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| Computer Lab when I arrived 1 |
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| Computer Lab when I arrived 2 |
As I come to the end of my service here in Vanuatu, I reflect back on my computer lab and how far it has come. It has been a struggle to get it to the level that it is now. I remember when I first got to my school, there were ten station units and ten flat screen monitors with the majority of the monitors not even opened yet. There were a ton of the old school monitors (CRT monitor) that were just laying around in the lab. The lab was dirty and disorganized. We routinely got hornets and different kinds of bugs in the lab because it was not sealed and we were next to a bushy area which was a good breeding place to insects like you would not believe. We had no mosquito screens on the windows, no curtains and barely any chairs.
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| Computer lab 1.0 |
I got to work on the lab with the help of the extremely supportive principal and of the school. When I checked all the computers, only three system units were functional. To maximize the amount of computers that my school had, we decided to explore thin client options. Thin client options will allow to run multiple workstations off of one system unit or computer base. The solution that we could access in Vanuatu is called N-Computing. this brand of thin clients can allow you to run three workstations off of one computer base, or six stations. We decided to go with the six workstation version and bought three. Each one went for the price of one new system base. At the end of the day we therefore had eighteen workstations just off of three computer bases. This made a huge difference in the amount of students that we could hold and teach in the computer lab. My goal when I got to Vanuatu was to end up with one computer for each student in the computer lab. This would increase the quality of teaching significantly as each student would be able to use a computer and kind of learn at his/her own speed. The largest class size we have at the beginning of the year is about 25 students. By the middle of the year however, this number always goes down to about thirty, so at the end of the day just four students would have to share two workstations among them which I think is a great improvement from when I first got to the school and students had to be broken up into two groups and they still had to share computers.
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| Computer Lab 2.0 |
This year, I changed the arrangement of the computers. Now the computers are arranged in rows. With the new budget from the school, we managed to purchase flat-screen monitors for every single one of our eighteen workstations and an extra monitor and a low power computer dedicated for the use of the computer class teacher. We used to have a blackboard in the class and this created a lot of dust when it was cleaned of the chalk markings. We got the blackboard out and installed a white board. We installed mosquito screens on the windows and sealed up any openings in the lab. We also installed a screen door so that we could leave the door of the lab open for ventilation purposes. Curtains have also been put up. Now we are also going to install a very low power server in the lab that will service the entire school. This will really help us out as we have had issues with data loss as people are not very vigilant with backing up their work. In fact, as I write this blog, I just received an email that the server we ordered as arrived and I will go pick it up and set it up with the assistance of my counterpart.
I am thinking of creating user accounts for every staff member and every student that takes computer class. We will see how that goes. We still have a lot of problems with the computer lab. I still haven't found a good way to control the printing that goes on. People just go to the lab and print whenever they want and waste paper and the ink which is very expensive. However, that problem will get fixed before I leave. I still haven't been able to sit down with my counterpart to create a comprehensive computer lab policy. Every time I try to meet with him, something always comes up. However, whenever I think about how the lab was when I got there and how it will be when I leave, I am happy with the two years that I spent here.
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| People using the lab |
The plan that we have now for the lab that should have been implemented but has been delayed is to create "shelves" for the bases and put them under the table, so that when you walk into the lab, the only thing you really see are the monitors. We also want to attach a cupboard to the wall so that we can store our materials and spare equipment in them and have them be secure because we will lock the cupboard. We also want to find a way to hide the wires. Unfortunately we are on solar power, so my idea of having an air conditioning unit installed will not happen for a while yet.
Wow. Good Job. I am extremely proud of the work you've done. You have definitely accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteJoke
Good morning how are you?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Emilio, I am a Spanish boy and I live in a town near to Madrid. I am a very interested person in knowing things so different as the culture, the way of life of the inhabitants of our planet, the fauna, the flora, and the landscapes of all the countries of the world etc. in summary, I am a person that enjoys traveling, learning and respecting people's diversity from all over the world.
I would love to travel and meet in person all the aspects above mentioned, but unfortunately as this is very expensive and my purchasing power is quite small, so I devised a way to travel with the imagination in every corner of our planet. A few years ago I started a collection of letters addressed to me in which my goal was to get at least 1 letter from each country in the world. This modest goal is feasible to reach in the most part of countries, but unfortunately it’s impossible to achieve in other various territories for several reasons, either because they are countries at war, either because they are countries with extreme poverty or because for whatever reason the postal system is not functioning properly.
For all this I would ask you one small favour:
Would you be so kind as to send me a letter by traditional mail from Vanuatu? I understand perfectly that you think that your blog is not the appropriate place to ask this, and even, is very probably that you ignore my letter, but I would call your attention to the difficulty involved in getting a letter from that country, and also I don’t know anyone neither where to write in Vanuatu in order to increase my collection. a letter for me is like a little souvenir, like if I have had visited that territory with my imagination and at same time, the arrival of the letters from a country is a sign of peace and normality and a original way to promote a country in the world. My postal address is the following one:
Emilio Fernandez Esteban
Calle Valencia, 39
28903 Getafe (Madrid)
Spain
If you wish, you can visit my blog www.cartasenmibuzon.blogspot.com, where you can see the pictures of all the letters that I have received from whole World.
Finally I would like to thank the attention given to this letter, and whether you can help me or not, I send my best wishes for peace, health and happiness for you, your family and all your dear beings.
Yours Sincerely