Re: Laptop Lab

["Irwin - Maureen S." <msirwin@UMD5.UMD.EDU>]

We had 18 laptops, not in a lab, but housed on two carts in the library av
room. They each had a power pac which plugged into the cart, so they
stayed plugged in. They also had internal batteries. Kids checked them out
just like books for use inside the library, or with special permission,
in a classroom. They were great for whole class projects, especially
when kids got
to the word processing stage.  They moved to the classroom right on the
carts. (The teacher
signed up for them in advance.)  They were also a great boon to those
dysgraphic students who had had terrible times taking tests.  They
submitted a disk to the teacher and all was groovy.  You'll notice this is
all in the past tense.  For one thing, the Mac 5000?'s we had were not
very sturdy, and were prone to all sorts of problems from unlatchable
latches to frozen screens to stuck discs.  But the real problem was that
the ones that were still good all walked over the summer.  Now granted, we
get a lot of traffic in here in the summer, but these babies were so cute
they fit into anything.
We have not replaced them.  I don't know if there are any plans to.  We
are gradually adding more desktops to classrooms, and will be opening a
new
lab over the next few months, and our labs stay open til 6pm, like the
library.  I think those students who used them for tests now bring their
own in from home. Classes get into the lab when they can.  It
certainly had seemed like a good idea at the time, but it just didn't
work out.  I would suggest you investigate how good the new ones are, how
sturdy and reliable.  We had talked about putting security
strips on them, and 3M said it wouldn't hurt (as long as we didn't
desensitze them), but that would only protect them in the library. If they
are going to travel around the building you better have a very good way to
secure them.  ($1000 deposit seems a bit steep for 13 year olds!)  Good
Luck!

Maureen S. Irwin          **Any book you have not read is a new book ;)**
Middle School Librarian
Roland Park Country School
Baltimore, MD  21010
irwinm@rpcs.pvt.k12.md.us      or  msirwin@umd5.umd.edu (for listserv)

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