We recently overhauled our process around moblie labs prompted mostly
by internal thefts of a few laptops off carts, but we'd had poor care
issues on and off over the years as well and pulled carts from service
a couple times to call attention to the problem.
We finally issued keys to the carts to teachers who want to use them
and now deliver them locked. We also pulled a few cart-using teachers
into a quick process for defining cart use expectations for teachers
and for students. Those documents are prominently displayed on the
carts and teachers have reviewed them with students. We also now
include a daily status update in a pocket on the inside door of each
cart that verifies if any laptops are not on the carts for a valid
reason; teachers are required to sign off on the condition of the cart
when it is received and when they lock it up at end of use. They can
also leave us support comments about cart laptops. We fill in the
reservations each day and check the sheets each afternoon. We went
over these changes in detail with each teacher as they came downstairs
to pick up a key.
Feedback on these changes has been good and people are cooperating.
The status sheet signoff seems to work well--it's low tech but
effective. If this erodes over time, I will refer issues to principals
as a supervision issue rather than putting the kids in the middle by
suspending cart privileges. We make 300+ deliveries each quarter and
have our hands full without chasing teachers down for reminders (yes,
1:1 is a saner way to do this, and we will eventually get there).
Substitutes still pose tricky problems with carts. We put a cart key
in each school offices for subs to use, and going forward, will
include cart orientation in training for new subs added to our list--
but Ihat doesn't help our existing sub list. We expect teachers to
convey expectations to their sub, but whether that will work or not
remains to be seen.
If listserv folks want a copy of these documents (teacher/student
expectations and status update), I'm happy to share them, but speaking
as a former listserv co-manager, PLEASE DON'T CC THE WHOLE LIST with
your request. Send me something directly.
May your spring breaks be warm and sunny..
Curt Lieneck
Director of Information Technology
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
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