computers in classrooms

Sesame Street, widely acclaimed as an outstanding program for children, has been around for over twenty years. Indeed, its idea of making learning relevant to all was as strongly promoted in the seventies as the Internet is today. So where is the wave of creative and brilliant students who should be entering college today? Did kids really learn only how to watch television? Were the expectations of learning expanded to include that education should always be colorful and fun? If learning is supposed to be fun, how many people have moved from Big Bird to discrete mathematics and microbiology? Have the social impacts of “Sesame Street” ever been accurately assessed? There is a parallel between the goals of “Sesame Street” and children’s computing in its current form. Both are pervasive, expensive, and encourage children to sit still. Both display animated cartoons, gaudy fonts, and weird, random numbers. Both encourage an acceptance of a medium that will follow them the rest of their lives. Both give the sensation that by merely watching a screen, one can acquire knowledge without any work or discipline. Both shout the magical tune: “Here is the no-effort, fun way to learn!” Learning isn’t easy, and often is not much fun; it takes work and patience. Dancing numbers and singing frogs cannot teach arithmetic, and glitzy computer programs don’t teach children to treat others as they would treat themselves. Right now, what do computers teach children—how to type and use programs? Certainly there must be something else folded into those lessons. Children learn to stare at a monitor for hours on end, how to accept what the machine says without arguing, and that the world is a simple, pre-programmed place where one tiny click of the mouse can bring the right answer. They learn to hold shallow relationships and emotional bonds over e-mail; discipline isn’t necessary when they can zap their frustrations with a keystroke. They also learn that grammar, analytical thought, and human interactions do not matter. Computers, in these ways, compliment televisions. No technological pathway, be it Muppet or modem, leads directly to good education. They are merely tools, currently poorly used, that can only serve to assist and supplement wonderful and skilled teachers. These tools, placed into the proper hands, can be used to enhance education today, but are a poor replacement for a real educator. Technology, when used properly, can dramatically impact our educational system, but we must make proper use of it. The information age is not approaching; it has already arrived. It is not at its final destination, but most certainly the long journey is well underway. The direction has been clearly established, but the more distant objectives are barely perceived right now. It is an unavoidable journey, and one for which the educational establishment is wholly unprepared.

In 1995, between one third and one half of all U.S. households had a computer (Yankelovich Partners, 1995). One study found that more than one third of the nations children use a computer at home and three quarters of them use their systems mostly for schoolwork (Times Mirror Center, 1998). Still, most children in poorer families have no access to these machines and computing resources must be provided in some way as not to pass by an entire section of society, creating even more of a class barrier in the future. To integrate new technologies into our classrooms, major changes must be undertaken. Electric motors, automobiles, radio, and even the television have all necessitated changes to our landscape, factories, homes, occupations, and laws. Each of these technologies requires its own type of supporting infrastructure to operate effectively. Likewise, computer technology has caused many changes in our lives, and schools must also be prepared for the effects.

Few elementary, middle, or high school buildings are appropriately designed for new technology. Their heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are inadequate for the heat generated by a room filled with computers and displays. The electrical systems are undersized, and computer networks to link students to teachers and libraries are nonexistent. Worse, the construction of our schools does not lend itself to easy solutions of these and other problems. Just as a new standard must evolve for the construction of school buildings and classrooms, new policies and practices must be formulated to carry out the day-to-day operation of our technological world. Policies and procedures are as essential to the technology infrastructure as the traffic laws and highway etiquette are to automotive infrastructure.

To date, most school computers have either been used for entertainment or to enhance traditional educational techniques; such as reinforcement for drill and practice as electronic workbooks and word processors. Technology should bring about a new wave of teaching, where education becomes not a lecture, but a group session of sharing knowledge and group learning. Classrooms will be lead with the assistance of a teacher, directing the students to the knowledge they need and able to move the lesson in the direction it should go. Students may be allowed to move at their own pace on some assignments, not only allowing them to learn on their own, but to learn more about a specific subject that interests them while also simulating an atmosphere in which they must learn to successfully operate as a team member in society.

