Energy Conservation TIPS

Power Plant

The TIPS team would like to remind everyone that technology in the classroom does leave an environmental footprint.  While it may be necessary to leave your workstation running over the weekend if you are using remote desktop, it is not necessary to leave the monitor on.  Interactive white boards and other accessories do not need to be powered on when not in use either.  If there is any way that you can get the standby light to go off (especially over the weekend) then small amounts of power can be saved which add up over the 1500+ of these devices that exist in our schoolboard.  Out in the cloud there is much discussion about the power consumption at the hundreds of massive data centres that have sprung up.  InfoExecutive has an article that talks about how some of these server farms are seeking carbon offsets by setting up in British Columbia and Quebec where power is 100% hydroelectric.  An article in Data Centre Knowledge refers to studies that indicate that there are efficencies to be gained by turning up the thermostat inside these large data centres.  It costs money and creates carbon dioxide in order to keep these machines cool, so the warmer that you can keep them the less it costs.

Innovative Classroom Grant

In May 2008, Alberta Education announced new funding to try and get data projectors into as many classrooms in the province as possible. Here’s what their memo said:

Alberta Education will invest $18.5 million per year over the next three years to support the further integration of technology into Alberta’s classrooms. These innovative and engaging learning environments will support teachers in helping students to develop the skills they need for global citizenship, lifelong learning, and participation in the world of work.

Students Turn Their Cellphones On for Classroom Lessons

A review of Andrew Trotter’s Education Week article by Terry Korte (TIPS Team – EPSB)

On many recent school visits I’ve asked teachers and administrators about their policy on cell-phone use by students.  Most admit that at the junior and senior high school level that a majority of kids have cell phones, but most also have no plans to use them in the classroom.  Some schools even have a “no cell phones” sign on their doors.  With cellphones having evolved into smart phones, many with photo, video, messaging, and even internet capability, are we keeping a valuable tool out of the classroom?  Trotter’s article provides some interesting uses for cell phones that are simple, engaging, and could augment curriculum that is otherwise technology free.

The Student Centric Classroom

In a recent article in edutopia online called Disrupting Class: Student-Centric Education Is the Future , the authors (Clayton M. Christensen and Michael B. Horn) lay out the argument that only those technologies that support the student-centric classroom will have any impact on changing education for the better. They contrast the teacher-centric classroom, which we are all very familiar with, with a model of a classroom which supports multiple learning styles or a universal design for learning (UDL)approach.

Advice for students considering buying or bringing their own device to school?

Schools who have EPSB reliable, filtered, wireless network that students will be able to connect to with their own devices.  While this device could be an i- Touc h, a laptop, or a netbook, there are few key things you should keep in mind if you are considering bringing your own device to school:

What to do with older technology?

Remember this technology? Is there still a need for it in the classroom.

Wesley Freyer raises this question in his blog:
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2009/06/04/the-dominant-technology-in-the-classroom

It also raises other questions:  What do you do with old technology?  Should we still keep some of this in case the Internet goes down?  Or should we discard this old technology so we can embrace the new digital technology?

Establishing New Learning Environments

National Educational Technology Standards for Students

http://www.nectec.or.th/users/htk/it-education
Traditional educational practices no longer provide students with all the necessary skills for economic survival in todays workplace. Students must apply strategies for solving problems and use appropriate tools for learning, collaborating, and communicating. Todays learning environments must incorporate strategies and tools that prepare students for their futures. The following chart lists characteristics representing traditional approaches to learning and corresponding strategies often associated with new learning environments.

Weighing in on Terminal Servers

Updates on this post available from Sid de Haan’s Tech blog.

Currently we have a number of our schools in the district using terminal servers and we’re finding out what works and what doesn’t.

But what are terminal servers? Take a flatscreen monitor and attach a Wyse box terminal to the back on the monitor, add a keyboard and mouse and presto you have a thin client – a workstation that is directly connected to a server. When you start up a program, you’re actually starting up from the server.

Pros

• Quick start up
• Quick access to programs (that work in terminal services)
• Small footprint (no tower) and students have more deskspace
• Flat screen monitor and Wyse box use much less energy
• Great for basic productivity tool and internet research
• Easy to maintain and change an image…you’re installing on one computer…no multicast ghosting required
• Users don’t have control over settings…can’t muck up the main computer (in most cases)

Cons

• Can’t use certain programs (see below). This requires a lot of trial and error and can be very frustrating for teachers and students
• Basic productivity only…limited functionality for connecting to peripherals (digital cameras, digital camcorders, USB drives, etc.)
• Tough to customize between terminals…a one size fits all solution
• You are essentially running off 1 computer and not benefitting from the power of each login having a separate workstation
• Users don’t have control over settings, such as desktop, control panel…even the Task Manager in CTL-ALT-DEL

What works

• Microsoft Office Applications: Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher
• Web browser, although multimedia content can run slow
• Windows Paint
• Inspiration and Kidspiration: These both install on a server

What doesn’t work

• Video Streaming services such as United Streaming
• Lab Management Software
• Some flash-based sites such run very slow such as ArtPad or Wonderville
• Google Earth

This is a great solution for libraries and offices where client-based software isn’t required and basic productivity and research tools are required. This solution also works in computer labs, however teachers and students need to be aware of the limitations of such technology.

A workaround for teachers who want to show content with Google Earth and video streaming, is to have a dedicated teacher workstation and dedicated Wyse box hooked up to a projector with a switch between them. Teachers can then toggle between 2 inputs to project their images.