ICT Room Refurbishment: Equipment

[dhicks]

Hello All,

 

We're going to be refurbishing our ICT Room over the summer. We're a private school, with smaller class sizes (and more limited classroom / desk space) than some schools. We're currently thinking 20 workstations, arranged around the outside of the room along three walls, with a teacher's desk and touch screen on the fourth wall. The workstations will be iMacs, the mid-range version with 24" monitors and 4 ports.

 

We can potentially fit a desk area in the centre of the room, moving some of the workstations to the centre and freeing up some space around the sides, giving us double-wide work areas. That would potentially give us space to stand more interesting equipment to create more specialised workstations - an audio workstation, a graphics workstation, etc.

 

Any thoughts / suggestions as to equipment for individual workstations? My thoughts so far:

 

Audio: USB keyboard on stand, USB sound interface, side-address condenser mic.

Video: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4k camera, lens, shotgun mic, boom, grip.

3D printing: not sure of model - something robust and easy to use and manage for classroom use.

Laser cutter: again, no idea what make / model might be best.

Stage Lighting: workstation with QLab installed. Probably wouldn't need any actual physical equipment, unless we could have a desktop-sized model of our stage setup?

[dhicks]

Any thoughts / suggestions as to equipment for individual workstations?

 

Ooh, just thought of one myself: are any schools using the new Apple VR headset at all? Is it suitable for a shared-use classroom setup?

[steveg]

What is the room going to be used to teach? Sounds like a whole bunch of expensive technology is going to be put in there but not sure of the plan that justifies the need / ties it all together?

 

Just one workstation for some uses would only allow teaching for 2 or 3 children at a time? Would everyone in the room be doing different things at the same time?

 

What does the room have in at the moment? How is it currently used?

[Rob_D]

So are each of these workstations going to have a different use case? (Sorry I can't imagine how that would work for teaching a whole class)

 

We've got Laserscript LS6840 PROs in our DT labs (the smaller models look like they'd fit in for you), they work great but do need to be serviced every year or so. What about Sticker cutters and other CNC type machines?

Our Technologies department uses Makerbot 3d printers, they seem to tick along fine.

If you aren't already, have a look a midi keybaords (we've got Novation launchkey 49 ones in our music rooms), they can have some sound desk functionality incorporated.

 

What about a programming/robotics workstation? You can get come pretty cool mini robots/robotic arms and I/O systems.

Art/graphics station? Either waycom (or similar) graphics tablet, or full boar with inclined touch-screen and stylus.

Science station? USB microscopes and other sensors.

Hang a weather station on the outside of the building and hook one into that? (although most weather stations I've seen don't need a dedicated PC)

3D scanning and 3d design? It would probably fit in with the 3d printer.

 

I assume you're also polling your staff to find out what they feel would be useful.

 

At £4k a pop, I can imagine many/any schools are using the apple vision, but some schools have tried other VR solutions with mixed results.

Edited April 17, 2024 by Rob_D

[TRSJon]

Only comment on the devices themselves - when I've done this previously (and not for a couple of years), but we went with mac mini, 24" separate monitor and a mount to house the mac mini on the back of the monitor (or in a couple of cases under the desk). That way if either part breaks, you don't have to get rid of the entire unit - and actually worked out cheaper. Just an option.

 

Hello All,

 

We're going to be refurbishing our ICT Room over the summer. We're a private school, with smaller class sizes (and more limited classroom / desk space) than some schools. We're currently thinking 20 workstations, arranged around the outside of the room along three walls, with a teacher's desk and touch screen on the fourth wall. The workstations will be iMacs, the mid-range version with 24" monitors and 4 ports.

 

We can potentially fit a desk area in the centre of the room, moving some of the workstations to the centre and freeing up some space around the sides, giving us double-wide work areas. That would potentially give us space to stand more interesting equipment to create more specialised workstations - an audio workstation, a graphics workstation, etc.

