Hardware+in+the+classroom

Hardware In the Classroom
When we use our Mac’s at school or print out a document we don’t really think of technology. Those devices just “belong” there, as smart boards or LCD screens. A basic rule of technology gaining is that hardware (equipment) purchases should be driven by the software (instructional materials and applications) that best suit our school. Compatibility and easiness of use are important considerations in acquiring the hardware for classrooms. Focusing on "cutting edge" or "state-of-the-art" items can be a waste of money, unless they address a specific need. These days it seems that technology changes overnight. What's current today is old-hat tomorrow. Schools cannot, and do not need to, keep up with every technological innovation. The teachers’ training is the most important element in a successful technology effort. Training needs to address not only basic technology skills, but strategies for changing instruction and integrating technology into daily classroom activities. So what types of technology do we use in a school? Here are some of the examples: By bringing the notebooks into the classroom teachers and some of the students gain benefits. Sometimes those are used to enrich the classroom discussions and enable the fast use of sending information or class notes throughout the class. Both teachers and students use laptops in school because of its ease in use and accessibility. Some of the consequences that we must include when talking about laptops are that they bring the side effects to whoever uses them. In many schools the hope was that students would use the Internet for research and homework. Instead, many students wasted lots of time sending instant messages and illegally exchanging music files.In US the computers being used are mostly Mac’s known for their flexibility and usability. The use of personal computers in schools brings out many important issues; as well as advantages and disadvantages. Setting up computer labs enables students to work on their in-class projects, search for the information, update their records and access the on-campus network. Using the computers though requires certain skills and the cost of incorporating them at schools.The personal computers in US are Mac’s and many schools set them up because of their ability to configure. In Europe many high schools use the standard IMB computers because of the price, being used mostly for the computer courses. Students either have to bring their own laptops. Probably the most useful tool used in many classrooms at schools. By projecting the data the hardware is being able to transfer the images and streaming picture through the scope. Many teachers use hardware like that to clarify their lesson notes, show video streams or using it to transfer the data from their personal pc onto the screen so the students are able to see the class notes while learning. The projectors are usually mounted on the ceilings but there are the types that are on a free ground. They usually need a white background to display the data correctly. Science departments use the projectors to demonstrate their notes to the classroom easier or to prepare the interactive presentations.The wide use of projectors proved that they are very reliable and easy accesible for both students and teachers. Those are the great interactive hardware tools used in many classrooms but especially in history to show students the documental videos. Showing films as a way to introduce or reinforce new material can help struggling readers gain a foothold and give more accomplished readers new ways to stay engaged. With reluctant readers especially, seeing a world or characters onscreen helps them to understand similar subjects in fiction or textbooks. //"When students reencounter the same information in a new media, they start to get a feeling of expertise,"// says Stanlee Brimberg, a New York City teacher who introduces his Civil War unit by showing clips from Edward Zwick's 1989 film Glory about African-American soldiers. "//It helps the kids understand and relate to history,"// says Brimberg. There are many types of printers at school starting from the range of standard lab network printers to standalone desk jet printers. This useful hardware can be found in almost every classroom. Printers are mainly used to print out the documents, course information, tests, quizzes and many others, basically all types of written assessments. Some of the advantages of using printers are that they are fast, easily accessible by all pupils. The shared printer can be used throughout the classrooms so no setting up is required for whole-class use.The maintenance though requires the cartridges to be refilled before another use.The cost of the mainenance can discourage the school from using the printers that are just too expensive. Now smartboards are quite innovative and as a piece of technology you require both a computer, projector and a smart board to get it running. The smart boards have been implemented in areas such as Science, Math and Computer Technologies. They can be widely used, in both taking notes, making power point presentations and using it as a board tool. As for the presentation, the touch screen interacts with the computer, using it though requires certain level of skills from teachers.Smartboards really proved to be an brilliant design but the cost associated with buying one is huge.Not all of the schools can afford such an expense.The touch-sensitive display connects to your computer and digital projector to show your computer image. You can then control computer applications directly from the display, write notes in digital ink and save your work to share later. This really classic type of display is used in many schools and classrooms around the world. The beam of light is directed and mirrored which creates an image of the an object or data. The overheads have a significant values in the presentations as well as in common lessons. Eg. The Business and Management class teacher uses the overheads to show and analyze the break-even graphs.The overheads are really becoming outdated as other inventions are being present and developed. Not so broadly used in school since the projectors sometimes have the speakers built in. The main purpose of the speaker’s in the classroom is that the students and teachers can benefit from listening to the verbal part of the assignments. It improves the skills. Many teachers prefer the speakers in their classrooms since they think they improve the communication between the people.While listening, reading and watching, those three senses put together prove to enhance the learning process and the pace of it. The increasing number of schools started to use speakers in order to enrich the learning enviroment and help the students understand the lesson materials well. Although introducing hardware in classrooms is great, it still brings many troubles that have to be faced in order to improve the quality of learning:
 * Hardware** is //“a comprehensive term for all of the physical parts of a computer, as distinguished from the data it contains or operates on, and the software that provides instructions for the hardware to accomplish tasks.”// (Openprojects.org 2006)
 * Laptops and Notebook’s:**
 * Personal Computers /iMac’s:**
 * Video/Data Projectors:**
 * DVD players:**
 * Printers:**
 * Smart boards:**
 * Overheads:**
 * Speakers:**
 * Social and Ethical Issues:**
 * Reliability – Hardware in the classrooms might not function properly or be accurate. When one has to sacrifice time to repair hardware that has stopped working, one's confidence in the hardware diminishes. A recent example of lack of testing is the Apple iMac: put in a beautifully designed case someone forgot to test the newly designed CD ejection software which caused a problem. For if a CD is accidentally left in the slot when it is shut down a disaster results. When the computer is restarted it thinks the CD disk is a start up disk and crashes. The operator then has to resort to using an unbent paper clip and insert it into the small hole in the CD slot to eject the CD. If they are lucky, the computer will still work properly. All of this is because the software was not written to eject the disk on shut down.
 * Security – often we are urged to protect our hardware from harmful information and ferocious attacks from the internet. Many computer labs are using the encryption software, databases with firewalls and authentication software in order to protect the hardware itself from being misused.
 * Equality of access – since the hardware that we use in classroom is expensive some schools are not able to provide that advantage due to the lack of money, resources or the unavailability. The computer systems, training and the time consuming processes cost money.
 * Control – some of the hardware might malfunction and therefore cause the problems with the maintenance and control. The tiniest mistake can cause the series of terrible events.
 * People and Machines – in many schools teachers generally have the major control over computers and hardware used. This can result in crash between the teachers and the students wanting the power to use the hardware for their own uses such as file sharing and instant messaging during classes.