Clemente Tech News – April 2003

Clemente Tech News | April 2003 | Volume 3 | Issue 2

iMacs in all classrooms!

Worse than not having any computers in your room is having computers that do not meet the growing needs and demands of classrooms that integrate technology into class activities and assignments. Clemente’s Technology Department continues to work to provide up-to-date and state-of-the-art technology for teachers’ convenience and student use.

To accomplish this, we have been placing newer iMac and eMac computers throughout the building, with a plan to service every classroom with at least one such machine. Unfortunately, we just haven’t gotten to everyone yet. We are pleased that we have been able to reach most classrooms this year, and the last of the advisory classrooms are being outfitted with iMacs as this letter goes into production.

Most classrooms currently have an iMac or eMac and one or more PowerPC computers on the network. Making maximum use of the equipment and networking capabilities of our building is the primary focus of computer placement. Computers are not placed in rooms based on how up-to-date the room would feel with a new computer in it.

In fact, as many teachers are learning, newer equipment does NOT eliminate the problems we find with our older computers. Teachers and students alike have complained of slowness and freezing of the computers, not because the equipment is not good enough, but because of other issues that prove our point about new stuff not necessarily being better stuff!

Many of our teachers – and our librarian! – have made full use of the older equipment that has been set up as stand-alone computers for word processing or educational games. No, these older machines are not on the network or the Internet. No, they are not super-fast with CD burners and DVD capabilities. Yes, they help teachers move along with their educational program!

Has replacing older, ailing classroom computers with newer, streamlined iMacs or eMacs resolved all our issues of slowness and freezing and unexpected shutdowns? Not a chance! New equipment introduces new headaches and issues, such as locating printers that will work with modern printing methods – like USB ports!

Bottom line: Worse than not having any computers in your room is having computers that do not meet the growing needs and demands of classrooms that integrate technology into class activities and assignments. Maximize our resources; you’re getting an iMac anyway.

Did we table this discussion?

Probably. At any rate, tables we ordered as early as November 2002 arrived sometime in February or March. We placed four such tables already. Classrooms that were put on a waiting list for tables to place their stand-alone computers are now being furnished with these tables. Computers will be set up on them as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, this issue will be tabled again in four or five weeks when we start to tie up and lock down our equipment for the summer. It is our goal to move tables into rooms as soon as possible, so that they will be in place with working computers and printers on them in time for this lock down. Thanks for your patience during this time.

Why it’s called a “hard” copy

The computer, no matter how old or new, is just a machine and serves little purpose if we cannot, as needed, produce a printed version of our work. Why do we call this a hard copy? Quite simply, because it is! At times, it seems impossible to get the computer to print when you really need it to. Printing issues account for a large percentage of the complaints the Tech Department receives concerning classroom computers.

Teachers and students continue to report printing problems. We periodically put out new or reviewed information on printing issues and how many of them can be resolved without a tech in the classroom. However, papers – that come from some printer, by the way – get lost in the shuffle or forgotten. It’s why we print – to forget. The hard copy is supposed to be our reminder, right?

We are pleased to announce our new “Printer Solutions” section of this site. Printer Solutions comes from our complaints database from which we extracted the most common and relevant problems reported to our department. We then developed tips, hints, and yes, strategies for dealing with printing problems in the classroom.

These tips are to help teachers take better advantage of their equipment while minimizing time lost waiting for a tech assistant to visit their rooms to fix the printer. We hope you find this helpful in answering many of your printing questions.

Ron Walker, Webmaster, Clemente School Internet Website
Bruce Stern, Webmaster, School Intranet Website
T Martin, Editor, Clemente Tech News

CWASP

Clemente Tech News – April 2003