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Ask Slashdot: Ideal High School Computer Lab?
First time accepted submitter dmiller1984 writes "I am a high school computer teacher and I've been put in the unique situation of designing my ideal computer lab since our high school will be undergoing a major expansion over the summer. I thought the Slashdot community might have some great ideas to help me out. I've never liked the lecture hall labs that I've seen in some schools, but I would like some way to get natural light in the room without worrying about glare on the computer screens (skylights, perhaps?). What are some of your ideas for a great computer lab for education?"
Only thing I can think of is add some vegetation. A few well placed plants does wonders for a room. Maybe some geek paraphernalia around the room to get people in the right mindset
As usual, ergonomics are important. Get chairs and monitors that adjust easily, keyboards/trays with the proper support (and again, adjustable) and maybe educate students on how they should set up their work environment before they. Oh, and a decent amount of desk space. Just because they are working on a computer doesn’t mean they won’t be working from a book or have some other reason to need a little room to work.
Of course once you’ve drawn your balanced, well thought out and researched plan, it will promptly be rejected and the school can proceed to bring in some cheap tables and place an order with Dell ;p
best of luck and have a great life!
Seriously. Ask THEM what they would like to see in a computer lab. School for me, plainly put, sucked. I did poorly because I never had any reason or desire to motivate or engage myself. Environment is important, as someone else said, but it also needs to be a place that doesn't feel forced. Put meme posters (that are safe for school) on the wall. Interesting trivia. Places students can go whenever they want to learn (slashdot!). Encourage them to learn and understand. Bring in computer parts for display. Show them what real world internet is like. Discuss and have information about the difference between over-security, network security, theatrical security, and how that ties in with laws. I think the ideal computer room should have all the evidence of what I would want to impress upon my own children about computers and the internet.
If they want to get used to working in a real-world computer environment: 1. Terrible and abrasive neon lights. 2. Cubicles. 3. Every 5 minutes someone in the class needs to bother another student with a stupid question. Focus is a perk not a right. 4. Randomly stand over a students shoulder and demand a demo, and a reason why the project is not done yet. 5. If the students work is not progressing, fail them and outsource a student from India.
... or your memory modules will walk, even if you don't think there is any opportunity for that to happen.
Someone had to do it.
What is the lab being used for?
What form factor are the computers?
What kind of connectivity will the computers use?
How many students at a time, and are these the top 20%, middle 60%, or bottom 20%?
What size of space?
These are all very important characteristics, and I've worked with all kinds of each. The one defining characteristic I can assert is that enough physical space both in the room and at the worksurfaces is important. When the room is cramped and the desks are cramped, the kids will be cramped, and will probably abuse the equipment more. It'll be harder to maintain and harder for custodial to keep the space clean.
I also suggest that the teacher's station be in the back on a raised platform, such that the teacher can easily see all of the screens.
I suggest a form factor like the "Small Desktop" form factor Dell has used for their Optiplex lines, and that the machines are mounted where with a little effort they can be reached by the user, but are otherwise somewhat out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Technicians performing maintenance will be pissed if they're on the back side of the desk where they can't be reached when in front of the console. Also, don't block too much access to the back, as the technician needs easy access to the connections.
If you won't need to reconfigure the lab, go with permanent fixture desks, run the data and electrical infrastructure in the furniture. Be sure to keep a good separation between data and electrical to minimize interference. If you will need to reconfigure, go with a raised floor like computer rooms use, that will allow cabling to be moved around as needed based on furniture configuration.
If the lab will be used for general ed computer-based learning rather than for technology-subject learning, put in short height partitions to separate students from each other a bit.
Avoid lighting on the blue end of the spectrum, go for yellower tones. Blue will make them fall asleep.
Avoid chairs that are too adjustable and on casters, they'll inevitably get destroyed. Chairs similar to those used in band and orchestra would be a good choice.
If you put up a projector, get one with the same aspect ratio as the teacher's station's screen. If possible, go for the same resolution. Put in a sound system too, at least a set of stereo speakers in the front connected to a small amp. Wire for everything on the projector even if you don't need it now- if you need to hook up a Blu-ray player or VCR or something later it's nice to have cabling.
Good luck. You're going to need it...
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I am also a high school computer teacher, and our building got renovated about three years ago. I was able to ask for lots of goodies too, but be prepared for the contractors to ignore whatever suggestions you make.
That being said, there were a few important elements I insisted on. One is that I could see all the students' screens from a central location. Mostly that meant having all the PCs facing outward against three walls, with me in the middle. This was a huge improvement over the back-to-back rows we had before. The downside is that kids have to turn around if they need to see the board or the teacher.
My class is in the Career and Technical Education school, so I'm training kids to be sysadmins, programmers, and technicians. Due to the nature of the class, we have a central rack with networking equipment that's easy for the kids to crowd around. If this is something you need, make sure there's plenty of space on all sides, and use a cable tray to bring in the wiring. Also, I asked for power to be dropped from the ceiling to the center of the room so we could setup work benches to troubleshoot hardware. (That's one of the things they neglected to give me.)
