"Each day students may work for thirty or forty minutes in one setting, then switch to the other. Where I am will depend on where the bulk of instruction or monitoring is needed. In the first days of the project I enlist other adults to assist students in the class while I help students get their projects started in the lab." --Jane Krauss
Jane's students have use of one networked computer in the classroom with nine more networked computers in a lab just down the hall. During the Travel Agency part of the project students need daily access to the lab for three weeks. Conceivably, all students could work in the lab at one time, but students find the space limiting. Also, this is a large number of students for Jane to assist effectively. Therefore, she has developed an alternative schedule which allows for students to use both spaces.
Scheduling
Jane
prefers to use a back-to-back schedule, with half the students
working in the lab on their Travel Agency projects while the rest work
in the classroom on related activities. Half-way through the allotted
time, approximately 45 minutes, students change rooms and tasks. Jane
schedules these periods in advance, usually in the morning, and must accommodate
recesses and ability-group instruction. Jane addresses the need for supervision
in both workspaces by calling upon parent volunteers, a student teacher,
and other staff whenever possible.
Room 3:
The
Computer Lab
Jane teaches in Room 5, and the computer lab is in Room
3, two rooms away. There are nine networked computers in the lab, along
with a laser printer and flatbed scanner. Two Apple QuickTake cameras
are available to students, as well as videotaping equipment for multimedia
projects. Currently, the room serves solely as a computer lab.
- View Blueprint of Computer Lab
- Explore Panorama of the Lab (requires QuickTime plug in)
Several software "assistants" help kids use the lab effectively. A computer
utility called Network Assistant 
provides both local and remote control of the lab computers. Using this
program, a teacher can present step-by-step computer instruction from
one lab computer while students watch a passive display of the demonstration
on the other monitors.
It also allows for a remote view of the lab computers. A tiled display of all the monitors in the lab can be viewed from Jane's classroom computer . If students are working on assignments or wandering into unrelated programs or Web sites, pop-up messages can be sent immediately, reminding them of their tasks, or the amount of time they have left in the period. A teacher can freeze any student's computer if inappropriate behavior is observed.
FoolProof ,
a network security software, is also used in the lab, which constrains
student access to the hard drive. Students have access to designated applications
only. Students are prompted to save work to either a floppy disk or a
single "student work" folder on the hard drive. This keeps sloppy habits
to a minimum.
Room 5:
Students do not have desks in Jane's classroom, but work
at tables, storing personal materials in cubbyholes in a cabinet at the
back of the room. This allows freer movement as tasks demand. Students
have assigned seats for some activities, but during project work they
are free to find work space anywhere in the classroom. This configuration
has worked well for Jane for several years.
Jane's Classroom
The one drawback to using tables instead of traditional desks is that students have to go back and forth to their cubbyholes to get materials. Books and binders tend to stack up on the tables, also. Recently students brought money for classroom sets of felt pens, pencils, crayons, glue, and tape which are now kept in a central location which helps with overall organization.
- View Blueprint of Jane's Classroom
- Explore Panorama of Jane's Classroom (requires QuickTime plug-in)
