Thank you to all who responded! My Technology Committee met and I used your=
input and suggestions to help =93plead my case.=94 We are limiting schedul=
ing
of the lab to 5 consecutive days. Here are the responses:
I think the answer depends on the length of your class periods. Ours are
88 minutes long and I rarely schedule either the lab or my room for more
than 3 consecutive days. We may put a follow-up day in a few days or a
week later.
Margaret Shaffer Easton High School
Library Media Specialist 723 Mecklenburg Ave
Our lab is not in the MC (across the hall), but I spend a fair amount of
time there teaching search, resource eval, etc classes. We have had a
similar problem with some teachers signing up huge amounts of
timeblocks.
What we are going to try, based on reports from other schools using it,
is to allow each teacher 5 periods (we have a 6 period day) of signup
each month. Signup open last week of previous month. Then, after 3-4
days, any free time can be signed up for.
We do have a big 8th grade (1,000 word, 5 resources, etc) project that
is staggered in schedule throughout the year so those teachers will get
a small block of time built in.
I think we (lab person, me, principals) are meeting before school to
iron out details, etc.
___________________________________________________________________________=
_
_____________________--
Please post a Hit. We have the same situation in my school, except that th=
e
Media Center does not schedule for the computer lab. I maintain that
schedule and will discuss with teachers the appropriate length of time. I
usually do some sort of appropriate lesson, and then we give the kids 2 mor=
e
class periods to start the work. I encourage the teacher to let the
students continue on their own, offering to have the class come in for two
more sessions before then deadline, so that we can work on the Works Cited
page together if need be. That's in the library, but I do notice that in
the computer lab, many teachers sign classes for two consecutive weeks. Th=
e
Tech coordinator doesn't mind because it boosts his usage stats.
Thanks in advance
___________________________________________________________________________=
_
___________________________________-
We allowed a max of 2 days per hour (class) period per week -- in
advance. But if at 8:00 a.m. there were empty slots for THAT day,
teachers were welcome to fill in any blank slots for that day. That
allowed teachers to sign up for a two-day stint (what we generally
found was adequate if the students had done their prep work
adequately prior to that day. Substitutes were never allowed to take
classes to the lab. That eliminated teachers sending subs to the lab
for the entire day to avoid writing precise lesson plans -- you know
go to the lab and "research the civil war." Library staff ended up
baby-sitting students (and often the teacher).
But mostly the no sub in the lab rule kept all sorts of procedural
things from getting out of hand. If a teacher had a lab scheduled
they had to have a back-up plan for the classroom, in the event they
were sick, etc.
I do let teachers sign up for more however long, but after a week I tell
them that thet may have to share. If someone else wants to come in I them
talk to the teachers and work it out. The teachers that come in for a long=
time usually will let the students work in their classroom with just a few
coming down if there is room. I have to schedule the library lab plus the
other 3 labs in the school, and we just share the best we can.
I would like to hear what information that you get. I think that my
principal would intervene in the case of 10 days but some research projects=
do sign up for 5 days. I try to get them to break them up so that they are=
not consecutive. Good luck.
=AD=AD=AD4 days max in a row
I request that my teachers sign up for no more than 3 days in any one week.=
It's the honor system - I then suggest that they check with other teachers
who signed up to exchange times/dates.
___________________________________________________________________________=
_
_______________________________________________
I guess I would address it at a staff meeting. Tell them that certain
teachers have not been able to use the lab due to this problem.
Encourage them to do what they can in the classroom, and come to the
library and lab for the most critical times. Perhaps your teachers
don't even realize it has been affecting the other teachers in your
building. (sometimes we're all in a little self-bubble, and need a
blunt burst to see the world outside)
Just be straight forward. Offer them a week ea. and go from there.
___________________________________________________________________________=
_
_____________________________________________
Are you on block scheduling? That can make a big difference. We are on bloc=
k
scheduling at my HS and we sometimes have teachers sign up for an entire
week or more, but we limit the sign up time to half a block (45 min) so tha=
t
another teacher can sign up for the other half of the block. There is no
limit on the number of days in a row that a teacher can use, just a limit o=
n
the A or B half of the block. This works pretty well.
This happens everywhere! Teachers will try to bully their way around any
scheduling limitations with no consideration for anyone else.
They have had out-and-out shouting matches while I backed slowly out of the=
room clutching the schedule book to my chest!
A limit is a good policy. This forces teachers to look at their lesson plan=
s
more closely. It helps to have an administrator to back you up. We try to b=
e
flexible, too, fitting in students who may have been absent or need to
finish
up.
The teachers at my school may reserve the computer lab for no more than 2
weeks ahead at a time and for as many of those periods as wanted -- They d=
o
so with the understanding that if they finish their project ahead of time
they are to inform me so I can mark them off-- Many of the teachers wait
until the last minute to schedule so that leaves spots they can get-- If
there is a conflict with another class I have the teacher talk to the
teacher signed up and they work it out together -- Many times one takes
half the class period and the other the other half which works out fine--
Sometimes the class is small enough that more than one will fit at the same=
time also -- At this time no problems have occurred but they could and then=
it is no longer my problem but the problem of the technology director
(that's why he gets the bucks).
We don't have a computer lab at all. Our library has 30 comptuers. We
function as the computer lab. What we do is limit all teachers to 2 days i=
n
the library per project. We haven't had a problem with a teacher trying to=
do more than a reasonable number of projects a year, or we would have to
limit that as well. We have to limit it because if we didn't, there are
simply teachers who won't be able to get in at all. As it is, we are booke=
d
solid almost all year, so if people start to take advantage, then other
people get nothing, which isn't fair. You should talk with your Principal
about making guidelines as to how much time is acceptable. You might want
to have different numbers of days for different types of projects. It is m=
y
firm belief that kids need to work on projects independently as well as wit=
h
their class. It was my experience that teachers "need 4 days" and then by
the end of day 2 a lot of kids were finished. Only a handful of kids were
still working on days 3 and 4, and those were the ones who had goofted off
earlier or were absent for a day. I realized people weren't getting
lirbrary time becuase some teachers wanted a free period and had to put an
end to it.
Sue Buchanan
Media Specialist
Franklin HS
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