I.T. for budget

Rita · Post by **Rita** » 09 Nov 2010, 09:10

Hi All

I have been asked to come up with ideas for the budget.

We have 2 old overheads, 1 new interactive whiteboard, data projector in 3 labs, a camera for the microscope and data loggers.

Are there any items that you recommend as part of I.T. (Information technology)?

Rita

Post by **Labbie** » 09 Nov 2010, 09:16

Lap tops, ours have clickview on them, a DET site I believe, to show videos etc on subjects. Science etc. We only have one lap top, each class lab has a interactive board, which the lap tops connect to, to show the videos. Our one is in great demand.

smiley · Post by **smiley** » 09 Nov 2010, 09:25

I bought a USB microscope (Motic) from AIS, and a stand alone Go!Motion detector. I also have a Motic camera that fits the end of our ordinary microscopes, and a projector with a stupid name, like "Visualiser" (sounds like an employee from one of those Motivation-Life-Tutor places). Anyway, the projector works like an OHP - you place it over a textbook and it projects the image through a data projector. It means that you can do things like demonstrate how to use a protractor to measure an angle, on a specific example in the kids' texts. It also saves having to turn text into transparencies. And you can zoom in or out, etc. It also works as a camera. Very cool.

BUT, most importantly, I have a notebook computer that was bought specifically to run those toys, and it lives in my prep room and has all the programs loaded onto it. Very important.

sunray18 · Post by **sunray18** » 09 Nov 2010, 12:42

I have all sorts of 'toys'' but NOT a laptop specifically to run them...
SO FRUSTRATING that every time a teacher wants to use them I have to get them re-installed on whatever laptop is spare around the school at the time...
so NO1 BEFORE the toys - is a laptop!

fiona · Post by **fiona** » 09 Nov 2010, 15:09

Hang on a sec, sunray, you have a spare laptop around to use them on? You're lucky! In my day (which is actually today) we had to sit there typing on a desktop from the stone age (without administrator privileges, so i couldn't install anything if I wanted to), looking at all the pretty toys we had such as a USB microscope, taunting me because I can't play with them.

I agree. The laptop should come before the toys. Of course, if you already have the laptop, though, what about the LEGO robots? They are lots of fun and possibly science related too. We were considering them for the physics department before our physics teacher left.

sunray18 · Post by **sunray18** » 10 Nov 2010, 07:16

I realise that I am very spoilt.Since I came here from working at University and at pasminco, I have kept my eye on new technology and keep pushing it - putting orders under the HOD nose, until she comes to agree that we need it. The two principals in this time have been very generous with money and we have manged to obtain quite a lot of resources.
Science has always had a computer / lap top.. but always the one that was about to be thrown out because it was nearly dead. The last one was so old it was incompatible with any new programmes - that is before it completely died in a class prac.
In my prep room is stored a trolley of lap tops for class use for the top floor here - science, language and general classrooms. And as i get to keep an eye on it [add another line to my job lists each day!

] I can pinch opne out of there occasionally!

naughty me, I actually have one I am using right now - I got so tired of having it die after 2 hrs because the charger is all attached in the trolley, on Monday I got out my pliers and cutters and removed the charger completely from the trolley... I am hoping no one notices til the end of the year! shhhh.....

fiona · Post by **fiona** » 11 Nov 2010, 08:27

laptops don't actually exist on the budget here. If staff want to use them, they have to bring in their own from home and get the IT people to put it on the network, which makes things difficult. I was going to bring in my own but most of the software is not conducive to my gorgeous but inconvient (in this case) Mac. Are those laptops on the trolley you refer to the little Netbooks and if so do they work alright with software? Maybe I could petition to purchase the cheapest one (they are what? a couple of hundred).

smiley · Post by **smiley** » 11 Nov 2010, 08:47

Well, I have a little HP Netbook. The down side is that it doesn't have a disk drive, but the IT dudes have loaded all my programs onto it, and at any rate, next year we are buying a little external disk drive (usually under $50) to run any CD-Rom's we own. The IT dudes also gave me "Science Administrator" privileges so that I can install stuff without bothering them now.

The Netbook certainly has enough "Guts" to run the programs that run the USB Microscope etc.

nickyw · Post by **nickyw** » 11 Nov 2010, 08:58

Fiona, Didn't all of the teachers receive a personal laptop when Ruddy was PM? Every single teacher here got their own personal laptop to use.

We have now got interactive whiteboards in every science room bar 1, so far the teachers are impressed but still a bit dubius.....takes a bit of time to except change

fiona · Post by **fiona** » 11 Nov 2010, 10:53

we are a little independent school so I'm assuming we missed out.

We just don't have the budget for those luxuries. But we do have interactive whiteboards in every room in this building just not all staff can use them, because not all staff have computers.

vlclabbie · Post by **vlclabbie** » 11 Nov 2010, 11:23

We are a small independent school & our teachers didn't get any laptops from Mr Rudd either.....

tigger · Post by **tigger** » 11 Nov 2010, 13:31

We are a public school and we didn't get them either.

Post by **RosalieM** » 11 Nov 2010, 14:07

I think it was up to the individual schools to decide what to do with their IT funding.

sunray18 · Post by **sunray18** » 12 Nov 2010, 07:42

The lap tops are all HP.. we have trolleys of 15 in 5 locations around the school. We bought the last lot with Ruddollars...
The biggest problem is that the school has not increased the IT tech's hours - even though his work load has increased astronomically..

I find calling him and telling him I have a Freddo frog for him usually makes sure I receive extremely prompt service! $\:D/$

smiley · Post by **smiley** » 12 Nov 2010, 09:58

Hey guys,

I'm in a small Catholic school, and we got the netbooks on Rudd dollars. I think it's like Rosalie said, it's up to the schools how they spent the money, or even if they applied for it!!

Ian · Post by **Ian** » 12 Nov 2010, 12:30

You are all going to HATE me!! We are an expensive Private school, and I believe that the 15 Mac laptops just installed in a lockable cabinet in one of our Science labs WERE provided by Mr Rudd, along with a couple of new classrooms and a Library extension. (Mind you, because we are a private school rather than Government controlled, we were allowed to get more from our $900,000 than the standard COLA or demountable canteen)
It is interesting that Nickiw's teachers got laptops from Mr Rudd, as I understood that the laptops were supposed to be for the kids.
All permanent staff are provided with a MacBook or MacBook Pro computer, because it is considered safer to send the computer home with a staff member than to leave it unattended in a staffroom over night! These are out of school fee money, not Mr Rudds "gift", though.
Cheers
Ian

sunray18 · Post by **sunray18** » 12 Nov 2010, 13:29

Ihave always thought our system was the greatest con out.
The teachers really need their own computers - they do all reports on them, for clases, for interactive whiteboards etc..It is expected that they have one that they bring to school every day.
BUT they are not provided. The teachers have to purchase their own!!

nickyw · Post by **nickyw** » 12 Nov 2010, 13:36

Hey Ian

Not only did every teacher get their own laptop we also got over $200,000 worth of laptops and rechargeable trolleys for a few classrooms around the school (not sure how many all up)

We also have a number of computer rooms with desk tops in them for students as well.

Yep our school did very well out of Kruddy....

Australia's Science Forum

I.T. for budget

I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget

Re: I.T. for budget