I loved your question, but decided to take a little time to think about
it before answering. They say, "Be careful what you ask for, you make get
it!". After thinking about it for about an hour, I realized that even though
my new computer is definitely my favorite "toy", my model classroom needs
other things almost more than it needs technology.
For the past seven years I have been teaching as an Adjunct faculty
member on four different campuses near my home. As an Adjunct, my "wishes"
may be different from what you had in mind, but if any department heads read
this it may make you think about what your part-time faculty members need.
My Wish List
1. An office where I could lock and leave papers, tests, books, etc. Or a
classroom with cabinets that can be locked and that is not used by anyone
else during the two days I am on campus (so I can go early and stay late,
lock things up while I go to lunch or the restroom, and schedule appointments
with students who need extra help.)
2. A chalk board that is graph-ready. High school classrooms always seemed
to have this but none of the college classroom I teach in have it. It is
much easier for the students and the teacher if you can show them exactly how
to plot a point, etc. and a graph board works best.
3. Since I have created an Arithmetic Tutorial which is all on paper, the
technology most needed is a copy machine conveniently located, so multiple
copies can be made as soon as they are needed. I also try to give the
Algebra students a number of hand-outs that summarize the steps they need to
take. Even though they could find the same information in their textbooks, a
brief , numbered list seems to help them. I would prefer this copy machine
to be one that collates and staples multiple page documents.
.
4. Flat individual tables and chairs that can be grouped for lessons and
then separated for tests work much better for math students than small
slanting desks that are not large enough to hold both a math book and a
notebook, much less rulers, calculators, etc.
5. Lots of chalk board space, preferably with no blemishes that the students
confuse with decimals, etc.
6. Calculators for all the students. For my classes they can be simple
inexpensive ones, however if they could be kept in a locked room perhaps they
could be graphing calculators and shared with College Algebra.
7. Since I have just completed typing all of my tutorial on my computer, it
would not be necessary to have computers for every student, however, I would
like at least one IBM pentium computer, installed with Windows 95, Microsoft
Office, Corel Draw (4), a powerful modem, with either Netscape or Microsoft
Internet Explorer, and both a laser printer and a color printer. It would be
important that the software be compatible with what I have at home so that
all of the material I have already prepared at home could be printed out at
school
I'm sure there are other things I haven't thought of but even though I
use my computer constantly to prefer for my class, I don't really need
technology for my classroom as much as I need other basic things.
Margaret