ElEM: tech, who runs the lab???

[Beverlee Day <bevday@METRO2.K12.MN.US>]

Patty wrote:

>Greetings and more library computer lab questions?  My principal is
>NOT going to request a 'computer lab teacher' and I don't think she
>means to get an aide in there either.  And, I don't believe she
>expects me to run the room either.I think she hopes that all the
>teachers (myself included)use the room with their class doing their
>subject area or a subject project on a flexible schedule. Sounds nice
>to me, but.... I have some questions regarding basics.  Who'll train
>teachers.  Where does keyboarding come in.  Who'll turn them off and
>on. Who troubleshoots.  Do you have strong opinions on what would
>happen if no one is appointed to be the keeper of the lab?  Have you
>had this situation?  Do we at least need an aide?  Please, your
>opinions are soooo valuable.  Thanks

Our school is in a similar situation. Our computer lab is next to the
library (although in separate rooms) but we do not have a tech. coordinator
or a computer lab aid/assistant. Everyone here strongly feels we need one,
but the justification to not have one is money. That leaves myself, the
librarian, to troubleshoot the computer lab computers (and sometimes the
classroom computers), choose and install new software, and "oversee" the
computer lab which basically entails turning on/off the computers daily.
The teachers are responsible for teaching whatever it is they will be doing
with their students in the lab. I do not spend time with the students while
they are in the lab. Although our teachers are a lot more computer literate
than they were a couple of years ago, problems do occur due to lack of
computer knowledge. Some of the primary grades get parent volunteers (whose
computer knowledge is less than that of our teachers) to take part of a
class to work on something (i.e. KidPix or Storybook Weaver) and they often
do not know what they are doing. This means that their time, the student's
time, and the efforts of the teacher are wasted, or that they must come to
me to ask questions. This is not the best of situations!
    In addition, although I oversee the lab to a certain extent, we do not
have a person to set and ENFORCE policies. I do not have the time (nor do I
want to) to be the computer lab police.
    Hence, to answer your question, if your school has the money for an
aide, I would strongly suggest one. Everyone suffers because the students
are not always getting the proper guidance/instruction, the librarian (or
whoever it is dumped on) does not have the extra time to deal with the lab,
and the teachers often confront problems they are not able to deal with. If
the lab is used for research (is it hooked up to the Internet and have
Reference CD-ROMs?), that is possibly where your knolwedge/time would be
justified. Those are my experiences/opinions. Good Luck!

Beverlee Day
Librarian
St. Paul, MN
bevday@metro2.k12.mn.us

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