[Year 12 IPM] Computer Lab usage

[fiona at balmoralhs.vic.edu.au]

I have read all the postings on this subject with great interest.  It is just so far removed from my little piece of Eden.

20 comps in a lab, 79 students, 15 staff.  The hardest thing to come to terms with is that it is an open lab (literally no doors).  Many new teachers (and some of the more established ones) or CRT's find it difficult to teach with students from other classes wandering in at any time during the session.

I sometimes close half the room off - if I have a difficult concept I want to teach but for the most part it could be any mixture of classes in the room at one time.  Right now there is a year 8 to 10 e-biz elective running in one half and year 11 and 12 Ag going on in the other, plus a steady stream of students coming from next door, logging on for 5 - 10 minutes then going back into class.

Each year level is assigned one lunch time where they have free access and may play games, use email etc. It is monitored by the teacher on yard duty and if they abuse the privelage by sneaking in on another day then the grumpy little IT teacher (me) blocks them for a few weeks.

I did have a purpose in writing this - not just to ramble on about my easy as pie work (and yes I do appreciate what I have). My question is this - if your students have laptops that they have bought by themselves and bring to school independently do you allow them access to your networks?

Fiona Bain
Balmoral High School


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fiona at balmoralhs.vic.edu.au
http://www.balmoralhs.vic.edu.au/