value of technology in the classroom. It decreases the level of complexity that traditionally has made it difficult for even the most motivated educators to integrate technology into their lesson plans."
New innovative applications are being introduced, such as on-screen annotation or monitoring of student computers right from the instructor's touch panel interface. This makes the added capabilities easy to integrate from the ergonomic standpoint into the established environment. There is no need to physically go to a different device to perform a new operation; everything is available right at the teacher's station (or, even better, anywhere in the room through a wireless panel).
What advice would Phillips give to other schools in similar situations as Calvert Hall?
"Conversation and flow of information is critical," said Phillips. "Weigh the cost of investing in technology vs. the costs of not investing. Look at the needs of your own environment; don't just try to do what everyone else is doing."