Moving to new methods of teaching is not a trivial matter. Most of the present teaching staff have years of college training and success using current educational methods, and most will have little enthusiasm for change. Also, the lack of training and examples of established successful programs will inhibit many current educators in adopting new styles of teaching. Most of these problems can be solved with training and education of the existing teaching force, as well as the introduction of new educators into the system.

Computer and communication technologies offer splendid opportunities, new administrative complexities, and an entirely new way of planning and thinking. Even with these changes, the fundamental school issues of teaching children remain unchanged: the information should be relevant to the student, in this “Sesame Street” society it should captivate the student and tickle their senses and imagination, and be adaptable to a diverse group of students (Apple Computer, 1999). At first, school boards and principals will find that the information age is less about the specifics of technology (which is a moving target) than it is about applying new tools to old problems. Later they will find that the technology they embrace has silently redefined their school. There must be many changes to our schools to provide the space for this new type of learning, and future developers should take heed. We should plan for each student to have their own computer in some, if not all, classrooms. This means planning space for a computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse. These machines will not replace books, pens, and paper, but richly supplement them, so we must also provide space for those materials as well. The implication is clear: The size of a student’s desk must be doubled or tripled to accommodate the changes. Not only will the student need more space, but the teacher will as well. The Georgia Department of Education (1994) suggests thirty or forty square feet of space for each student workstation—a space that includes a chair, desk, and circulation area. In addition space is needed in the classroom for printers, network equipment, and a large screen projector tied to the teacher’s system. The need for more space, depending on how the classroom is configured could force the rooms to be enlarged by thirty percent or perhaps more from their current levels. A typical classroom of 750 square feet for twenty-five students today may need to be enlarged to 1,000 square feet. Of course, if the classroom dimensions cannot be changed, the classes must have fewer students. The key variable in the desk space required for each student is the size of the monitor. At present most CRT displays have a fifteen or sixteen inch viewable area (measured diagonally), but the trend is towards larger monitors with seventeen or eighteen viewable inches. In classrooms devoted to art, drafting, or other subjects requiring a larger display, a comparable increase in space per student is necessary.

If computer usage in the classroom is intensive, as it is bound to be at times, great care must be given to the ambient source of light. Glare, low-image contrast, and stray reflections on a computer display tremendously affect one’s ability to use the equipment without eyestrain and associated fatigue. Indeed, in one study forty-seven percent of office workers complained of eyestrain; it was the most frequently mentioned complaint and no doubt partly attributable to improper lighting (Steelcase, 1999). In classrooms, ceiling lights are often a source of glare and reflection on the displays. Bright lights should not be placed behind or above the user. The ceiling should be evenly lit without the bright spots caused by normal fluorescent lighting. One way to achieve better illumination is to use lighting fixtures that incorporate a parabolic louver design, often seen as a metal type grating over fluorescent lighting in office buildings. Also by providing supplementary task lighting, you can use an indirect lighting fixture that puts out around fifty foot-candles (about the same amount of light as a desk lamp) of power. Providing a non-fluorescent lighting fixture is the best solution, as these lighting sources can be dimmed, and low light levels can be offered for video presentations and for computing use, but increased to almost 80 foot-candles for textbook and writing work. Classroom lights should be controlled by two or more dimmers, so that the lights at the front of the room can be lowered sufficiently to enhance the images on large screen displays, but still offer enough light for writing and note-taking in the seating area of the classroom. In most cases, inexpensive, individual task lighting on the desks will enable an overall reduction in room lighting and also cut energy costs.

