Mr. Braden's ITGS Page

Research suggests that an important reason IT is not useful in the classroom because

• Not enough computers for every student.
• However, a 1:1 ration is also not beneficial as lesson plans on the computer (online learning) tend to isolate the student. Students don’t interact with others and are not encouraged to develop thinking, reasoning, discussion and presentation skills.
• US gov’t is aiming for a 5:1 ratio in all state schools.
• The best ratio seems to be 2 or 3 to 1

Design a spreadsheet to determine the student computer ratio in the past and predict the number of computers needed to meet certain  predicted ratios.

1.       Design a spreadsheet table to calculate the student:computer ratios for a school of 800 students for the following situations:

a. 2002/03 – 2 computer labs (23 computers/lab)

b. 2003/2004 - 2 computer labs (same) and library (15 computers)

c. 2004/05 – 2 computer labs, library and one mobile laptop cart (20/cart). For ITGS and Multimedia students factor in that 37 students require a 1:1 ratio

d. 2005/06 - 2 computer labs, library and 2 laptop carts. For ITGS and Multimedia students factor in 10 more students)

e. 2006/07 - 3 computer labs, library, 2 laptop carts. For the ITGS and Multimedia no change in student numbers)

2. Answer the following questions based on your data:

a. How many computers are needed to meet the US government's target of 5:1?

b.  How many computers will be needed to reach 3:1 ratio ?

c .   How many computers will be needed to reach 1:1 ratio ?

3.    What expenses does this scenario not cover? List your answer at the bottom of your spreadsheet.