North Carolina State University may never build another computer lab. Instead the university has installed racks of equipment in windowless rooms where students and professors never go. This article describes a project called the Virtual Computing Lab. Users enter it remotely from their own computers in dormitory rooms or libraries. They get all…

Lourdes College is a small, private, coeducational commuter college located in northwest Ohio. In early 2009, the Lourdes College Board of Trustees ratified a new strategic plan promoting institutional strength and sustainability over the next six years. The desired outcome was to make Lourdes College a stronger, more vibrant, even more socially…

It used to be much easier to get paid by the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). A lot easier, that is, if you didn't work there. Saddled with an antiquated computer system and manual, repetitive data entry of time cards, officials at California's second-largest school district discovered the payroll department was mistakenly issuing $1…

"My eSorts" is a strategy for helping children learn to read and spell in a socially motivated context. It is based on developmental spelling research and the word study approach to teaching phonics and spelling. "eSorting" employs digital desktop publishing tools that allow children to author their own electronic word sorts and then share these…

Describes the layout and elements of an effective school computer lab. Includes configuration, storage spaces, cabling and electrical requirements, lighting, furniture, and computer hardware and peripherals. (PKP)

As news outlets create headlines such as "A Cloud & A Prayer," "The Cloud Is the Computer," and "Leveraging Clouds to Make You More Efficient," many readers have been left with cloud confusion. Many definitions exist for cloud computing, and a uniform definition is hard to find. In its most basic form, cloud…

Notes that economic and service factors may dictate that special fire protection measures be given to computer rooms. The discussion covers emergency planning, various types of fire detection and suppression systems, and future options, with particular attention to halon and possible halon replacements. A list of suggested readings is provided.…

Describes how Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Schools formed the Computer Access to Neighborhoods (CAN) Partnership, a joint public/private community venture to establish computer access centers for students and their families in 5 public library branches and 35 neighborhood sites. (PKP)

This paper describes how Eastern Illinois University (EIU) has approached the problem of training faculty to use and support its computer network by creating a new faculty committee called the Computer Resource Faculty (CRF). The Educational Computing Network (ECN) at EIU currently provides e-mail, bulletin boards, BITNET connections, simulation…

Richardson (Texas) Independent School District's Technology Center uses computer workstations in a local area network to support its technology education program. The curriculum features communications, electronics, manufacturing, and technology systems; manufacturing and construction graphics; and research and development in technology. (SK)

Describes a Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis Approach for the selection of personal computers that combines the capabilities of Analytic Hierarchy Process and Integer Goal Programing. An example of how decision makers can use this approach to determine what kind of personal computers and how many of each type to purchase is given. (nine…

At one time, the Caldwell High School Library at Caldwell Exempted Village Schools in Caldwell, Ohio, had two sections--the main room with the shelves, circulation desk, and tables and chairs, and an adjoining room with student desks. There was a wide opening to the back room, and glass partitions in the upper half of the wall separating the two…

Provides an overview of the Michigan State University Instructional Software Collection, housed by the university library, and the Computing Resource Center, operated by the computer laboratory. Cooperative efforts between the two units, resources and services, collection development, electronic access to the collections, staffing, and publicizing…

A Kentucky school district accepted a challenge to make computers and computer-assisted instruction available to all the district's students. Creative partnerships with businesses and searches for federal, state, and local grants helped raise the funds for technology in education. (MLF)

Discusses the abandonment of the traditional school chair and desk for more flexible public school furniture and provides tips for making a transition that combines technological considerations with flexibility and quality. Furniture planning that fosters team learning is highlighted. (GR)