Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to help me with my dilemma!! I
now feel prepared for my meeting with my principal on Monday morning. You all
gave great ideas, and I am confident that our computer scheduling "situation" will
soon be resolved. Thank goodness!!! Thank you all again and again!
Melissa Artman
Kirksey Middle School, Teacher-Librarian
Rogers, AR
martman@kirksey.k12.ar.us
Below is a list of responses for those who requested a hit:
We also take care of sign-up for our computer labs and while I
wouldn't categorize it as a "problem," it certainly is a "challenge." Our
teachers work in teaching teams so people's need for periods in the
Tech Center tend to group together at the same times during the year.
In order to keep things orderly, civil, and to spread demand for lab
space out as much as possible we:
1) Require that teachers sign up for the Tech Center with a member
of the library staff (unfortunately we haven't had much luck with self
sign up systems).
2) Have a schedule of class sign ups posted on the door to the Tech
Center (laminated poster that gets filled in with Vis-à-vis pens) so
people can see what demand looks like. We also have a semester-
long sign up in a binder so people can plan ahead.
3) Work with Department Chairs to organize their Departments'
schedules. (On our 7th-9th grade campus for example, the
Department Chair of the History Dept. makes sure that if the 7th grade
team is doing a project that requires use of the Tech Center, that the
8th and 9th grade History teams are not also doing a tech oriented
project. If more than one team intends to use the lab, they have to
work that out at the Department level.)
Obviously, the system isn't perfect and we do occasionally have
unhappy people, but it works much better than it did in the past (and
at least we don't have people in tears ...). :-(
We're fortunate that our Administration has been very supportive and
has mandated some of these "controls." She has articulated the
problem to the full faculty and helped to set up the system. She felt
that it was better for her to step in and have people be upset with her
than for teachers to be upset with each other. We've been using the
system for a few years and in the end there really wasn't much
problem and most people are able to have access to the lab when
they need it.
We limit all signups, computers and equipment to a limit of three days
at a
time. Then, if the item/lab is free they can sign up for additional three
days. They must wait until the final day to sign up for additional time.
It does create some grousing, but overall works well.
They we do it, is-. They can sign up, but for only 2 days either in a
row or every
other day. Need to skip a week unless they are in on a Friday and
need Monday
that is ok. From experience we do not let them sign up for a 3rd day
because
students are just playing. 2 days are plenty enough time to do their
research,
work, etc. If it isn't they need to come on their own time. I would keep
the sign up
sheet near your circ desk, etc. That way you can help them and they
will not
remove someone, etc. We now have a program called Calcium and it
is on-line so a
Teacher can access it from anywhere, the Librarian (me) is in charge
of that. Also,
the same rule applies to the computer lab. Calcium program is a
appointment
Calendar for reservations, etc.
I schedule our lab through Microsoft Outlook. When I schedule them
it
sends them an email and reminds them as well. I tell them that they
can
only sign up for so many days as long as no one else requests the
lab.
It has worked pretty well, but there are always those who will abuse it.
I am in a high school, our 4th year open. This is what we do.
There are 1450 kids.
We have one hardwire lab of 26 computers and
2 mobile carts of 15
And 10 research comps in the library itself.
Library walkin users must use those same computers.
Business and tech ed have their own labs and no one else can use
them.
The teacher must email me with the dates desired, periods, number of
students, and if they need a specific lab (moviemaker is only on the
hardwire lab).
I schedule the classes in a plan book that only I can see. I just don't
set it out. That way, no one overbooks out of fear because they see
there aren't many dates.
If the class is small, I note that. It is not unusual to have 2 classes
in the lab at the same time; a class of 9 and a class of 15. they deal
with it and are cooperative and quiet, cause they know they will go in
when then need to, if possible. The teachers are always there
anyway.
I always write down 'xxx wants 21 computers' when I cannot
accommodate
someone. That way, if there is a cancellation or early finish, I can
let them know.
No teacher can schedule for more than one week straight unless the
lab
is very, very slow. That rarely happens. As a result, few people ask
for more than a week now, and when that happens (rarely), I
accommodate
them now.