 

Any thoughts / suggestions as to equipment for individual workstations? My thoughts so far:

 

Audio: USB keyboard on stand, USB sound interface, side-address condenser mic.

Video: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4k camera, lens, shotgun mic, boom, grip.

3D printing: not sure of model - something robust and easy to use and manage for classroom use.

Laser cutter: again, no idea what make / model might be best.

Stage Lighting: workstation with QLab installed. Probably wouldn't need any actual physical equipment, unless we could have a desktop-sized model of our stage setup?

[Rob_D]

Just a thought, but would it be better to have all the computers equipped for all the things?

 

So have small midi keyboards for all the machines (maybe on slide-out runners, so they're out of the way for non-music lessons). 3d printer can be networked with the software on all the machines. Laser cutter might need to be attached to a dedicated machine (ours do), but there's no reason the design software can't be on all the others. The same for lighting, put the software on all of the machines. Get a waycom tablet for each machine for art/design, again it can be moved aside for other lessons (if you're thinking about an apple-vision then the project must be pretty well funded). Something like robotics/programming, get a handful of units that can be shared around.

[Millgate_Jon]

Ooh, just thought of one myself: are any schools using the new Apple VR headset at all? Is it suitable for a shared-use classroom setup?

 

is the Apple Vision Pro released in the UK yet? None of our suppliers have any live stock or price feeds showing, not even available to pre-order.

[dhicks]

Sounds like a whole bunch of expensive technology is going to be put in there but not sure of the plan that justifies the need / ties it all together?

 

I should have maybe phrased the original question more as a "what cool / useful / interesting stuff could we potentially add to a classroom" theoretical question, rather than a this-is-what-we're-doing sort of question. The current (dull but practical) plan is to replace our current 20 all-in-one iMacs with like-for-like new models and, as far as I know, keep the same layout.

 

Just one workstation for some uses would only allow teaching for 2 or 3 children at a time? Would everyone in the room be doing different things at the same time?

 

We have some very small GCSE classes, so yes, potentially.

 

What does the room have in at the moment? How is it currently used?

 

The room currently has 21 2015-model iMacs (20 for pupils, 1 for the teacher) - those will stop receiving MacOS security updates at the end of summer. The plan is to reformat those with ChromeOS and put them in other parts of the school. Pupils each have an assigned Chromebook, kept in a charging cabinet in their form classrooms, so some ICT teaching could be moved to those devices, or we could have some Macbooks used at the central table in the ICT room to supplement numbers.

[dhicks]

when I've done this previously (and not for a couple of years), but we went with mac mini, 24" separate monitor and a mount to house the mac mini on the back of the monitor (or in a couple of cases under the desk).

 

We did look at that option, but the all-in-one iMacs just take up that little bit less room - space is somewhat at a premium in our building. The current devices (also all-in-one-iMacs) we have in there have lasted their full lifetime (9 years?) okay, although we should of course make sure we have a good warrenty in place. There's an Apple store handily just down the road, so if anything did go wrong we should be able to get a repair pretty quickly.

[Chris_Cook]

We use Yamaha for the music keyboards and audio interface. This works really well for us.

 

We've recently got a Boxford lasercutter. That doesn't seem to have caused us many issues so far. One of our 6th form has spotted the same machine on a university trip. It uses a standard Ruida controller internally, so I would be hopeful if that develops issues or needs an upgrade to an opensource one that that wouldn't be impossible.

 

We've got a variety of 3d printers, the Prusa/ender3 type ones seem to work well. We've also got Flashforge Finder printers that have more of a frame around them if you want something more robust. Either way, these really need a tidy area to be set up for them. The Prusa/Ender ones are much easier to get parts and upgrades for on Amazon. One school has recently got a massive Anycubic printer thats really quick.

 

The Black magic stuff looks reasonably prices. I've only used the Atem Mini mixer/streamer though.

 

For stage lighting the Zero 88 FLXs are good for an actual console. There is a visualiser available I think. I'm also a big fan of Avolites, but that's normally out of the budget of schools unless you go second hand. There was a Diamond 4 on ebay the other day that should have a visualiser built in. But that runs Windows XP though, and its huge.