Natural light is a wonderful thing, but I wouldn't worry too much about glare as long as you don't have shiny glass screens. If students will be sitting in front of these things for an hour or more at a stretch, good (and large) LCD displays will reduce eye strain. Similarly, don't expect kids to sit in crappy chairs for long periods of time. But don't get swivel rolling chairs; they'll just race and spin in them.
Probably the most used piece of technology in my room is the projector. I'd definitely get a decent one and install it where everyone can see it. I also like to be mobile in my lab, so I've got an iPad to walk around with and take notes on student work.
As long as you've got space to spare, give students as much elbow room as possible. High school kids need a little personal space so they don't get on each others' nerves. Also, more space per PC makes it easier for students to work in small groups, as they can gather three or four people around one PC.
I've got some software I'm partial to, as well. It's nice having something like Faronics Insight in the lab, which allows me to monitor what everyone is looking at, limit Internet access, or share my screen with everyone. I'm not tied to that particular brand (thought it's what I'm using right now, and works on PCs and Macs), but rather any software system that has those functions.
My lab is due to be upgraded in a year or two. I might go with laptops if it's in the budget, but we've got to work out accountability (for theft), upgradability, and a few other issues. I certainly wish I had one or two for myself, though.
I hope this helps some.
It is hugely more pleasant to work in a computer lab where the noise of fans isn't deafening. Actually, you can pretty much get total silence now, and I strongly recommend it. Specify computers with fanless coolers (usually this is $25 even for a high-powered i7 cooler), avoid rotating disks (use SSDs or etherboot), avoid case-fans, and use silent PSUs (these are usually equipped with fan for use when flat-out, but tend to run inaudibly; they cost a little more, but last much longer).
1. Raised floor. 4", a short one. And get extra tiles. Tech changes and you'll need to reconfigure the room every couple years to keep up. With raised floor you can put network and power on flexible whips and move them around where you need them. This'll allow you to move desks, move computers, move everything. You're going to put holes in these tiles. Later you'll discover you need some of the holes filled in. That isn't possible. So you'll need the extra tiles to cut new.
2. Dedicated supplemental HVAC. A room full of computers will get hotter than the ordinary school HVAC can handle during the spring and fall. It'll get even hotter during the winter when the school heating system pumps out the heat. The normal solution - a thermostat-controlled duct damper - isn't going to do you much good. You need a small, inexpensive HVAC that can put out a couple tons of cooling supplementing the normal school HVAC.
3. Second dedicated HVAC for the server closet unless you're remoting the class servers in the school's IT room. In which case, make sure the school's IT room has a dedicated HVAC.
4. 200 amp subpanel in the room. You'll find you need to reconfigure the electrical when you reconfigure the room. Reconfiguring all the way back to a basement circuit breaker panel will be costly and problematic.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
I designed a small space for 6 workstations that was used for 2 years, it was pretty popular among the students, they hung out there and worked all hours of the day and night, usually 4 or 5 of the workstations were occupied during "normal working" hours. Then, I was asked to design the upgraded lab with 18 terminals in a larger space. The main thing I asked for from a lighting/facility aspect was workspace spotlights (in those days, incandescent lights in a can which throw a spot on the desk but not on the screens - today I'd go LED), and I asked for 72" desks because our students worked in pairs. I arranged the 18 desks in a sort of random/scattered layout (both for the 6 and 18 terminal labs), which put most workstations in a semi-isolated space, usually with at most one other workstation in a "hey, can you tell me..." line of sight asking distance.
Well, it was 20+ years ago, so I don't remember if I actually got the can-spots or not, what I do remember was that the man in charge said "thanks a lot for the design, but we're going to lay them out in rows so that when a visitor looks in the window from the hallway they will see all the screens, it's impressive." Yeah, it was impressive alright. The desks shrank to 54" to make 3 rows of 6 work in the available space, people were on each other's elbows all the time and, generally speaking, no more than 3 or 4 workstations were ever occupied at a time because people felt cramped if more than half the terminals were full, so they generally stayed away except for absolutely required lab time.
Not to be pedantic...but labs don't run operating systems, computers do.
That's true, and pedantry is welcome. This is slashdot after all.
I knew things were off to a rocky start when the story started with this quote:
"I am a high school computer teacher and I've been put in the unique situation of designing my ideal computer lab
To be perfectly pedantic: "computer teachers" probably don't need a lab at all.
Just an ssh connection to each computer, and you can program (teach) the computers what ever you want.
Why build a lab, that invariably attracts students, who always mess things up.
Get a Gorilla rack and put it in the basement somewhere, but what ever you do, keep those pesky kids away.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Start with the Infrastructure: wiring, power, desks, layout etc. Computers come and go, and even if you buy brand new computers, they will be gone in 5 years. Infrastructure will last, so make sure it is done RIGHT!!
Second, think about HOW you're going to teach "computers", and what that really means. You asked about "computers" and I'm thinking you don't know what you are teaching. Probably "Word", "Excel", and "Powerpoint", but if you want to do your students a favor, don't teach "Programs" or "Applications" teach what they do "writing", "spreadsheet", and "presentation" ... and make them use a variety of programs to accomplish the assignments.
Finally, make sure you have something like VISION in your lab.
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