[K12OSN] Room Layout

[Petre Scheie]

A note about laptops: My company just donated about 100 Dell laptops to my school for 
use in our 'five-to-ten clients in each classroom pilot that needs a better name" 
project.  It was a real win-win situation: the company is paying to have a whole bunch 
of old equipment hauled off, and I reduced the cost of that substantially by taking the 
laptops.  At the same time, the laptops are great as thin clients because they have 
built-in ethernet, PXE boot, are silent (because we took the hard drives out since we 
don't need them), take less space than desktops, use less power, and only require one 
electrical outlet.

My point is that I suspect that there are many opportunities for this kind of win-win 
arrangement.  I suggest inquiring with local businesses as to whether they have any such 
pools of old laptops, either asking them directly or through the students' parents who 
are employees of such companies.  In my case, I just got lucky and happened to ask about 
the laptops right before they were hauled off.

Petre

sonjag at comcast.net wrote:
> I'm thrilled that I can actually contribute to this list!! As a newbie, I never have any technical info to disperse, but I can talk about room layout. 
> 
> I had the same issue. I was actually considering purchasing laptops in an effort to get to a lower student:computer ratio, which was quite expensive, then supporting them... I think I would have a full time job replacing keyboards! In the end, cost kept me from getting laptops.
> 
> I found the Bretford Connections SmartDeck Work Center
> 
> http://www.bretford.com/products/overview.asp?id=238&subcat=2
> 
> which have turned out to be an awesome investment. They are flat when the students need a workspace, with the keyboard and mouse out of reach of the students and the monitors completely out of the way. We purchased Symbio SYM1110 terminals
> 
> http://www.thesymbiont.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=80&Itemid=109
> 
> which are so small that we could zip tie them to the side of the desk, negating the need for the CPU hanger and leaving the USB ports in easy reach for the users. Another key feature is that they consume only 5W of power, so installing 24 computers in the room did not require any electrical rewiring.
> 
> Tables are back to back. A single power and network cable are brought over the floor under cable cover which is duct taped to the floor. Each table has a small switch (5 to 8 port)  and power strips to distribute power under the table.
> 
> Sonja 
> 
> 
>  -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: "Daniel Kuecker" <kueckerd at shenandoah.k12.ia.us>
>> Hello All!
>>
>> I am trying to figure out how to best implement thin clients in a
>> classroom and not a lab. i have been searching the net for some floor
>> plans that others may be using, but cannot find much. i want to make
>> these permanent in the classroom, and try to minimizeI' distraction from
>> an LCD panel on the desk, maybe under the desk with glass top? Currently
>> our desks are individual desks, some that the top flips open, some not.
>> I am also trying to figure out the bast way to get ethernet jacks and
>> power to the desks or cluster of desk. I have toyed with possibly
>> bunlding the ehternet and extension cords and rolling them out on the
>> floor, but i do not know if there would be interferance from the power
>> cords and plus it doesnt sound like a good permanent solution. What are
>> you guys doing?   
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Daniel Kuecker
>>
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