Although medical research has found no correlation between the use of computer monitors and eye disease (American Academy of Ophthalmology, 1998), eyestrain is a frequent complaint when computer monitors are used for protracted periods of time. Excessive use of computers can create visual problems and enhance other, previously unnoticed, problems. Even if the monitors are in ideal surroundings, some people will complain of eyestrain. These students and employees should be referred to an ophthalmologist for an examination. Many people with glasses or contact lenses may not be able to comfortably use a computer for long periods of time, as their corrective devices may set the focal length at a place before or behind the monitor, and those people may need another pair specifically designed for computer use. In addition, intensive work at a computer terminal decreases a person’s blinking rate; which dries the eyes and gives rise to complaints of eye irritation. Some physicians recommend a mild eye rewetting solution be used if the problem becomes severe. Whatever the cause, eyestrain can be reduced significantly, if every half hour or so, there is a visual breather to allow students’ eyes to refocus on more distant objects. Much of the classroom furniture in use today would be familiar to Rip Van Winkle. Classroom technology—books, blackboards, pencils, and paper—have not changed significantly in over a century. Now, however, a number of factors create the need for new furniture and fixtures; the most significant factors include the need to lower keyboards to a suitable level for constant use (Stephanie Brown, 1993). Placing classroom computer monitors below the line of sight, not only to eliminate cheating, but also removes a place to “hide” from a teacher’s inquisition. This position also allows students to make more frequent reference to the keyboard and to their textbooks, while still providing easy view of the computer monitor. Desks will, of course, need to provide space for a keyboard, mouse, monitor, computer, open textbooks, notebooks, and should provide some type of height adjustment so that taller students can make proper use of the desk. Also, the weight of a computer monitor and other associated equipment must be included in the design of the furniture, as lower quality tables and desks can sag under the constant weight of the machines. Every desk will need to have access to network and power connections, and the connections used should be sufficiently rugged to withstand life in a classroom. Space should be provided for network equipment and printers, and should be neatly kept as cables and support equipment can create a distracting and unsightly visual clutter if not properly placed and housed. Dust, especially chalk dust, can damage sensitive electronic parts, as well as cause allergic reactions in some students. Whiteboards, which can be written on with erasable markers, should be installed to replace their older kin, and these surfaces also make excellent projection surfaces for a large-screen projector tied to a centralized video system and the teacher’s computer. The need for appropriate furnishings should not be overlooked as they will markedly affect how well teachers and students can interact with the new technology. Also, the design of furniture and fixtures affects how easily they can be used and can be serviced. There is, of course, no one perfect design for the ideal classroom. Not surprisingly, the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Research Project (Stuebing, Knox, Petrakaki, and Giddings, 1991) noted that grade level, building structure, class size, and equipment significantly affect classroom layout. Subject matter and specific assignments also can affect the layout needed. For example, in the Apple experimental classroom, a math assignment required one computer per student, but science experiments were best conducted with many students watching a single large display. Although no standards have been developed, a number of basic layouts have been found useful.

The layout of the classroom and the design of the furniture must be considered together. Some designs necessitate new construction or remodeling, while some can be integrated into existing structures. One innovative student desk design that is quickly becoming the standard places either a conventional cathode-ray tube display or liquid crystal flat-panel behind a piece of non-reflective glass integrated into the desktop surface. It provides a lowered surface for a keyboard that can be pushed under the desk away from the student when not in use, and also provides ample desktop space at the conventional height. The monitor is below the writing surface in a position many consider ideal for writing (Chaffin, 1999), and it no longer interferes with the teacher’s view of the student. The processor is positioned on a shelf under the desk out of the way of the student, and the keyboard is in an excellent location to reduce fatigue and strain. Significant care must be used with this type of desk though, as overhead lights can create harsh glare on the glass, even when non-reflective surfaces are used. Another similar type of desk combines the computer and the writing surface in much the same way, but uses a freestanding vertical monitor. The display is not in the ideal position, but does avoid the glare of overhead lighting. Another benefit is that school personnel can assemble it easily and with standard tables and keyboard trays; moreover the keyboard tray can be relocated to accommodate left-handed students. The principal advantage of the freestanding monitor is that it allows for multiple students to collaborate on a project, using a single machine. In this and the following configuration there is a need for students to physically move their seating position depending on weather the task involves computing or using a textbook and handwriting. The need to shift positions argues for chairs or stools that have casters and may easily be moved.

