Computer SuperPods take care of
ICT at Pirongia (August 2002)
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Year 7 students at
Pirongia working at a classroom computer pod. Some are doing CD-ROM research about
Parliament, while others are using MS Word, for English Argument Writing. |
ICT at Pirongia School in the Waikato has received a major boost, with the arrival of
five classroom "pods", each containing six computers.
Previously the 300-student school had just one old computer per classroom, and earlier
this year the staff and board of trustees decided a serious infusion of computing power
was needed. Ross Denize, Pirongia's teacher responsible for ICT, says they investigated
several options.
"We considered setting up a stand-alone, larger computer suite, which a lot of
schools have gone for. We also looked at having a mobile group of laptops," says
Ross.
"Then we received proposals for classroom pods from The Ark (CANZ-accredited
recycler) in Auckland. I rang some other schools which had them, and we decided to go that
way.
"The price stood out as a good deal, and we also liked the idea of having the pods
in the individual classrooms.
"Our budget only stretched so far, and if we'd bought new machines, we'd have
nowhere near the computer systems we now have in the classrooms."
SuperPod
Pirongia School bought The Ark's SuperPod product. Each pod is a group of computers
linked on a dual-speed 10/100 ethernet network. Five of the computers are recycled Pentium
166 machines, while a more powerful Pentium 333 also acts as a server, enabling the group
to share files and peripheral devices.
The server machine has a CD-rewriter, which, as well as doing file backups, is able to
share CD-ROM resources with other workstations in the pod.
Rounding out the equipment in each pod are a Hewlett Packard 845C inket printer, an
Acer optical scanner, audio speakers, a hub, and cables.
The operating system software used is Windows ME for the server, and Windows 98 for
each of the client machines. The overall cost to Pirongia School was $3,750+GST per pod,
plus freight.
This system is the fastest of The Ark's pod options. A standard pod is also available,
based on a Pentium 233 server, with Pentium 133 workstations. Pods are the most popular of
The Ark's school offerings, and the company sells hundreds of sets every year.
Schools can choose which application software to use, and Pirongia School opted for the
standard Microsoft schools package. This has given them Office XP, Publisher 2002, Front
Page 2002, Visual Studio, Encarta, and Works 2000.
User friendly
Ross Denize says the pod system is user-friendly, "and I like the idea of having
them in the classroom, instead of having a separate larger computer suite, because you can
integrate them into the work you're doing.
"It's working exactly as we were hoping for, and once we get all the classrooms
sets up and running and have Internet access, it's going to be wonderful for the
school."
System speed within each pod is adequate, Ross says. "I've had a couple of kids
looking up CD-ROMs while the other computers are being used for Word or Publisher, and
it's been quick enough – no problems."
Though the pod servers could access the Internet with their built-in modems, Pirongia
School is currently investigating a faster broadband solution, which will probably involve
a satellite dish and radio connection. This will require a separate intranet server
machine, and would require each of the computer pods to be networked together –
something which is on the development plan.
In the meantime, computer-based research is via CD-ROMs, but even that is a vast
improvement on what was previously available. |
