SanSay.Co.Uk

A conversation on EduGeek pointed out the following:

"I have just seen some schematics looking at floorspace in our BSF school. What was interesting was the fact that there are no ICT rooms planned; according to the consulting architects ICT rooms are old-hat, relics of a bygone era..."

This post attracted several replies, and then seemingly got picked up by some reporter asking around. So, my take on the matter: I think I can see both sides of the argument here. From a teaching point of view, ICT suites are generally horrible places. Overcrowded (there's never quite enough of the expensive, bulky machines to go around, some are always out of order), stuffy (unless you install expensive air conditioning), noisy (PC fans and harddrives whizzing away), scruffy (printer paper littering the place), pupils have large monitors to lurk behind, etc, etc. Ideally, you would have a normal classroom in which computers could simply appear and disappear as needed - this generally means either laptops (expensive) or hinged desks with flat screens embedded in them (even more expensive). Having computers available on demand in the classroom (ICT "embedded in the curriculum" is the phrase used by those in the know) makes for a far better teaching experience - no more traipsing your class down to The Computer Room to wrestle with systems that you're unfamiliar with because you don't get to use them enough.

But from a network management point of view, ICT suites are seen as good - machines can be chained to desks to stop thefts, alarms can be installed, you have mains power instead of batteries, reliable wired networking instead of wireless, machines are grouped and it's easier to manage what software is installed on them, big ugly machines are cheaper and more robust than ultra-slim laptops, etc, etc. Laptops can be stolen, broken, and batteries wear out over time.

Okay, so there's the two sides of the problem, so how to best provide ICT access?

You could fix desks to the floor, letting you run power and networking to each one. This is going to get pricey unless you can do this kind of thing yourself. It also means you can't move the desks. This is a problem in, say, English classrooms where drama is sometimes done, or if you just feel like moving the tables around. However, science classrooms generally have fixed benches, and seem to manage okay.

You could fix computers to the wall. Screens these days are flat, and only take a couple of centimeters of room space if nailed flat to a wall. A fold-up cover/keyboard and mouse table isn't too difficult to imagine - just a hinged bit of wood with a keyboard glued to the top. All wiring can be tucked away in some stick-on wall conduit. Problem: unless you have large classrooms / small classes, you won't be able to fit enough computers in to cover a one-to-one usage ratio. It should defiantly, help, though.

Build a better laptop. Ah ha. This is where the OLPC comes in. Who knows whether it'll be any use in Africa / Asia, but it sure looks perfect for UK classrooms. Low power consumption, robust design, decent wireless networking (er, hopefully - some reports are a little disparaging) - well on its way to looking like the BBC Microcomputer of the modern age.

Use second-hand laptops. Cheap. Doesn't matter (too much) if you drop a few. You can "retro-fit" a standard school desk with an under-desk tray to slide a laptop into. You'll need to supply mains power to all machines - you can assume all the batteries will be worn and will have different models of power supply. Wired networking would also be a good idea. Under-powered processor problems can be solved by using the machines as thin clients - keep the server in the classroom, as the teacher's computer (nice fast local networking, plus the teacher can view pupil screens).

The best solution would seem (as is so often the case) to be a combination of the two approaches. In classrooms where you don't need to move the desks around a whole lot, provide power and network to each desk and use a cheap laptop as a thin client to a local server.