Wish list for computer lab

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Permalink Reply by Shankar Ganesh on June 4, 2010 at 8:02am

Well, I don't about the hardware, but for the software part, I'll definitely suggest you to consider open source software to minimize costs. There's plenty of software available in the open source arena at zero cost - and they're all well worth considering.

Ubuntu - www.ubuntu.com is a really good OS, particularly if you're moving from Windows and don't want a daunting experience with using Linux. You can do almost everything you do on Windows - open documents, play music, browse the internet and chat. Just download the ISO file from the site, burn it to a CD, and install it and give it a go. You can even share it with others. It's legal.

GCompris - I guess you're talking about a school lab, so GCompris would be a great education tool for school kids. Give a try.

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Permalink Reply by Shankar Ganesh on June 4, 2010 at 8:03am

The first sentence should read: "I don't know about the hardware..."

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Permalink Reply by Lin DiRenzo on June 5, 2010 at 10:12am

You didnt mention the grade level, but lets see,

Hardware: desktops/laptops (not netbooks if price is not object :) Each has its pros and cons, you will have to decide, Epson Brightlink projector, Student Response devices, video and digital cameras (several), Headphones, microphones, webcams, decent mice, printer, scanner......

Software: Microsoft Office Suite, vital-classroom management software and its pricey, Google Docs accounts for students, maybe $1000+ budget for online application subscriptions (wikis, voice thread, glogster, Prezi, etc--many are free but some cost a few dollars for upgrades to free accounts). software for your interactive projector from vendors such as Smartboard or Promethean, movie making software, graphics editing software, web authoring software....

I think this might get you started with the basics. There are lots of specialized items you might find a use for as well, depends on the interests/curriculum.

Happy planning.

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Permalink Reply by Alline Sada on June 5, 2010 at 11:24am

iMacs with Magic Mouse
headphones and microphones
digital cameras and video cameras (I like Flip)

iWork (keynote, papers, numbers)
Pinnacle or Showbiz (for video)

Fireworks (for graphics)

Scratch (for simple game design and beggining programming)

Voicethread, Google Docs and Google Sites
Prezi
Google Earth
Brain Pop
Educationcity.com
Learn 360 and neok12.com (for video clips)
learning.com
Niing Community
Dropbox
edu20.org or engrade.com (simple course builders)

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