|
INFRASTRUCTURE GUIDE
Technical and managerial requirements and
considerations of introducing ICTs in schools
When introducing ICT in a school,one must consider
both the technical and professional and economic needs of
the ICT infranstructure.
ICT INFRASTRUCTURE
An ICT infrastructure will assist a school by:
- increasing access to up-to-date curriculum materials that
will enhance student learning.
- increasing administrative efficiencies in both the classroom
and in school administration.
- providing opportunities that encourage the collaboration
between schools locally and internationally.
This includes:
1. A computer laboratory.
A separate room should be dedicated for computer use.
Recommendation for a computer room for 10 computers:
-Room dimension: 10 meters x 6 meters (30ft x 20ft)
-Number of power sockets: 15
-Furniture: Tables and chairs
-AC Power condition: Reliable without surge, irregularity
and fluctuation
-Well ventilated ( because computers generate a lot of heat)
-Humidity: As low as possible
-Reasonably dust-free. Practical suggestions for this include
selection of computer lab site away from a murram
road and/ or planting grass around the computer lab, plastic
carpet and curtains for the windows.
-Burglar-proof for windows, roof and doors to ensure security
for the expensive technology.
2. Electric power.
-There should be enough fixed power points along the
sides with no cables running across the room.
-Surface sockets are recommended because they are the easiest
to troubleshoot.
-A Separate circuit breaker inside the computer laboratory.
-One UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) per computer (at least
500VA). APC UPS is a good brand as it also has a built-in
voltage stabilizer.
3. ICT equipment.
This includes Computers, Printers, Scanners, Digital cameras,
Projectors, etc.
Computers:
There are many generations of computers. The common ones
which are available for use in schools range from Intel
486s to Pentium III 700MHz and above computers. Some come
with CD-ROM drives ranging from 8X to 52X speed, RAM ranging
16 to 64MB, Hard Disk space ranging 250MB to 24 GB and CPU
speeds ranging from 66MHz to 700MHz and above.
Such computers are capable of running Windows95, Windows98
and Windows NT.
Minimum recommendations:
- CD-ROM speed (48 X )
- RAM ( 16 MHz)
- Hard Disk space (500MB)
- CPU speed ( 300 MHz)
Printers:
There are many printers on the market today. These include
color, black & white, deskjet printers, laser and
dot matrix printers.
- Dot Matrix printers are cheap both in cost and maintenance
but don't produce quality work and are very slow at printing
and noisy. There are 9pin, 24pin and 36pin dot matrix printer
heads. The more pins, the higher the quality of print. Dot
matrix printers are also capable of cutting stensils.
- Deskjet printers are reasonably cheap but have high
running costs. One set of cartridges (color printer) prints
one ream of paper. In a school environment, some departments
-- e.g Fine Art, Projects, etc -- may need a color printer.
- Laser Printers are expensive to buy, reasonably cheap
to maintain and produce high quality work and print faster
than Deskjets. A Laser ink catridge will print five reams
of paper.
Desirables:
- Scanners:
Scanners are used to convert normal photographs( taken by
ordinary cameras) into digital images which can be stored
as files on computers. In the digital form, the images
can be inserted in documents and also sent as email attachments.
Recommendations: LG Flatbed color 600dpi Optical Resolution
Scanners
- Digital cameras:
These produce digital images but are more expensive
than ordinary cameras .
- CD writers:
These are used to save/store large amounts of information
on CD-Rs (CD Recordables).
Advantages of CD-Rs:
-High storage capacity to the tune of 700MB
and above.
-Compact and Portable.
-Information on them can be changed.
-Affordable cost.
-Durable.
-Can be read by any computer with a CD-ROM
drive.
- Projectors:
There are two common types of projectors; Overhead projectors
and LCD projectors.
(i) Overhead projectors
These project work off transparent paper and off particular
colored paper on to a screen like a wall.
(ii) LCD projectors
These are used to project work off a computer on to a screen
like a wall.
4. Local Area Network (LAN) (workgroup).
(i) Why should computers be networked?
It is recommended that the computers are networked. Networking
computers allows them to share resources like drives, files
, printers,CD-ROMs and other computer peripherals. For example,
all Networked computers can share one printer.
In a networked laboratory, it is not necessary to have all
computers being the lastest model.
A particular computer laboratory could have 10 computers with
at least one Pentium III 64MB RAM, 10GB Hard Disk, 52X CD-ROM
and other older models all linked up on a Local Area Network
. The older models could share resourses which are on the
superior computer.
Sharing resources reduces both capital and operational costs.
(ii) How should the computers be networked?
A star arrangement (topology) is recommended for the LAN.
In a Star arrangement each computer has a separate network
cable to a central hub. A star arrangement is easy to
expand, to troubleshoot and to maintain.
Requirements for a 10 computer Star topology LAN:
- One 12-port 10BASE-T Hub (D-Link
, 3-COM , ReadyLink are good brands)
- Cable Trackings - 40 strips of 2" X
1"
- UTP CAT5 Cable role (100 meters)
- RJ45 Jacks & RJ45 Sockets - 40 of each (
to provide 10 extra sockets for future expansion)
- 10/100Kbps Network Interface Cards (NICs) - (one per
computer) . These come in two types i.e ISA and PCI.
Most computers on the market today come with PCI
slots. Therefore you need technical advice before purchasing
NICs.
- Wood screws - 4 boxes of 100 screws per box
- Wall plugs- 4 boxes of 100 plugs per box
5. Internet access.
It is necessary to connect the networked computers to the
internet to enable students and teachers communicate, collaborate
with other people and access global information.
There are a number of ways in which computers on a Local
Area Network can be connected to the internet. These are:
Ordinary Dialup Connection - What is involved?
-Fixed telephone line running form the PTT (General
Post Office) to the Computer Laboratory
-Modem (56Kbps)
-Dialup internet account subscribed with an Internet Service
Provider (ISP)
-Recurrent monthly costs: telephone bill, Internet subscription.
Advantages: Easy to setup, low capital costs.
Disadvantages: Expensive for a school, small bandwidth
hence slow access speed, unreliability of telephone line like
the Uganda case.
Cellular Dialup Connection - What is involved?
-Cellular mobile phone with a data cable.
-Modem (56Kbps)
-Dialup internet account subscribed with an Internet Service
Provider.
-Recurrent monthly costs: Airtime (pay-as-you-use) expense,
internet subscription and monthly service fee.
Advantages: Easy to setup, low capital costs.
Disadvantages: Expensive for a school , small bandwidth
hence slow access speed.
Wireless connection.
This ranges from connection via spread spectrum links from
local ISP points-of- presence to connections via VSATs (Very
Small Aperture Terminals) from International ISPs over satellite.
Spread Spectrum - What is involved?
-Outdoor Antenna
-Wireless Modem (Indoor unit)
-Wireless internet account subscribed with an Internet Service
Provider. Wireless internet account costs about four times
as much as a dialup account as it allows access for 24 hours.
-Recurrent monthly costs: Internet subscription
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPPMENT
Providing opportunities for school leaders and teachers to
increase their ability to use ICT.
Professional development will assist schools to:
- discover what their particular needs are.
- set school-specific objectives that aimtoimprove the skills
and confidence of teachers using ICT in order to enhance
student learning.
- promote good practice in the use of ICT to enhance teaching
and learning.
- provide opportunities for teachers to improve their skills
at their own pace.
- increase administrative efficiencies.
|
