Classroom

Review: K–12 Classroom Furniture Gets Flexible with the Ergotron LearnFit

Sit-stand desk allows teachers and students to adjust their workspace to the perfect height for teaching and learning.

Buzz Garwood, the technology teacher at Home Gardens Academy in Corona, Calif., blogs and produces videos for EdTech magazine. Follow him at @buzzgarwood and check out his blog.

A major trend in education is flexible seating, so Ergotron’s LearnFit sit-stand desk may be the perfect fit for today’s modern classroom. Students can instantly adjust the desk to their preferred position, whether that’s sitting or standing.

Assembly is easy; the LearnFit took just a few minutes to unbox and build. The gray tabletop is smooth and feels solid, with a few built-in conveniences. For example, a tablet slot accommodates most standard-sized tablets. Students can maximize their workspace and keep their papers dry with a convenient beverage cup holder, and pencils won’t roll away thanks to the molded pencil tray.

One important aspect of the LearnFit is that the student — without relying on the teacher — can control his or her own ideal working position with the tap of a hand lever. Adjusting the height requires a simple squeeze of the handle, which is located on the front right side, underneath the table.

For some students, lowering the desk so they can sit on a standard chair or exercise ball may be ideal. Others may opt for the full height so they can stand while working.

The ideal height, ergonomically, leaves the top of the monitor screen at or slightly below eye level. One great benefit to controlling the desk’s height is that, whether sitting or standing, students can adjust their LearnFit so that their digital devices are always optimally placed.

Keeping a tidy work environment is also important. The LearnFit offers two features that help ensure no one is tripping over their possessions. The desk comes with a hook, which students can use to hang up their backpacks. In addition, Ergotron offers a storage bin accessory (not included) that holds books, binders and other class supplies, keeping them off the floor but within reach.

Reconfiguring the learning space efficiently is important for a modern classroom. The LearnFit comes with four dual-wheel casters (two of which are locking), so rearranging the room for breakout sessions is smooth and seamless.

Flexible Furniture Benefits Educators Too

Looking to give your classroom more flexibility and choice in how they work? The LearnFit makes a great piece of furniture for today’s modern classroom, and it’s great for teachers too.

I use a music stand as a podium on which I keep my lesson plans, notes, writing utensils and teacher resources. It’s a frustrating arrangement, for two reasons: One, the weight of all that material makes the music stand drop down slowly, so throughout the lesson, I have to pull the stand up several times; and two, when I move the stand to another location, materials inevitably fall off onto the floor, causing a distraction, and more work for me.

When I started using the LearnFit, all of that trouble disappeared. The desk glides smoothly across the room — even over the rugs that lay on my carpet. I use the cup holder for my coffee, and my writing utensils sit perfectly in the molded tray. Nothing falls off.

The other day, when I needed a temporary table for my laptop, I just wheeled the LearnFit over to my location, lowered the table with the handy lever, pulled up a chair, sat down and started working. When one of my students wanted to record a voice-over, I wheeled the LearnFit across the room with the laptop and microphone, and we started recording. It was like having a mobile recording studio.