Can Computer Labs Support Technology Integration
Published January 4, 2008 by Rick Biche
How does a computer lab fit into a technology integrated curriculum? That is the question my team has been asking. In the end I think the answer is that a lab, with signups, schedules, and removal from the main classroom cannot support a technology integrated curriculum.
We are not a one-to-one laptop middle school so the question of how to equitably distribute equipment and access is always at the forefront. The traditional solution at our middle school has been a computer lab. We have also been in a crowded building with insufficient electrical and network access for many rooms. Given those constraints a computer lab had the advantages of a class set of machines, a printer generally all in working order. There were still computers in the classrooms but few, say 2-4 tops. The constraints of this system were seen as the problems of signing up. Often a teacher would have to sign up many weeks and months in advance to use the lab,trying to predict what they would be doing at that time. When the slotted time arrived some teachers would not go to the lab because it didn’t fit with what they were doing at the time. Other times, current units and lessons were dropped or put on hold to allow for doing the unit designed for the computer lab. Other teachers frustrated by the process just stopped signing up, focusing instead on what they were doing without the technology.
I can’t disagree with the problems associated with signing up for technology. I have been there and done everything listed above. But the real constraint of a computer lab is how it affects curriculum and teaching practice.
- All students doing the same thing at the same time
- Little to no peer coaching or peer to peer interaction
- Students not learning to use the tools to their best advantage
- Disruption of curriculum
- Artificial use of of technology
- Teaching units in content courses that are about the technology
- Cramming technology integrated units and lessons into artificial time blocks
End result, usually something less than best practice with no encouragement to change instruction.
For technology to become embedded into curriculum students need to have ready, fluid and immediate access. Computers need to be in the classrooms. Take the computers from the labs and distribute them to classrooms. For most schools, including ours, there will not be one-to-one access to computers. In order to use the technology then students will need to either not be working on the same things at the same time or they will need to work in groups. Now there is encouragement to change instruction.
Image 1 courstey of Archigeek
Filed under Technology Integration
Rick, I agree with the points you’ve raised here. Computer access through a traditional computer lab model does not support 21st century learning. In addition, the demands on computer labs increase every month (week?) as teachers uncover new ways to use technology in their lessons.
Here’s an idea; instead of the traditional computer lab, how about a mobile ‘lab’ of laptops where a teacher can sign out the number that he or she needs for their class for a particular time period. I don’t know if this would work for every school, but I’m thinking that if a typical school has 1 computer lab with 30 desktop computers, why not distribute the computers from the old lab to the classrooms (as you suggested) and purchase 40 to 50 laptops? I’ve seen carts purpose built to securely store and transport laptops within a school. If I’m lucky enough to have a small class of 20 kids, then I don’t need to hog a whole lab–I just sign out the number of laptops that I require. Alternately, I may only need 8 computers for the activity the class is working on. It would still require a shift in lesson design as it would be impractical to always have one computer per student.
I haven’t seen this model that I’ve proposed in action, I’m just brainstorming here. I wonder what other people can come up with, or have observed to work.
Claire,
The mobile lab model you suggest is what my team does. We took all the computers from our team lab and divided them up amongst the rooms. There are some real junkers in the mix, but the have internet access. When we have the cart we all share. The crux though is that you can not necessarily plan on having x-amount of technology at any given time. We (meaning teachers and students) have all adapted to having multiple means of accomplishing tasks. For any given unit or lesson we all have a mix of choices for students to select. Some choices require technology, others do not. Over the course of a day each student has a variety of opportunities to leverage technology and to work by other means (ahem..paper) Additionally there is ample opportunity for collaboration to happen spontaneously.
I need to stress though that we have changed our instruction in order to make this happen. When the cart is not on our team it is used to fully supplement a single room in the same way a lab is used.
Perhaps there is a threshold of access, below and above which, change is not encouraged, but at the threshold teachers can see a way to begin.