Computer labs go mobile

By Trisha Marczak (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, November 14, 2008

Students in Vicki Hanneman’s third grade class worked diligently on rainforest research projects this week from lap top computers at their very own desks.

“I can learn about the Bengal Tiger in different ways,” said 8-year-old Noelle Dew as she scrolled through pictures of the tiger on a Goggle image Web page.

There’s something about working from a lap top at their own desks that makes elementary students a little bit more at ease, said third grade Fergus Falls teacher Vicki Hanneman.

Working on projects related to rainforest animals and preservation, students in Hanneman’s class were proving their Internet knowledge and enjoying the chance to do it in a familiar setting, thanks to a mobile computer lab donated this year by the Frank Veden Trust through the 544 Education Foundation Board.

“It’s really cool and we don’t have to go to the computer lab,” said Echo Watkins as she sat at her desk surrounded by her own supplies.

Hanneman said the idea of taking part in research in the students’ familiar classroom is good for her too, as it allows her to utilize the white board, posters and books to help the students along.

“The excitement is wonderful,” Hanneman said.

It also minimizes the competition to get a spot in the regular computer lab.

Hanneman has had access to the district’s mobile computer labs in years past, but says the benefits of having one more available to teachers and students has made a world of difference.

“It could come to me,” Hanneman said. “I didn’t have to go find a lab.”

Along with navigating their way around the Internet, the computers also give students a chance to learn a thing or two about responsibility.

“They’re very comfortable and they take very good care of them,” Hanneman said. “They always carry them with two hands and clean each one.”