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eMINTS equipment
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Furniture
The furniture selection choices made by eMINTS' classrooms include
three types of student worktables: plain tables, modified tables and specialized
computer desks.
- Plain tables - Regular folding or fixed-leg tables, without built-in
storage places, built-in keyboard trays or cable raceways.
- Modified tables - Tables that have some accommodations for computer
equipment, like built-in storage cubicles, keyboard trays, cable raceways and/or
cable holes and grommets.
- Specialized computer tables - Furniture specifically designed for computers.
They feature specific types of keyboard trays, monitor storage, etc. Two varieties
were found in eMINTS classrooms: tables with Plexiglas shields over a recessed
angled monitor or tables with pullout keyboards and pop-up monitors.
Plain tables
The plain tables used in eMINTS' classrooms generally are 60"
or 72" long. They have wood laminate or other laminate tops, and do not have any
additional features.
- The least expensive furniture option.
- They easily fit into most classrooms.
- Each table can provide sufficient workspace for two students, depending on
the features and arrangement of the workstation. Longer tables provide more workspace,
but also take up more floor space.
- Lack of material storage options. These tables do not have places to store
books, school supplies or student papers.
- Typically there are no accommodations made to store keyboards, CPUs or cables.
- Smaller tables may not give older students enough table space to work comfortably.
Some questions to ask when considering plain tables
- Is the table height adjustable?
- Where are table legs in relation to tabletop?
- What options are available to store student materials?
- What kind of computer monitor am I considering using? The standard eMINTS'
17" monitor or a flat panel monitor? How much workspace does the monitor occupy?
- Where will students keep their keyboards?
- Where will the CPU sit in relation to the table?
- Where and how will cables be stored?
- How will the classroom be arranged?
Plain Tables
Modified tables
The modified tables observed in eMINTS' classrooms present a
variety of options. These tables have special features for the computer (keyboard
trays, cable raceways, holes and grommets in the tabletops for cables) and student
storage (under carriage storage compartments). These features come from one of
three sources: selected and installed by district personnel, installed by the
manufacturer, or as part of the original table design. The list below addresses
these tables and characteristic additions.
- Potential for great versatility, including cable/wiring storage, student
materials storage, CPU storage, keyboard storage.
- Each modification has potential to help organize student workspace.
- Well-chosen computer features reduce some risks of damage to machines, cables
and wiring.
- Each modification or addition increases unit costs.
- The installation of different features potentially can reduce the amount
of student legroom while seated at the table.
- Some modifications also change the relative ease with which students interact
with or access the technology, for example, access the CPU, keyboard or monitor.
Specific considerations for modified tables
When considering modified tables, your selection of extra features
will determine how well the table works as a workstation. Consequently, you need
to consider each extra feature separately as well as in combination. Common modifications
include keyboard trays, CPU storage racks and hangers, cable raceways, and holes
and grommets for cable access.
Keyboard trays
- Inexpensive modification, easy to install.
- Increase available table space.
- Provide storage location for keyboard and mouse.
- Can be installed to provide each student with a separate work area on either
side of the tray.
- Easily abused, misused or broken.
- Slide-out trays can make working at tables difficult for students by creating
additional distance between student, table, CPU and monitor when typing.
- The size of the installed tray is constrained by the table dimensions. Trays
that are too small to accommodate both the keyboard and the mouse reduce the functionality
of the workspace by requiring students to work on multiple surfaces.
- There are ergonomic reasons for insuring that the keyboard and mouse are
on the same surface. Having them on different surfaces requires that students
extend their arms to access the mouse. This situation increases the risk of carpal
tunnel syndrome.
Three examples of keyboard trays
CPU storage racks and hangers
- All CPU racks and hangers move the CPU off of the floor, preventing accidental
bumping and possible cable disconnection. A stored CPU facilitates cleaning around
and under the unit. CPU hangers can be installed in the center of the table, on
either end of the table or behind the table.
- CPU storage racks installed in the center of tables make the features of
the unit (On/Off Switch, Disk Drives, etc.) accessible to both students. They
also help divide the table areas into two clearly defined workspaces.
- However, center racks also make the CPU prone to bumping by student's knees
and legs. This placement generally eliminates installation of a keyboard tray,
and prevents students from sitting directly in front of the computer monitor.