I strongly suggest they only be in the lab during active computer
research or word processing. Those prelim days where they are
narrowing
topics, getting other sources, proofreading, the class is out in the
library and not scheduled in the lab. They may reserve the 10
research
comps and alternate their class use. But no one just gets to use a few
of the computers and have the lab scheduled. If I see that, I start
sending in general research kids and study hall kids.
I put the library lab schedule online on calendar.yahoo.com so
teachers
can access it from home. If is updated every other day and may
change
at the last minute. Teachers like this so they can see when the lab is
open long range while they plan. I get many emails for later
scheduling
this way. This is the only place they can see what is available, but it
puts the fear of God in them when they wait till the last minute.
Finally, cause I can't remember from the circ desk to the window, I
never, ever take a reservation unless it comes in the email or they sit
in my office personally. I get a fair amount of collaboration time when
they come to see me personally.
At the beginning of the year, I send out a form to the teachers asking
them to choose ONE 30 minute time slot per week that they would
like.They also must list how many of the stations they will need, so I
candouble book the lab sometimes if the classes are small.I also ask
them to list a second and third choice in casethe first one won't work.
This is still far from ideal, and people are still unhappy, but at least we
START with some sort of assumed equity.I try to insure this small
piece of time for everyone before I allow anyone to even begin talking
about extended lab visits orcoming twice per week.After I have some
sort of schedule hashed out, the teachers negotiate with one another
to get more time for special projects and so forth.
Also, if there is a clear underdog among the teachers in scheduling
one year, I try to make their schedule requests a higher priority for the
next year.
Our teachers are allowed to sign up for no more than 3 days in a row.
We
have had a lot of contention for computers this year. Sometimes we
get very
creative. Sometimes teachers share the space and have their kids
work in
groups so that they don't need a computer for every student. When
we were on
block scheduling the sign up was for half of the class period (45
minutes)
so two teachers could sign up for each class period. One would come
in the
first half and the other would come in during the second half.
However, with
the 60 minute time periods that we have now, splitting into two halves
would
be impractical. Currently, I have teachers signing up into February to
get a
space in the lab. I just have to tell them, we only have so many
computers.
We have to do the best we can with what we have. But you have to
find some
way that keeps individual teachers from monopolizing the space. For
us, the
3-day limit works pretty well.
We have a non-dedicated lab, library and presentation room that
require
sign-up. We have set up calendars in outlook (or you can find free
ones
on-line). We only allow one person to actually put things on the
schedule, but everyone can view them. (This keeps teachers from
changing the schedule). We have also told our teachers that they
may
not be in any place for more than 8 consecutive days and I believe
there
is a limit on the number of times per semester. We are an 11-12 site
and we were having trouble with teachers trying to monopolize the
rooms
to do research papers.
Our staff will email me with lab requests. This also gives me an
opportunity to follow what they're doing so I can help or provide
materials.
At my school, we were having the exact same problem. We had to
ultimately go
to this:
The 1st Monday of the month 1st and 2nd can only sign up for that
week. On
Tuesday, everyone else can sign up. The next Monday, 3rd and 4th
sign up on
first, and everyone else starting Tuesday. The next Monday is 5th and
others
(Sped, Foreign Language, Challenge, etc). So far, this is working
better.
You might include in the sign-up what they will be
doing. That way the teacher will have to have a plan
in mind from the get-go. It will also indicate to you
(and others) if that teacher could possibly be
"bumped".
You might also do what they do at my tennis club: you
can only sign up a week in advance. (You could set
whatever time limit works for you).
Hmmm... can you limit sign up? 2-3 days total for the grading period?
You can use localender.com if you don't mind signing people up.
We use it for library sign up-- they e-mail us, then we confer, then
sign them up on our calender.
I would not have thought something like that would happen..... I also
am in charge of scheduling the library computers (15) along with a lab
of 28 computers and another smaller lab of 15. People seem to share
nicely. The only thing I do differently is not allow teachers to pencil
themselves in. Either I or my assistant help them with the job. WE
ask
them about thier plans and how many students they have. If it is a
research project, we generally sign them up for the library so that we
have 15 kids using computers and the others using books. A teacher
planning to do a non-research type of activity such as an online lab or
online foreign language vocab exercise will be assigned to 1 of the
other spaces - depending on the number of students they have. This
seems to work for us. Teachers are also willing to share lab space.