[dhicks]

So have small midi keyboards for all the machines

 

We have a set of small (2-octave, I think) USB keyboards that can be used with our pupil's classroom ChromeOS devices.

 

3d printer can be networked with the software on all the machines. Laser cutter might need to be attached to a dedicated machine (ours do), but there's no reason the design software can't be on all the others.

 

Oh, indeed, I'd aim for any software like that to be available on all machines, or (my preference) use something web-based.

 

The same for lighting, put the software on all of the machines.

 

QLab's licensing is quite expensive, I'm not sure we could justify more than a couple of licenses. We currently have the one license, installed on the performing arts department's Macbook, but I've never seen themn actually use it so far.

 

Get a waycom tablet for each machine for art/design

 

All our pupil (and teacher, I think) Chromebooks are stylus-capable. The pupils, of course, mostly instantly lost the included styluses, but we could keep a set handy in the Art or ICT rooms for this kind of thing.

 

if you're thinking about an apple-vision then the project must be pretty well funded

 

This is more of an exercise so I can go to the Bursar and say "hey, you know what we could install in there..." and have some idea of availability / practicality / pricing.

 

Something like robotics/programming, get a handful of units that can be shared around.

 

Good point. The ICT teacher uses BBC Microbits for most of the robotics / physical computing curriculum, which work very well and would also, again, work on ChromeOS and be portable around classrooms. We also have one Lego set used for the FIRST LEGO League, that's run as an after-school club. For Raspberry Pis, I think the Pimoroni Trilobot might work best, being a self-contained unit with Pi, motors and battery, so connectable to as a unit via remote desktop - I'm maybe going to buy one myself as a test. Some other self-contained Pi-based devices might be handy - something we could mount on a wall and have pupils remote into.

[dhicks]

We use Yamaha for the music keyboards and audio interface.

 

Ah, you mean like the Yamaha RUio16-D interface? Yes, that might be a good idea. I have a Focusrite Scarlett and a couple of cheaper Behringer U-Phoria UM2 interfaces, but something a bit snazzier than the Behringer might be a good idea.

 

We've recently got a Boxford lasercutter. That doesn't seem to have caused us many issues so far. One of our 6th form has spotted the same machine on a university trip. It uses a standard Ruida controller internally, so I would be hopeful if that develops issues or needs an upgrade to an opensource one that that wouldn't be impossible.

 

Thankyou, that's good to know.

 

We've got a variety of 3d printers, the Prusa/ender3 type ones seem to work well. We've also got Flashforge Finder printers that have more of a frame around them if you want something more robust. Either way, these really need a tidy area to be set up for them. The Prusa/Ender ones are much easier to get parts and upgrades for on Amazon.

 

We currently have an older-model Makerbot, I think purchased when we last had the room refubished (so maybe 9 years ago). I've not seen it used past a couple of times the first few weeks it was bought, so maybe something to leave a space for but not buy until actually wanted.

 

The Black magic stuff looks reasonably prices. I've only used the Atem Mini mixer/streamer though.

 

Same here - I've used the Atem Mini as a 4-way HDMI-to-USB switcher, but with our couple of (now very old) Panasonic camcorders rather than anything fancier. It's the sort of thing that would be best stored in a secure cupboard in the ICT room and used as required rather than left out on teh desk, of course.

 

For stage lighting the Zero 88 FLXs are good for an actual console.

 

Ah! An actual physical lighting desk, good idea. Admitedly, maybe more appropriate for the stage in the main hall (which is a different project...). Most fringe / pro theatres these days seem to be set up ready to plug in a Mac with QLab installed, so that's what I was thinking of, but a physical lighting copntroller would make sense.

[dhicks]

is the Apple Vision Pro released in the UK yet? None of our suppliers have any live stock or price feeds showing, not even available to pre-order.

