[Year 12 IPM] Computer Lab usage

[Andrew Sutton]

Kids do bring their laptops to school here and are quite welcome to use them
but....
We don't allow student laptops on the computer network for a few of reasons.

1.  They take up IP addresses and we just didn't have any to spare. (This
was the best at convincing people as it went straight over most peoples
heads and so they just agreed with me.)
2. I think it would be too easy for security flaws to be exploited in our
network.
3. Kids would waste too much time on their own laptops.  
4. And most importantly I didn't want to be looking after (for free) a bunch
of computers that aren't in my current job description.  I find staff
laptops to be the most frustrating computers in the school and they are at
least imaged machines so if something goes wrong I can fix it.  Somehow I
think I would end up with a whole lot of problems with student laptops of
every make and model.

The innovation and excellence person was a little bit surprised when I
didn't want to start adding a bunch of laptops to the system.



Andrew Sutton
IT / SOSE Teacher
St Arnaud Secondary College





-----Original Message-----
From: ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:ipm-bounces at edulists.com.au] On
Behalf Of fiona at balmoralhs.vic.edu.au
Sent: Monday, 4 September 2006 3:34 PM
To: ipm at edulists.com.au
Subject: RE: [Year 12 IPM] Computer Lab usage

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


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