Classroom Workstation Setup

[deano]

Hi ppl,

 

we have just had a load of computers delivered for the summer jobs and we have got to setup a classroom full of PC's.

 

I unpacked one before i got home and set it up, but i'm not sure of the layout. All my other PC's are a traditional setup, i.e. Monitor sits on top of desktop, but i want to try the PC on its side and monitor on the desk. I like this better as it give the user a little more desk space but i'm not sure of the ergonomics with it being too low on the desk.

 

Anybody have any thoughts??

[kearton]

Ergonomically, I was under the impression that the top of the monitor should be at eye level. IMHO if the monitor is sitting on top of the desktop, it's harder for the little darlings to move or fiddle with it, so that's my preference.

[User3204]

We have been moving to Shuttle machines, which means the box has to go beside it, or as we have in come rooms in a "caddy" hanging underneath the desk.

 

I am getting some new NEC machines, that are slim uprights, so because of the limited space available in the room, I will try to have the box behind the monitor. This shouldn't be hard, they have really deep desks and the monitors are all 19"...

[Joedetic]

Our desks werent deep enough for there to be the machine on the top of the desk and the keyboard with any space for cables etc...they only just fitted.

 

If the kids had the keyboards propped up with the legs instead of flat they quite often managed to snap USB keys in the front USB ports on the mini-ATX machines we had.

 

So much soldering

[beeswax]

can I assume that you work in a secondary school? How did you cope with the ergonomics of monitors sat on machines when the pupil stands less than 1.5 metres tall? The problem is that different growth rates at that time of life tend to make ergonomics less a science, and more guesswork. I don't think that pupils will be spending the same amount of time in front of a computer that, say, a secretary will. You have to work to the average.

[Joedetic]

Adjustable chairs.

[Gatt]

Adjustable chairs.

 

Your brave! kids here have standard plastic chairs - and they wreck them - along with the desk, the mice, keyboard, PC, Monitor

 

In fact they wreck anything they can get their grubby little mitts on

[Ric_]

Adjustable chairs.

 

Your brave! kids here have standard plastic chairs - and they wreck them - along with the desk, the mice, keyboard, PC, Monitor

 

In fact they wreck anything they can get their grubby little mitts on

 

We have adjustable plastic chairs in the ICT suites... best of both worlds

 

We probably aren't allowed to but we make the kids sit on the floor if they persistantly mess about with the chairs... if they don't know how to sit on a chair properly they don't sit on one at all :twisted:

[deano]

Thanks for everyones reply!

 

I never really thought of it in the respect that the students are only using them for about 40-45mins a day, and maybe not everyday!

 

The side approach gives the room a little more flexibility, there is alot more desk space and it stops them from fiddling and shoving things in the usb ports!!

[nicholab]

We got some dc7700 on order with all in one stands they are height adjustable.

[maniac]

We set most of ours up so the tower stands behind the monitor (obviously all flat panel screens now) This way the temptation to fiddle is even less, and gives even more desk space we find.

 

Mike.

[steve]

We now set our slim line towers up in pairs:

 

| - PC

[] - tft monitor

-- keyboard

 

|[] []||[] []|

-- -- -- --

 

or if a the end of a desk, we switch it to stop the towers being knocked off:

 

[]||[] []||[]

-- -- -- --

 

allows keyboards / mice to be put between tower and monitor, giving a reasonable amount of desk space if needed.

[Trav]

Hi

We have mini towers across the back of 17" flat glass fronted screens with k/b and mouse in front of that. We've found that it's the best way to maximise the amount of machines that we get into a given area so as to get one pupil to one machine as far as possible. We don't allow cd/dvd or floppy drives in any machine and disable access to usb drives ('drives' being the optimum word, not usb equip ie. scanners etc.). We have a printer in each room mapped by a script using 'Con2prt' with environment variables on each machine.

We use standard plastic stools of heights dependant of year where computers are based, these are stacked at the end of last lesson in any day so as to allow cleaners to do best job possible.

We have a teachers machine in each suite together with an I.W.B. where possible, this allows the teacher to display and do what they want the children to see and know about.

We also have aircon in each suite to keep the little darling awake, as without it they tend to fall asleep towards the end of the day (not so bad now that we have flat screens therefor less heat).

We are fitting a DVD player into each suite because you can get at least 2 classes into the I.C.T. areas so that they can watch appropriate subject material which releases a teacher to do other things or have non-contact.

 

Can't think of any other info I can put in but it all runs quite well.

 

Hope this info helps.