 

Ah, good point. I think a couple of our pupils might have / have had a go on one, that must of been if they were over in the US over Christmas maybe - I'll check with the ICT teacher and see if any of the pupils can give us any feedback.

[DrCheese]

Ah, good point. I think a couple of our pupils might have / have had a go on one, that must of been if they were over in the US over Christmas maybe - I'll check with the ICT teacher and see if any of the pupils can give us any feedback.

 

They're also $3499 so I wouldn't expect to get many Granted Edu pricing will be down somewhat but still - That and you normally have to buy the right lenses for each person. I wouldn't consider them usable in education at all currently.

[Millgate_Jon]

Reminds me of the Hololens a few years ago, the Microsoft rep came into demo them to us - incredible piece of kit but he couldn`t understand why the £4k per headset price point might be a bit of a blocker to most schools in the UK!

[Chris_Cook]

Ah, you mean like the Yamaha RUio16-D interface? Yes, that might be a good idea. I have a Focusrite Scarlett and a couple of cheaper Behringer U-Phoria UM2 interfaces, but something a bit snazzier than the Behringer might be a good idea.

 

...

 

Ah! An actual physical lighting desk, good idea. Admitedly, maybe more appropriate for the stage in the main hall (which is a different project...). Most fringe / pro theatres these days seem to be set up ready to plug in a Mac with QLab installed, so that's what I was thinking of, but a physical lighting copntroller would make sense.

 

I'm not sure of the exact model of midi keyboard, but its a keyboard with usb sound built in rather than just an audio interface. It helps us a lot with latency issues on Sibelius on a PC. But a Mac probably won't have the same issues thinking about it. We also used the UM2 and focusrite interfaces and both do the job reasonably well. You have to try quite hard to find something with bad sound these days, its mostly about the warmth/tone of the sound that comes out when the signal level is pushed towards the limit. Thats where a lot of the higher end equipment really comes in and that's down to personal taste, and what instruments and Genres are being recorded.

 

QLab is good. A lot of shows now have different requirements for queuing music and video files which is where that really excels. The benifits of a physical desk are normally the physical faders for controlling lights especiallly when there isn't time to do a full program. A computerised system takes a lot longer to get programmed up for a show.

[dhicks]

you normally have to buy the right lenses for each person.

 

Ah, I thought I'd read that somewhere - yes, maybe one to stick in the maybe-one-day pile. We had a demo from Google a few years back where they came in and had all the pupils try out their phone-in-a-cardboard-box VR headsets, which worked well for what they did with it, but there seemed to be little you could use in a general classroom setting.

[dhicks]

I'm not sure of the exact model of midi keyboard, but its a keyboard with usb sound built in rather than just an audio interface.

 

We have a set of 10 Korg smaller 2-octave keyboards - connected and powered by USB, I think they were something like £30 each from Amazon. They've not been used much by ICT, but I think music have just started using them some more with Flat.io for our GCSE music pupils.

 

I was thinking of a an audio interface more as something to plug a condenser mic into, but thinkiong about it it probably wouldn't be hugely useful to have a mic plugged in at a workstation in a crowded ICT lab, we'd probably do better with something portable that could be used somewhere quieter, for which we'd probably get a dedicated USB mic.

 

The benifits of a physical desk are normally the physical faders for controlling lights especiallly when there isn't time to do a full program. A computerised system takes a lot longer to get programmed up for a show.

 

I think that's what our performing arts department staff have found - they entusiastically bought QLab (and a Macbook to run it on!), then just use the manual lighting control board anyway.

[PotNoodleTech]

It seems quite an unusually long list of disparate subject specific equipment you are trying to put it one suite?

 

I mean we have 3d printers and laser cutters, but only in the DT department

We have mixing desks lighting desks etc, but only in the drama department

We have music interfaces usb keyboards etc, but only in the music department

etc

 

Just wondering why all in one room?

[Rob_D]

Just wondering why all in one room?

