re: The Perfect Educational Computer Lab

Garth — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:24:57 GMT

And I forgot to mention the biggest monitors you can fit/afford. My advanced lab has dual monitors. The programming project is usually on one and the e-book/documentation/tutorial/notes is on the other. The kids love the setup.

re: The Perfect Educational Computer Lab

Garth — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:27:35 GMT

Our school building was built in 1921 so we have minor issues with electricity and room size (small) that forces our labs to be arranged the way they are. Our primary computer lab has students facing away for the front of the room in two rows. Our other two labs are the facing the wall type labs. There are two big advantages to these types of set-ups. I can see what everyone is doing all the time. I can pretty much stand in one place and at a glance see if someone is having a problem or (heaven forbid) is goofing off on the internet. The other biggie is when I am talking they have to be turned away from the computer screen and facing me. I know then that they are paying attention to me and not to what is on the screen. I have taught and been taught in labs where the student looks at the teacher over the screen. It is really difficult to get the kids eyes off the screen that way. When I was taught in a lab like that I did not want to look at the teacher, I wanted to keep working. There is software to solve this problem but that is another expense. I am convinced the setup I presently have is the best compromise.

Something I really wish I had more of are projectors that every computer could log in to. I have one of those projectors (Dell S300wi) in my advanced lab (6 computers) and it is just so convenient to throw a kid’s work on the wall to look at. The minor detail of $1100 as opposed to $600 puts a bit of a crimp in that conversion. Also moving the present ceiling mount (a major operation in a 90 year old building), re-wiring and what to do with the old projector are issues.

When you buy computers think ahead a few years. What is nice now will not be so nice in a couple of years. Five years ago I tried to save a buck by buying computers with a minimum of RAM. Big booboo. Buy better that you need now; you are going to need it next year. Have the lab be all one computer brand and model. My primary programming lab is made up of whatever I could scrounge. I think I have three different manufacturers, each with a couple of models in a total of 14 computers. What a pain. Video and audio drivers behave differently, different ram and processor speed causes issues and of course I have to have XP and Win 7 machines. I am an idiot. If you go Mac, buy VMware Fusion so you can run Mac and Windows environments. Gives the kids more options. There is one minor glitch with that setup; Kinect supposedly will not work in a virtualized environment. At least that is what the Kinect site claims. I have not tested it yet. I now have Macs and PCs in my little advanced lab for this reason.

A printer in a multi use lab is a must. A big printer. One that has cheap, refillable toner cartridges and is reliable as a brick.

re: The Perfect Educational Computer Lab

Mark Frydenberg — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:21:02 GMT

Alfred, we invite you and your readers to check out our renovated "Computer Lab" at Bentley University, and rebranded it as the Computer Information Systems Learning and Technology Sandbox. It's both a physical and virtual place for learning. Check out our transformation here: cis.bentley.edu/.../transformation - this 45 second video shows the construction that took place to create the Sandbox.

Our blog at http://cis.bentley.edu/sandbox will give you a sense of the pulse of the place -- an inviting layout and bright paint on the walls is just the beginning when creating a place for exploring technology. If you're in the Waltham area, join us at our open house tomorrow (Dec 1) from 3 to 5 pm at Bentley. Details are here: www.facebook.com/.../122635574511473