Re: COMPUTER DESIGN

[Barbara Braxton <barbara@AUSTARMETRO.COM.AU>]

Dear Debby
Must have missed your original request but from personal experience try not
to go with tiers - and it is purely from a physical safety point of view. I
believe that is more important than having to see if kids have accessed
something inappropriate. And no one addressed it in the replies you posted.

Tiers and steps and stuff were the fad of architects here a few years ago,
and I don't know how many accidents we had with people stepping back without
thinking and falling, or pushing their chairs back and the same result.
Some nasty injuries.

Another consideration has to be accessibility for those who are not
physically mobile - how can someone in a wheelchair get to where they need
to be easily?  How could someone like me with permanently broken hips work
in such a room all day?  What about someone with arthritis?

Architects and administration need to look the possibilities of the future,
not just the realities of today. Can the school afford to be sued because of
negligence in its design or lack of career opportunity because the layout
prohibits someone working there?  Occupational health and safety is a huge
issue in Australia - what does your Union have to say?

Even though we are a primary school with just 400 kids, we have a number of
labs as well as in-class computers and all are designed to have the
computers around the perimeters.  Kids can sit in the center space so they
can see the screen (we use an LCD projector onto a large screen for initial
instructions) and then off they go and the teacher can move around easily to
help kids, can see where everyone is at at a glance, and the kids can see
the teacher!

Just a few more thoughts,

Cheers
Barbara

Barbara Braxton
Teacher-Librarian
Palmerston District Primary School
PALMERSTON   ACT 2913

T. 02 6205 6162
F. 02 6205 7242
E. barbara@austarmetro.com.au
W.http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au

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