 

dhicks did say they were a bit short on classroom space. So multifunction rooms could be required if they're maintaining a broad curriculum offering. I could see an ICT suite needing to pull double duty as a music room and a product design room in a small school.

[dhicks]

It seems quite an unusually long list of disparate subject specific equipment you are trying to put it one suite?

 

Rob_D has it pretty much right - we have some very small GCSE class sizes for some Year 10 / Year 11 subjects (2 or 3 pupils), not enough to have dedicated classrooms per subject, and space is at a premium. We don't have a DT department, although we do have a nice Art department. Our ICT Room is one place where we have a fixed layout, and as we're looking at refurbishing the room I got to thinking if we could maybe put aside some (small) spaces for dedicated subject-specific equipment.

 

The current layout is with benching around 3 sides of a square room, so we have the classic two empty corners at the back. One is currently filled by a never-used 3D printer, the other just with assorted junk, although we do have a printer / scanner that could be moved there. I'm thinking maybe a laser cutter might get more use, although I was wondering what other options might work there, hence this thread.

 

We have a portable set of music keyboards, I think those will work best kept as a portable set. As I've already said in this thread, I was thinking of maybe an "audio workstation" kind of setup, but on reflection there's little point in having a mic just stood in a room, we might as well keep stuff like that as portable kit and plug in as needed. The same with video editing - you don't need dedicated equipment these days to transfer footage from camera to computer, any of the computers in the room should be equally capable of doing video editing type tasks, so any camera equipment would best be kept securely in a cupboard and handed out as needed. For the lighting desk, I think you're right - it might be nice to have a setup in the ICT Room, but the equipment is probably better off down in the hall for use by the drama department. Some small audio mixing desks might be handy, though, maybe kept with the keyboards.

[PotNoodleTech]

Rob_D has it pretty much right - we have some very small GCSE class sizes for some Year 10 / Year 11 subjects (2 or 3 pupils), not enough to have dedicated classrooms per subject, and space is at a premium. We don't have a DT department, although we do have a nice Art department. Our ICT Room is one place where we have a fixed layout, and as we're looking at refurbishing the room I got to thinking if we could maybe put aside some (small) spaces for dedicated subject-specific equipment.

 

The current layout is with benching around 3 sides of a square room, so we have the classic two empty corners at the back. One is currently filled by a never-used 3D printer, the other just with assorted junk, although we do have a printer / scanner that could be moved there. I'm thinking maybe a laser cutter might get more use, although I was wondering what other options might work there, hence this thread.

 

We have a portable set of music keyboards, I think those will work best kept as a portable set. As I've already said in this thread, I was thinking of maybe an "audio workstation" kind of setup, but on reflection there's little point in having a mic just stood in a room, we might as well keep stuff like that as portable kit and plug in as needed. The same with video editing - you don't need dedicated equipment these days to transfer footage from camera to computer, any of the computers in the room should be equally capable of doing video editing type tasks, so any camera equipment would best be kept securely in a cupboard and handed out as needed. For the lighting desk, I think you're right - it might be nice to have a setup in the ICT Room, but the equipment is probably better off down in the hall for use by the drama department. Some small audio mixing desks might be handy, though, maybe kept with the keyboards.

 

Cool - what 3d printer is it - do you want to donate it to a school that uses 3d printers every day bit can't afford them?

[dhicks]

Cool - what 3d printer is it - do you want to donate it to a school that uses 3d printers every day bit can't afford them?

 

That might be a good idea, yes. It's a MakerBot Replicator 5th Generation, bought 2014, so 10 years old. I think it's mostly in a pretty good state, if probably somewhat dusty, the extruder will probably need cleaning out or whatever before being used again. I think we still have some rolls of filament for it.

 

I'll check with the Bursar as part of the ICT Room refurbishment what we want to do with the old equipment. I think the current soon-to-be-out-of-support iMacs are going to be be reformatted with ChromeOS and distributed around the building, so those are spoken for.

 

If you wanted to have the 3D printer, how would we get it to you - would you come and pick it up, or would we be best shipping it to you in some way?