The Rise and Demise of the School Computer Lab

This is my 17th year of teaching, and the number of changes with technology has been extreme. Back in my early years of teaching, the high school had one computer lab, and you’d have to reserve it weeks in advance if you wanted a class to use it. It had 30 computers, nothing fancy, and it was primarily used for typing papers.

            Gradually, more computer labs were added, and three were available for use in the library.  Still nothing fancy, they were still used mostly for word processing skills. Some classes had their own computer labs—mainly business, journalism and art; all the other departments had to use the ones in the library. As more and more classes wanted time, the school purchased a few carts with 30 laptops to stay in just one department. Those were the days: 30 laptops that had to be turned off and plugged in at the back of the cart. The high school kids were notorious for not plugging them in properly, and you’d end up with 22 charged laptops and eight that were useless that hour.

            And that’s the way it stayed for close to 10 years of my teaching career—until 2013, when my school went one-to-one. Every student received a laptop to use at school and at home, and with that, most computer labs went away.

            Our library media specialists have worked hard to make the old computer lab space into something useable, and most have been turned into collaborative learning areas. Another use for the old computer lab space is blended learning for certain classes. In these classes, half of the class might stay in the room with the teacher for extra tutoring or enrichment, while the other half works independently in the old computer lab space.

Our one-to-one road hasn’t been smooth the entire time; there have been highs and lows. Teachers have been asked to change their teaching styles somewhat, and for some, that means they have to step way out of their comfort zones. Students have had to adjust their learning, as well as learn new programs. But last year was an amazing year, and this year has started much smoother with more confident students and teachers.

I wouldn’t even recognize that teacher from 17 years ago, which is probably a good thing. 

Jennifer Higgins is a freelance writer and teacher from Kearney.