Keeping 22 notebook computers going in a classroom environment has been quite a challenge. The move to a Linux based operating system was essential but there were still difficulties with the use of the Mepis OS I installed at the beginning of the year. Having spent a great deal of time researching, downloading, burning and experimenting, I settled on quite a novel set up for the remainder of the school year.

At the core of my new configuration is the use of a wonderful little Linux OS called Slax. It is designed to run "live". My particular set up is somewhat unique in that I have replaced the normal clunky, noisy hard disks with compact flash drives using a CF to IDE adapter. I purchased my adapters for around $4 each off eBay. The CF drives are 1 GB and were bought from Amazon. I also downloaded a wonderful utility called MySlax Creator that allowed me to customize and reproduce 22 identical configurations in an incredibly short period of time. The results are tremendous and I no longer worry about students sabotaging the settings on a computer because when the computer is re-booted, everything is exactly like it was when it was started. There is also much less heat and noise generated by my computers as well. I hope to be able to use these computers for a few more years and I think that it will only be possible utilizing this type of arrangement.

I am not real sure where I first discovered the Palm m105 PDA. It is a simple little handheld that cost over $100 when it was new 6 years ago. It can now be found for much less today on Ebay; that's where I obtained the ones for my classroom. The m105 is a small computer that can have programs installed on it that do a host of things. My math classes have been using them to reinforce their knowledge of multiplication facts. There are other really neat programs written for the m105 and we will explore many of them this school year.

Without going into too much detail, the last several days have been marked by great frustration because of a worm that had attacked my class computers. Worms are viruses that typically attack Windows-based computers only. This led me to make a wholesale changeover from Windows to Linux, in particular Mepis 6. This changeover will produce much less headaches and hopefully mean greater uptime for the students. There were some sacrifices but the students will benefit from getting to learn a different operating system.



Stay tuned for more developments as students help me pursue my vision of Classroom 2.0

It's been two weeks with students and I've had a great time introducing students to my version of Classroom 2.0. Students have signed on for email addresses, used the notebook computers to reinforce learning of the order of operations, practiced math facts and "beaming" using the Palm m105's and have taken their first quiz using the CPS response system. And there is still so much more to come...

They're loving it and so am I!

I admit it. I am a technology/computer geek. I have long put off joining in on the blogging phenomenon but I am whole-heartedly ready to jump in feet first and this upcoming school year is a perfect time to do so.

First, some background. When I came to my present school, Soddy Daisy Middle, 5 years ago in August of 2002, I thought then that students should have access to computers for a variety of reasons. Yet I really didn't do a great deal with them and they wound up being rewards for students who finished their work early. We did manage to put together a few power points but they weren't much to talk about.

Fast forward 3 years...well about 2 1/2. I really began to see that to really do the "computers in the classroom" thing right, I needed a computer for every student. So I scraped together pieces and parts (all thanks to ebay) and had 22 laptop computers. It was neat at first but the novelty began to wear off, and I really hadn't thought about or planned how to implement a classroom with them. Plus, they were antiques, the students didn't take care of them and I became so frustrated that I took them all out after winter break that year. It was sad.

I'm giving it another go. I've got much better technology this time. In fact, every laptop is identical. I have a much better idea of how I plan on using them and I firmly believe that the students are in for a real treat. I'm in for a treat as well.

So this site will serve as my place of reflection on this new experiment in Classroom 2.0. I will hopefully post pictures and videos of what we do this coming school year. It will be interesting...