Some teachers like a configuration referred to as the “flip style” by the Apple team. This option provides two independent surfaces for the student, one for computing and one for writing. When the teacher is lecturing or demonstrating, the students use the conventional writing surface and face the “front” of the classroom, but when computing turn around to the desk behind them and face the “back” of the classroom. This method was actually preferred by some as they could easily monitor what the students were doing on the computers from one central location at the front of the room. In situations where the clutter of desktop monitors would be an impediment to teacher-student interaction, the teacher should be placed on a podium, or the student desks could be stair-stepped, as in an amphitheatre. In schools where under floor wiring access in impractical for each desk and power poles from the ceiling to each desk would be unacceptable, a configuration where two desks are placed side by side can be considered. This allows for one set of conduit between the two desks to service not one, but two rows of desks. This scheme will work well as a transitional phase while remodeling the buildings is under development.

Not all classrooms need a computer at every desk, and this is especially true in the lower grades. There, only a few students in each class will need access to a machine at a time, and this can be achieved by the use of clusters of computers. Clusters are also well suited for computer labs and a library where there is no lecture-type teaching and most of the time spent at the computer is devoted to computing. Clusters are also very effective in older buildings, where a power pole from the ceiling can direct the communications and power for the entire cluster, eliminating the need for special wiring. However, clustered machines have several disadvantages, as it is difficult for teachers to keep track of what is happening at each workstation, some of the students at the cluster cannot see the teacher clearly, and unless the windows have some type of light-proof covering, some students will face a bright glare produced from the sun.

The last alternative is an array of machines along the wall of a classroom. This is only suitable when a few machines are added to an existing classroom. The wiring is simple and it requires few changes in the room layout. This layout has many disadvantages including the small number of machines that are possible, and forcing students to face the wall. Nevertheless, this design can be adopted as a stepping-stone to the configuration of paired rows of desks discussed earlier.

Depending on advancements in battery and display technologies, battery-operated portable computers might be suited to student use in the future. It may be possible, one day, for students to carry a battery operated portable computer with them instead of coming to the computer.  They could then attach to the network either using wireless technology or wired communications. In that case, the need for electrical or even network connections at every desk would be eliminated. The cost of this type of system is prohibitive today, so we must deal with providing power and network connections at every desk that is to house a computer. If machines are located against classroom walls, providing this is a simple and straightforward proposition, conduits can be mounted on the wall for each machine. If machines are to be in clusters, each cluster needs only one power pole from the suspended ceiling to provide for the entire cluster. But, to provide a power outlet and network connection at every desk you must either drop it from the ceiling with power poles, which can create unnecessary visual clutter, or from the floor. There are several ways of placing wiring into the floor, including easily accessible wiring troughs, built into the concrete slabs of new construction. Such troughs are accessed with removable panels of flooring material, usually carpet squares, and wiring is laid into them. A second approach is the raised floor, often used in data centers where frequent rewiring is necessary and easy access to cable is needed. This is by far the best technique in data centers and in older construction, as the additional expense of its construction is offset by the ease of making changes to the classroom layout. Usually, these systems have a twelve-inch elevation, allowing for HVAC distribution as well, making the floor serve double duty in distributing cooled or warmed air into areas now containing heat-generating computers.

As schools install classroom electronics, a virtual maze of wires, cables, and sundry components will soon develop. To diagnose and repair any wiring problems, one must keep accurate records of all power and communications wiring. Some office buildings have lost control of their wiring layout and have therefore accumulated miles of unusable cable over their heads and under their feet. In some instances, all the wiring had to be removed and a fresh start made. Maintenance personnel and contractors should be required to provide the school with an “as-built” diagram noting every outlet and the path of each wire. Color-coding wiring in new construction is also very helpful, as later on it is easy to distinguish the telephone from the computer cables, as well as the electrical wiring for each room. Each piece of electronic equipment inevitably increases the total demand for electric power in the building. The power consumed by the computers is also released as heat energy, which must then be dealt with by the HVAC system at an even higher increase in power demand. If a classroom consists of twenty-five computers (fourteen students plus a teacher), a laser printer, and a projector, the power requirements can easily be over 14,000 watts. If larger monitors and more equipment are used, the demand further increases. The Apple team found the demand for electrical current is dramatic when compared to current usages. Other than lighting, many classrooms use only five hundred watts of power with an overhead projector, and even less with a television and videocassette recorder.