- CPU storage racks installed on the end of the table frees up the center area
for a keyboard tray.
- However this arrangement makes the CPU difficult for both students to access.
Legroom gained in the middle of the table is lost to the student seated nearest
CPU.
- CPU storage racks installed behind the table preserves student seating space
under the table. This option has the potential to reduce the length of cables
needed to connect the CPU with the monitor, since the CPU can be installed directly
under the monitor.
- However, because the CPU is placed in the aisle space between tables, it
is prone to being bumped and jostled by passers-by. In this installation, the
CPU is not easily accessible to either student.
Examples of CPU racks and hangers
Cable storage raceways
- These features improve classroom safety by organizing wires and connections
so they are out of walkways and common areas. Careful storage of wires and cables
reduces the risk of inadvertent disconnection and vandalism. When installed under
the tabletop, these cables become inaccessible to students
- Cable raceways can be installed under the tabletop or mounted flush with
the table surface. Flush mounted raceways make each table 2"-3" wider, thus making
the aisles between tables that much narrower.
Cable holes and grommets
- These features allow cable access through the tabletop. Grommets are
caps or covers for the holes.
Many cable holes are pre-drilled, although their position can be specified when
ordering the table and additional holes can be drilled if needed. In positioning
cable holes, take care to note the location of the holes in relation to the monitor
and the CPU. Having a monitor seated on the middle of a tabletop with cable holes
in a corner exposes cables and takes up desk space.
Specialized desks
The term "specialized desks" refers to two types of tables specifically
manufactured to accommodate computer equipment. Although there are many manufacturers
of such tables, extenders and furniture systems, the eMINTS classrooms that have
installed these desks have chosen one of two types:
- Type 1 desks feature a recessed monitor set at an angle and covered by a
Plexiglas sheet. This Plexiglas sheet is flush with the desktop and affords a
large workspace relative to the size of the desk. In this system, the keyboard
sits on a tray stored under the tabletop. These desks have shelves for the CPU
unit. The computer desk is one part of a larger system, and two additional units
are necessary to provide workspaces for the students assigned to each computer.
- Type 2 desks feature a relatively complex mechanism to adjust the position
of the monitor. The area containing the monitor is covered by a solid piece of
laminate that is flush with the desktop when the keyboard is stored in the desk.
When the keyboard is moved into the work position, the monitor is moved into a
position where students can see it. The keyboard is stored in one of two ways,
on a sliding tray or on a folding mechanism.
- Both of these types of desks store the computer away from the desktop, classroom
aisles and other work areas.
- By placing the monitors under the desktop, they do not block student views
of the instructional areas and smart board when the computers are not being used.
- These desks are very expensive. Beyond the computer unit, creating workable
desk space for multiple students requires purchase of desk extenders. Providing
students workspace comparable to that of 60" table requires purchase of two workspace
extenders.
- For some students viewing the monitor is a problem. Typically, these tables
are designed for adults, but many students are not tall enough to see the monitor
in its extended position. Typically, this leads students to sit or kneel on the
floor to view the monitor. Teachers in all classrooms with specialized desks report
that special accommodations are necessary for shorter students.
Specific considerations for type 1 desks
- Although glare resistant and scratch resistant surfaces are available, the
desk surfaces of Type 1 desks are still reflect overhead lights and are subject
to scratches and other damage through constant use in the classroom environment.
- Most varieties of the Type 1 desk place the CPU, monitor, and keyboard all
in single "glass top" section, making it unusable as regular student desk and
requiring students to move from their normal workspace to use the computer. The
configuration of this section (e.g., the placement of the CPU under the desk)
also prevents students from sitting comfortably in front of the monitor. In these
classrooms, students typically sit in the aisle when working on the computer.
Type 2 specialized desks
Specific considerations for type 2 desks
- Varieties of Type 2 desks usually feature a drop-down or pull-out keyboard
which mechanically induces monitor to push up into position. The keyboard tray
is susceptible to breakage that can send the monitor supports falling to the floor.
- Although the desktop is flush when the keyboard is stored away, the amount
of available work space is limited when the keyboard and the computer are in use.
- Type 2 desks do not always close properly and thus do not always produce
a flush work surface when computer is not in use.
- The laminate cover shielding the monitor prevents teachers from seeing the
monitor screen from the side. This prevents teachers from viewing multiple screens
at a time
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