Activity 1c   

C&I 335

    Summer, 1998

Michelle Tjelmeland                                                                                                                        

Franklin Middle School                                                                                                    

Springfield, Illinois                                                                                                                 

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Franklin Middle School's Available Technology   

* Please note that there are hundreds of software titles available in the building; however, I listed the programs that were most useful for me.

Hardware

Each teacher at Franklin has access to all of the hardware listed above.  All teachers at Franklin are a member of an interdisciplinary team consisting of 4-6 individuals.  While each team has at least 7 computers, additional computers are available when the team or teacher makes arrangements with other teams.  For instance, if my class is doing a project which requires more than the 8 computers are team has then I can go to another team and make arrangements to borrow their computers for the activity.  Teachers at Franklin are very good about sharing their equipment.  There are 4 teachers on my team and we each have at least 2 computers.  Of course, some of the computers are newer while others are older.   So we split up the computers so each classroom has at least one newer computer and one older computer.  Every computer has access to printer located somewhere in the building.  Additionally, flex cams, quick cams, laser disc players, and record players are also available to any teacher in the building.  Equipment can be easily located by referring to the librarian or technology contact people in the building.

Software

As mentioned above, Franklin has hundreds of software titles.  In addition to the titles located in the building, the district has a library several thousand titles that are available to teachers, also.  When wanting to locate a piece of software, teachers can refer to the librarian, technology contact people, or a reference book located in the teacher's work room which lists all the software and the location of software in building.  Any of the software can be used in the classroom, library, or computer lab.  Claris Works is one of Franklin's most popular titles.  Language arts classes utilize the program for word processing, math classes use it for tables and graphs, and history classes use it for writing reports.

Computer Lab

Franklin Middle school has one of the finest labs in the district.  This is mainly due to the many fundraisers the school has to update and purchase new technology for the building.  Lyle Wind, the principal of Franklin, is constantly working to enhance the technology at the school.  The money generated from school dances and the soda and candy machine also go towards the purchase of technology.  The computer lab has about 60 computers(32 Macs and 27 Apple II E's).  While most teachers in the building prefer to work on the Macintosh computers, some still work on the older computers.   The Apple II E's have some wonderful programs for enhancing typing , spelling, grammar, and math skills.  My students always seem to enjoy working on the older computers.  One thing is for sure, if the Mac side of the lab has already been reserved by another teacher, the Apple IIe's are almost always available for student use.   At ease has been installed on all the computers in lab to insure that students have access to only what is needed.  The computer lab is accessible to all teachers in the building.   A teacher must sign up when they plan to be in the lab.  This procedure has helped to distribute computer lab time more equally among all teachers.

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