The library lab of 15 is adjacent to the bigger lab with 28 computers.
So - sometimes we might have 1 class of 23 and another class of 20
at
the same time. They will share the computers in both rooms and
everyone
ends up with a computer. Everyone is happy. If a teacher finds that
the library or lab are booked for a very long time, he/she will often
approach the other teacher with a "let's make a deal" request. It
seems
to work for us. But in your situation - I don't know what to say. If
the teachers won't share the sandbox, you may have to bring the
problem
to a planning committee to solve. Good luck with this.
I'm at a public High School with about 2000 students and over 100
classrooms.
I control access to our 2 academic computer labs and 3 rolling labs -
outside the Library (inside the Library - 11 computers and 8 look up
stations and 4 teacher computes and more print resources than most
high
school students can imagine - is scheduled through either me or the
Head
Librarian).
1. I keep the schedule.
2. I have the calendar at my desk in the Library.
3. If a teacher wants to use any of the computer labs, he/she must
come
to the Library and complete a "Request for Academic Computer Lab
Time"
form which I keep in a three-ring binder at my work area. The form
requires them to specify:
a. which block they need the computer lab
b. which computer lab they want
c. what topic they will be working on
d. what specific software they will be using - or Internet
e. what assistance they want from me
f. if special equipment is needed (ie: scanner, temporary
storage disks)
g. teachers provide their own paper
h. date the teacher will meet with me for an orientation prior
to lab use -
required for every teacher every year and suggested
periodically
4. Teachers cannot use the lab more than 3 days in a row.
5. Weekly visits/scheduling is not allowed - we have to be able to
accommodate the entire school and we can't do that with a fixed
schedule. We have also discovered the students need a valid reason
to
be in the lab or they become bored and start damaging things.
6. Teachers are strongly encouraged to discuss with me what they are
doing - often I have recommendations from past experiences that will
help them out - I try to get them to fill the form out in front of me so
I can check my calendar and pencil them in (I don't allow them to write
in the calendar - I created the calendar using Word and keep it in a
clear plastic page protector so it is easy to see - I actually keep the
current month visible on one side and the upcoming month visible on
the
other side).
* I explain that if they don't talk to me about the schedule, they may
not get scheduled - sometimes I have to adjust things.
7. Each week I write out reminders for the upcoming week and place it
in
the teacher's mailboxes (with a reminder of Computer Lab Use
Procedures)
to confirm their date and time.
I take the time to turn the labs on each morning and shut them down
at
the end of each day so I know if the lab is being abused - and I let the
teachers know if I find anything wrong - they understand 3 strikes and
they are out.
Ours is an in-house created on-line sign-up system. All teachers
have a
username and password so they can sign up or even remove their
names
from the schedule from any Internet connected computer. The
schedule on
my campus allows teachers to sign-up for a spot up to 4 weeks out.
Another campus in our district only allows teachers to sign-up for that
day, because they too were experiencing problems with teachers
"hogging"
the locations.
I have the power to add or remove anybody from the schedule.
My teachers love it, they can work on lessons from home (or
wherever)
and know if the lab is available.
Because of your situation, you might consider the day-to-day sign-up
rule. I would also put the clipboard for signing-up in the office.
They are probably open earlier than the library. Then about the time
the bell rings to start school go get the sign-up sheet so you know
what
is happening that day. At the end of the day, take the clipboard(s)
back over with the sheet(s) for the next day; where the first
person(secretary? Janitor?) into the office pulls out the clipboard so
the signing-up can begin.
I would clear all this with the Principal; but it might be a way to see
if having to sign up under their nose, or the nose of a secretary will
help deter those willing to hog the facilities.