The plight of a well-known corporation is an object lesson. In the early 1980’s, IBM, seeking to relocate its regional office, built a 13-story office building. Before the workers had filled half of the building, they found that the electrical and cooling capacity had been consumed. The engineering standards used in the design did not anticipate a computer on every desk. Before the corporation could completely occupy the building, they were forced to undertake costly changes. Had these requirements been included in the original specifications, the added cost would have been a small fraction of the eventual expense (Stuebing, Knox, Petrakaki, and Giddings, 1991). A network allows for computing resources to be located where they are the most beneficial. Using dumb terminals that only display the output of a remotely located central mainframe locates the vast majority of the resources at one central point. A stand-alone personal computer has its own resources and nothing else. The local area network (LAN) allows an opportunity to optimize hardware and software within the school, and to rebalance easily as conditions change. Wide area networks, like the Internet, place vast resources within easy reach of local users. The history of computing can be shown in three phases: large central systems, centralized desktop systems, and distributed networks, where resources are delivered to users, as they need them.

A network is a combination of wires, equipment, and software that interconnects all the electronic equipment in the school. The system also should bridge to networks in other places. In the same way as your telephone connects you to many other extensions in places both near and far, a computer network should place the resource that is needed within easy grasp. Ideally, the network should be transparent to the user, where all resources are available at any time, with all the systems acting as one, sharing information and knowledge, and passing data to where it is needed. To complete this, good design standards are needed. A computer network is not a thing to be thrown up haphazardly, and is not only pieces of equipment, but people trained and experienced in the networks operation. It should be designed to minimize the consequences of network failures, make repair and diagnosis easy, show a view of the entire network and everything connected to it, store and archive data accurately and reliably, and have in place a method of training the users. The network should have adequate capacity for current use, as well as any foreseeable demand. Equipment may certainly be cheaper if it only addresses today’s needs, but if it is not able to adapt to tomorrow, it will be useless, and a waste of funds and valuable time (Hausman, 1994). A centralized location should be chosen to hold the network equipment. It should have its own dedicated power, access to telecommunications, and also be physically protected from fire and thieves. At this point the electronics of the building can be connected together; the telephone, video, data, alarm, camera, HVAC, and other building systems should all meet in this centralized location. Correct installation of premises communications wiring is critical. Properly installed cable can carry millions of bits of data a second, while improperly installed wiring will not only create a bottleneck but can make the systems unusable. The standards for testing and installing copper cable are very stringent and are not well understood by many contractors. Poorly drafted plans open the way for shoddy work that must be repaired later. Schools should only deal with reputable companies on the installation of this equipment, even if a higher cost is involved. A smoothly operating system with a higher initial expense is much more attractive than an unusable, but cheap, network. A plan for the implementation of this technology, as well as the training and education of the staff and students is important. School boards preparing technology plans should address these problems, as well as those of physical security of their data. Many times, the value of the information stored on the systems is not even considered by many school boards. Network security is a must, as students and even teaching personnel should not have unfettered access to all the information stored in the computer data systems. These problems, and many more that will arise from the use of the computer networks can be addressed by the system administrator, a valuable resource and necessary member for any large computer network with the reliability demanded from an educational system. Schools should either hire their own administrator, or contract with a local computer service company to provide this service. A well-trained administrator can protect a network from dangers that develop every day, as well as save money and time in solving problems. This person may also be called upon to help in the training of staff and other users, and should be able to make policies for the computing resources of the school.

Education—the transfer of knowledge, skills, and values to youth—must be the highest priority of each generation. When this obligation is ignored, that society will disintegrate. Opportunities to change the educational system come perhaps once a century. Computers and telecommunications are providing this unique opportunity in our day and time. We must use these technologies to improve our systems, and to reach students not served by the current educational system such as homebound students, students with communicable diseases, or juveniles in the correctional system. If this is undertaken properly and with the appropriate forethought, educators and administrators can make the addition of technology a painless proposition; if not, without a doubt, it will become another waste of money and opportunity. The process of change is not to be taken lightly. Risk is always associated with change. Managing these risks is the only way to make the possibilities of new technologies the realities of tomorrow. Creatively applied, technology can lift our educational system to levels once unattainable. The race has begun, and the opportunity is boundless.

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