As mentioned in an earlier post, I’m the network administrator and all around computer guru at school. I’m also the physics & chemistry teacher there. So for me, computers are a daily thing. Thanks to our school being an Ohio school, we have no money. So our computer upgrading has not been the ideal 3 year cycle that we mention in our Technology Plan. It hasn’t even been a 5-year cycle.

But thanks to some grants (which, although wonderful, are always a spurious thing and should never have to be counted upon) we’ve been able to get some new computers for the elementary and high school. We have 270 computers in the small K-12 building (yes, all the same building) and try not to change the total all that much. (Just no room for more than 6 computers in most classrooms, and there are 3 big HS labs and 1 big elementary lab – junior high is considered part of the HS for most classifications.)

So what does one do with the old computers? Yes, that’s right – put them under the chemistry tables, under the physics tables, on top of the physics tables, in the science computer lab along the back wall, and in the technology storage area (which is first and foremost the physics equipment storage area). Oh yeah, and also put them in the wire-closet, too. We had over 100 computers, nearly 90 monitors, boxes of mice, keyboards, and speakers (when people request speakers for every computer in their classroom, just say no and give them headphones instead!) and horrid SCSI/Parallel scanners. They were on my carts and in my way. And today, we finally got rid of them all! YAY! Thanks to Computer Haulers of Dayton (who supposedly recycle the good bits to make computer systems for people who can’t afford them) I now have my chem lab and physics storage back!

The truck arrived today (coming for the second batch of stuff – it didn’t all fit the first time) during physics and the students were thrilled to help take all the monitors and carts out to the truck because it meant another delay in taking the test on circular motion. 🙂 So now they get to take it on Monday (when their catapult research papers are due – but that’s also an extension). So let’s hear it for Computer Haulers of Dayton and Miss Short’s physics class for finally getting my rooms back!

Current Mood: grateful
Current Music: “I’m Coming Out” by Chumbawamba