Instructional
Components -DVD -VCR -Document
Camera -Wireless
laptops can be used at the student
station -Monitors
on desks b.
Sign up in media center. Every period is open
during the first semester. c.
Plan ahead to load files (Power Point) or
programs (Simulation Software) on the Smart
Room computer. d.
Build blogs or web pages and use them for
links and graphics. Security
and
Management
by
Jamie McKenzie from
the Educational Technology
Journal ©
2002, Jamie McKenzie all
rights reserved.
A.
Planning for setup of cart b.
An electrical outlet and an internet drop to
connect the wireless router. c.
Sign up for cart in the Media Center. Give
yourself ample planning time before the day the
cart arrives in your classroom. Try to get the
cart in the strategic location, and set up,
before your class meets. d.
Should you schedule the use of the laptops for
your department, or a group of teachers in the
department? If the cart is in one area of the
department, can students get the computers and
take them to their classroom more easily than
rolling the cart around? e.
Battery
life can be a
problem!
Do you have outlets available to connect the
laptops to a power supply should the battery
weaken? e.
Plan how the laptops will be removed and
unplugged from the cart; returned, plugged-in
and reattached in their numbered slot? Will you
carry this out, or train several responsible
students to see that this task is
completed? f.
Student assistants can make the use of the
wireless cart more comfortable for teachers and
students. They can check lists to be sure
students are getting, using and checking in the
computer assigned to them. g.
Student assistants can make sure computers are
properly removed from the cart and plugged in
for charging when they are replaced in the
cart. f.
If
the computers are not plugged-in correctly they
will not
recharge.
-None
of us like surprises when our turn comes to
use the equipment! -The
reading below is from the Ed Tech
Journal entitled Matters
of
Movement
by Jamie McKenzie all
rights reserved. Security
and Procedures One
district found that students were
generally not reliable when plugging used
laptops back into the cart's recharging
system. Those uncharged units might then
be unavailable for several classes and
would cause unpleasant surprises. To
guarantee complete charging, the district
strengthened its expectation that teachers
would personally plug all units back into
the cart. Many
schools have tightened procedures in ways
that increase the load on the teacher who
hopes to use the carts. Well intended
though these procedures may be, they may
become barriers to frequent, comfortable
use. The more burdensome the regulations,
the smaller the likelihood that this
system will be embraced broadly by staff,
many of whom may have little time or
appetite for heroics. If
teachers can inspire students to act
responsibly and minimize the need for such
procedures, broad use of the equipment is
more likely. Likewise, if vendors can
create products less susceptible to human
error, more teachers and schools will
welcome mobile computing. B.
Planning the Use of the
Laptops -Internet
research might be better done in the
library. b.
The activity for the laptops should be
DIRECTED
and
WELL
PLANNED.
You must move about the room to see that
students are on task. -Technology
should enhance instruction not replace
it. -Should
you have a blog, or webpage, that contains
instructions and links? -Will
all of your instruction be on paper, on the
board, on a PowerPoint
presentation? -Will
students work in groups with one computer
being shared by two, or three
individuals? -How
much time is needed? c.
STUDENTS
WILL SURF THE INTERNET WHEN YOU ARE NOT
ATTENTIVE. -There
is a THAWSPACE
under my computer that is a storage space for
student work. d.
What
specific software applications do I
need? -Brainstorming
the project with me will help you focus on
the particular components needed in your
lesson to make it a success. -
Each machine has the Microsoft Office Suite
of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The Explorer
browser, Quick Time, Movie Maker and Media
Player roundout the software available to the
students. e.
As of now the cart will be used third period to
support the Plato reading
program. b.
Blogs
and web
pages
(link to pages already made and other
blogsites) c.
PowerPoint with embedded movies, sound (music,
voice) d.
Convert VCR files to MPEG files that run on
Quicktime. Can be embedded into
PowerPoint. e.
CD and DVD burners f.
Digital Cameras g.
Multimedia resources for loan
(Stuff) h.
Digital Video Projector to Loan i.
Wacom Drawing Tablets j.
Separate Computer for Art Work k.
Audio
and Video Recording Equipment l.
Headphones with microphones m.
Demonstrate classroom
applications n.
Continued training on sofware o.
To experiment wiAddicted to SherlockAddicted To
SherlockAddishow p.
Resources
a.
Smart Room Components
-Internet
Matters
of
Movement
Wireless
Laptop
Carts
a.
Open space where students can get to the cart
with relative ease.
-Battery
life is approximately 5 hours when fully
charged
Concerned
about battery life, damage, and theft,
many schools have developed quite
demanding procedures that can reduce the
attractiveness of mobile computing. While
such procedures seem necessary, they can
frustrate busy classroom teachers.
a.
Having a room full of computers can be exciting
and daunting all at the same time.
-Since
the laptops have no printer attached (at the
present time) there is a difference between
using the computer lab in the media center
and having the wireless system in your
room.
-Can
the objectives of your lesson be best met
using technology, or would some other method
be more effective?
-Each
laptop has Deep
Freeze
installed. This software protects the
computer from being corrupted.
-If
there is some specific software (simulator,
sensors, production, etc.) you need on the
laptop, then you need to plan well ahead. It
takes quite a bit of time to load software
onto the laptops.
a.
List of software