Totally Off-The-Wall ICT Ideas Wanted!

[tech_guy]

I have a bet with a colleague that I can't get something totally bonkers relating to ICT become a reality and actually happen in our school.

The project has to totally insane in reality but to all intents and purposes appear to be 'an excellent idea let's do it' kind of IT thing.

Something that will grab the kid's imaginations and get them involved in ICT in a way that perhaps they never would have before.

Any (legal) suggestions?

We have a budget of around £2k.

[klawd]

Buy a set of 30 screwdrivers and let the kids strip down and rebuild your IT suite?

:|

[laserblazer]

Give them the HT's credit card number

[torledo]

I have a bet with a colleague that I can't get something totally bonkers relating to ICT become a reality and actually happen in our school.

The project has to totally insane in reality but to all intents and purposes appear to be 'an excellent idea let's do it' kind of IT thing.

Something that will grab the kid's imaginations and get them involved in ICT in a way that perhaps they never would have before.

Any (legal) suggestions?

We have a budget of around £2k.

I've always liked the idea of spending some money on Netware 6.5 (don't laugh) licensing just to run netware, not netware/suse enterprise. I thing most people would think you nuts for going *back* to netware but it would work - and you'd have better joy with setting up printers

That or buy 4 of those hideous RM One machines now that is insanity.

I know it's not 'off-the-wall' but you can't really get very 'off-the-wall' with just 2K. Plus I'm an IT engineer I'm not interested in capturing pupils imaginations. I'd rather confuse, maybe by blowing a million (money no object scenario) on an ibm P595 and plonking it slap bang in the middle of a classroom. Like something out of 2001: ....one morning it just appearing no rhyme or reason.

[FN-GM]

Why don't you put the money towards teaching the students how the components work in the computer, how t build one with real examples.

Z

[joe90bass]

Buy an interactive whiteboard and see if anyone actually uses it 8O

[tech_guy]

Buy an interactive whiteboard and see if anyone actually uses it 8O

We already have enough of those sitting neglected :cry:

[webman]

Buy an interactive whiteboard and see if anyone actually uses it 8O

Sounds like the teachers haven't been trained how to use them effectively. Ours get used so much that teachers "forget" to tuen the projectors off :?

[FN-GM]

Do you find that allot of the boards are used as backgrounds for the projectors and not actually used as a IWB.

Z

[webman]

No, they're getting quite confident in using ACTIVstudio and the pen and the interactivity (we also use ACTIVote). We have a few 'champions' who have taken the reins and created some really good stuff to show off and the others get a bit jealous and want to learn how to do it

[tech_guy]

Oh, they've had all the training we can throw at them. They've been kicked and prodded. Once the initial enthusiam had worn off they soon stopped using them.

[tech_guy]

I keep forgetting I work with a bunch of luddites ;-)

[joe90bass]

Sounds like the teachers haven't been trained how to use them effectively. Ours get used so much that teachers "forget" to tuen the projectors off :?

In some cases that's very true training at the right time (not months in advance!) is key, in others it's people wanting them because they look good! Most are just projection screens, but try and take them away to use elsewhere

[Midget]

tech_guy> how about a 40-50" LCD TV showing random stuff in reception.

You could put a camera on the wall behind the TV and have that hooked up to the TV so that it acts like a one way window.

[webman]

I know this is cutting it a bit fine with the £2k budget, but what about getting an imac?