At our school each teacher is allowed to sign up for a specific time at
the
beginning of the year. We have a small school, so we can each sign
up for
one hour. This is the permanent schedule, and the tech person prints
it out
and leaves it on a clipboard in the lab. She prints the schedule with
the
permanent times weekly. Then if there is extra time, others can sign
up in
free spots.
I only put out a month's worth of sign up sheets at a time.
My sign up sheets are on a shared drive and only live (not hidden) the
week before a new month. I can email the teachers who are not on
the
month were in, so they can sign up first the next month. It has worked
out very well.
At the beginning of the year I run off enough schedule sheets for the
year, one week per sheet. I date them and put them in a notebook by
my
desk. First come, first served. I've not had the problem of teachers
"hogging" the library.
It sounds to me like you have one of two problems. If the classes
really
are using the computers for research and writing, then you all need to
be crying to the administration for more computers to handle the
need.
If teachers are just letting their classes have "free days" to play on
the computers because the teachers don't want to teach you need to
have
the administration see that and deal with it. If this is the case you
won't be very popular with those teachers, but perhaps the teachers
who
are being shut out will praise you.
I'd suggest that you try to see what is actually happening with each
group. I don't mean that you ought to be hovering over the students
every minute, but pay attention to what's going on several times each
period as you go about your other duties. Try to write down your
observations for a couple of weeks, and then send a report to the
principal. I wouldn't put any names in the report, just things like "4
of 7 class periods on Monday were devoted to games, 2 to research,
and 1
to writing. 6 teachers were unable to use the computers." This, added
to
a copy of your signup sheet, ought to pretty well let the principal know
what needs to be done. If your principal is any good, teachers who
are
just wasting computer time will quickly get the message that they had
better start teaching!
We only allow teachers to sign up 1 week in advance to avoid the
"every
week" problem. I control the library lab (and have 1st choice) and the
other sign up sheets are displayed in the office and put up each week
by
our level 1 tech.
Well, one suggestion that might reduce the sign up is to have a form
that
needs to be filled out first: project description, websites needed, final
project requirements, etc. that would be submitted to you for you to
scedule
the times. This would stop someone just taking everything in the
schedule
and better yet would help pull you into the loop of the work. This is a
nice problem to have. We're also looking to improve our sceduling
and want
to try to do it online.
We're a high school of 2500 students so some of our procedures
might not be appropriate in a middle school. We have orange half
sheets that teachers complete before we add a class to the clipboard
schedule. (We have 2 computer labs in the media center - 1 IBM and
1 Mac.) The sheet asks for the date/dates-we limit them to 2 per week
and Periods needed.Teachers also need to write down the
Instructional Objective that will be met. It doesn't have to be elaborate
but that way everyone is covered and we've always pushed the Media
Center as an Instructional area.Teachers alsoindicate any special
resources- online or book materials that would be needed. One of us
is always on hand to work with students and introduce appropriate
resouces.
This idea may not help this year, but you may want to present it to
your principal as a planning tool for next year.
I worked in a school where the only computers available for a class
were the 40 in the library. After one year of "I'm sorry, you should
have planned with me sooner."; I worked with the school improvement
team and got myself on the agenda for school-wide department
planning. I worked with each department and brokered time each
quarter for their projects. While some departments were under
specific time deadlines (county-wide science fair, National History
Day), other departments were able to be more flexible. Once all the
departments knew what everyone else was doing, they were able to
see how the previous years multiple projects were really stressing out
the kids. They were also able to see how they could support each
other's projects.
I'm kind of in a similar situation: 2 labs, 30 computers each. Both labs
have a calendar where teachers can sign up. In one lab, teachers can
go
ahead and sign themselves up by just writing in their name (Excel
spreadsheet calendar). They can go in and see who is signed up and
if
need be, talk to the other teacher to see if he/she can be flexible. The
other lab has a calendar that's 'read only'. Teachers need to go
through
me to sign up for the other lab. This lab is really for collaborative
projects with classes/library, but if the other one is full and the
library lab isn't being used on a particular day, I will go ahead and
sign them up for the library lab. This system seems to work out pretty
well here. The 'read only' signup gives me more discretion as to who
is
using the lab and for what purpose.
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