Contextual Factors: classroom

Description of Classroom
The classroom is not something I am very fond of. The classroom in which I will be teaching in is a classroom that three different teachers teach in. So none of the teachers get to put their own personal feel to it. Since the classroom is strictly a social studies room, there are a few maps. Of the three maps that are on the walls, two are of the United States and one being a world map. The two United States maps are focused on different features, one is of the states, while the other is focused on the geographic features within the country. There is an InFocus projector, but is on a rolling cart so it often get in the way.
The one aspect of the classroom that I love is how the desks are set up. The desks are split in half, there is a walking section right through the middle of the classroom which makes it easy to roam the room. The two sections of desks are in rows, but are facing each other. Some students don’t like it, but I love the fact that I can walk around and right through the classroom. By having the desks split in two sections, it gives me some freedom to where I can be when I am leading lectures or discussion.
The way that this classroom is set up, it will give me the opportunity to move about the room so I can be constantly asking questions to students as a class or individually. If the desks were all set up facing me in rows, I would not be able to be personal with asking my students questions about the material. Another way that this classroom influences the way I look at my students is that to connect with them, I need to be open with them. Because the room is so unpersonable, I will have to try harder to make connections with the students. Things such as saying hello to each student as they enter my room will be a way I can connect with the students. If I had my perfect classroom I would have pictures of my family, posters of my favorite sport teams, and quote from famous figures around the room to let the students know who I am.
Because I do not have much technology in my classroom, such as a smart board, I will need to use the InFocus machine as much as possible. Technology is a great tool in classes today, so often I will need to base some of my lesson around the machines that I do have access to. I can see myself using the InFocus machine as a source for introductions to a lesson by showing some art or music, but then moving into a discussion or lecture. The reason I strongly believe in using technology is that students we teach today are very in-tune with it. Students are attracted to technology so if lessons can be based around something they are interested in the more apt they will be to stay focused on the content.
However, there seems to be many aspects of the community that will help in my ways of teaching, there are a few that will definitely change the way I teach. One aspect of the classroom that I notice is that the popular, maybe wealthy, confident individuals, are the ones to speak out in class. The individuals that are not as outspoken very seldom talk in class. I want all of my students to participate in my classroom discussions whether or not they are the popular kids or not.