LM_NET 04/09/98: No Subject

Karen

>From Maryland:

>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!)

>From Virginia:

I am in an K-7 elementary school with 200 children.  We have 2
"roll-a-labs" with about 30 Dreamwriter computers in each lab.  The laptops
are plugged into the cart each evening and recharge over night.  Therefore,
there are no cords when the students are using them (except when they don't
get charged, and they have to use the adaptor.)  These ( or something
similar) have been in my school for a number of years.  They have been an
economical way to provide computers for the children to use, primarily, for
word processing.  The computers are from NTS.

From: ???

We have a lab of Dreamwriters that we book from the library. It's far
from a dumb idea. They augment our library lab beautifully, freeing
our Pentiums for things other than word processing. We even use them
to teach keyboarding. Kids can get their files off the server, use
the Dreamwriters to edit them, then re-connect to the network to load
them into a desktop publishing program. To print, you don't even have
to plug them into the printer - they're infrared! I love them.

From:  Nebraska

We have 30 Powerbooks at both our Middle School (where I am) and the senior
high.  They are stored in a portable cart (made specifically for laptops
from Spectrum) that weighs a ton and is very difficult to move around.
Students now come to the media center to check out the laptops to their
classroom when they need them. The batteries proved not to be reliable so
we went to plugging everything in--cords all over.  Our desks are slightly
tilted and proved hazardous so when possible, teachers bring their classes
to the media center to use the flat tables.  Keeping the Powerbooks up and
going has been a headache.  Disks get stuck in them, students save all over
and they have to be "cleaned up" frequently.  Very few teachers even want
to use them this year because they were such a headache.  Senior high has a
better response but kids have been hard on them when the teacher is not
carefully supervising.  We initially checked five out each night but found
kids were not careful and repairs were mounting.  If we had it to do over,
I think we'd look at other options.

From: Tennessee

We have a Rol-A-Lab with 30 DreamWriters - they are portable
(use batteries) keyboards that students use for
word-processing. Our lab cost $8800, and provides a computer
for each student. Their toll-free # is1-800-663-7163.

From:  Minnesota

We've written a grant and are looking at apple e-mates, they are going to
discontinue these and come out with a new one based on the OS System, not
the Newton operating system.
 How does it work?
What do you store/transport the laptops in? carts are available, sometimes
the promotions include buying a cart at a reduced price
I've read that students are responsible for making sure they are recharged
properly
How about power--are therecords all over the place?
My understanding for some if that they have rechargable batteries Is this
really a dumb idea?
 Or a great way to provide computer access to larger groups? ?  What do you
want access for,  I've read LOTS about the "Dream Writers", "Alpha Smarts"
and other "portable" word processing units.

Karen Current                           kc2marm@atlas.moa.net
Library Media Specialist
Armada Elementary School
74500 Burk Street
Armada, MI   48005
810.784.9168    fax 810.784.8688

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From: AliceInfo <AliceInfo@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: Librarians as readers

What a fascinating thread this has been!

For the record:  I am an avid and eclectic reader (I even stopped to read the
historical marker outside the hospital en route to having a baby),
 a techno-idiot  (I can surf with the best of them, but don't ever ask me to
cope with any hardware),
fairly well-organized at work and very unorganized at home,
fascinated by the psychology of information,
a cut-up and a curmudgeon, and even
a first-born (let's NOT start that thread again, please).

I always wanted to be a librarian -- I thought you got paid to read, and
couldn't imagine a better job --
and I'm married to a librarian who (literally) backed into the profession.

and one of the most successful activities I do every year is (in Middle
school!) is
Dewey Stump the librarian, which makes kids realize that there is both reason
and treasures in them thar shelves.

Alice H. Yucht
Heritage Middle School
Livingston NJ

AliceINfo@aol.com

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