Computer Classroom Report
| INTRODUCTION
AIMS METHOD |
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Thank you to all the families who took part in the project and especially those who enthused and said what a good idea it was, this really helped our resolve when things were tough.
Friends, Families and Travellers helped us out in Brighton a lot and this was much appreciated when we had a backlog of administration to do.
The Tudor Trust and Groundswell provided most of the funding for the project and without their support who knows how far we would have got! On behalf of those eager children who received the benefit of what we managed to provide we would like to say thank you. Piet also deserves a special thanks for his dedication and commitment, it was he who kept the operation running smoothly and the fact that he did it all without any wages is remarkable to say the least.
STAFF
Kaye Angus
A qualified Herbalist and Iridologist. Holds LGV Class 1 Licence. Lived
as a traveller in vehicles for over 10 years and travelled throughout
the UK and Europe. Home educates two children and is a single parent.
Teaches Self-defence to adults and children. Trustee of the TSC for 4
years, Treasurer for 1 year .
Piet Defoe
A Self Employed Renewable Energy Technician with 10 years experience of
installing power generation devices. 12 years experience of living in
vehicles and squatting buildings. He is particularly enthusiastic about
promoting renewable energy as a way of reducing human impact on the planet's
resources. Piet was responsible for the management of the remainder of
the grant from Esmee Fairburn 2 years ago which converted the TSC's computers
to Alternative Technology.
Fig c
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CHILDREN Of the 60 people to benefit from the classroom 58 were children, (see Fig c ) 16 were home educated and the rest attended school. We noted these details in our reports which were updated on a daily basis. From studying these reports we noticed that 27 girls and 31 boys took part, and the majority were in the 8-11 yrs age group. |
"brilliant"............"cool"............"very good"............"please can I keep this computer"?
We gave various pieces of equipment names in order to prevent confusion. Most of the equipment worked well with very few major breakdowns, the computers went wrong from time to time but this is to be expected. Major equipment failures were CWNN bios chip and the Rutland wind generator shunt regulator failing which, when tested by Rutland, seemed to work fine. Minor equipment failures include Octopus user.exe file needed replacing when it was corrupted, Dell lower PCMCIA port failure or software conflict, Direct Cable Connection seemed to refuse to work on any of the computers. Other problems occurred but these were usually due to the operator rather than equipment.
COMPUTERS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
We started out with 4 working computers and came back with 4 working and
one broken, most of the computers are made by Toshiba, these proved to
be good reliable machines. All the computers are PCs and are Lap tops
with colour screens. Laptops use much less power than standard PCs and
are a lot more compact.
1. CWNN - (Computer with
no name) 100 MHZ processor, 8 MB RAM, 771 MB Hard drive, uncompressed,
sound card, Windows 95. Needs an external mouse.
18/2/2002 died completely, won't even turn on, suspected Bios chip failure,
need to replace chip.
Connects to: Fat Freddie CD drive
Installed software: Rebirth, Free hand, Office 97
2. DELL - 75 MHZ processor,
16 MB RAM, 800 MB hard drive compressed, Windows 95. Used mainly as the
teachers' computer, used for accessing the Internet, bottom PCMCIA slot
doesn't work properly with the modem card, used top slot, slow to download
images from digital camera.
Network information: Computer name: XPI
Connects to: Slim Jim CD drive, Multi tech. Multi Modem, Cannon BJ10ex
printer, Olivetti printer.
Installed software: PSP, Word 2, AOL Press, AOL, Winzip, Uninstaller,
AVG anti virus, Picture matcher, Environment test.
3. OCTOPUS - (Toshiba T213oct)
75 MHZ processor, 12 MB RAM, 500 MB Hard drive uncompressed, Windows 95.
Network information: Computer name: Octopus
Connects to: Fat Freddie CD drive, Slim Jim CD drive (normally used with
Fat Freddie)
Installed software: PSP, Word 97, AOL Press, AOL, Uninstaller, AVG anti
virus, all 10 out of 10 educational software
4. SATELLITE - 75 MHZ processor,
40 MB RAM, 772 MB Hard drive uncompressed, Windows 95.
Network information: Computer name: TSC001
Connects to: Slim Jim CD drive
Installed software: PSP, Word 7, Aol press, Uninstaller, AVG anti virus,
All Full Marks educational software, Times educational series software
5. SATELLITE PRO - (420CDT)
100 MHZ processor, 32 MB RAM, 2.1 GB Hard drive uncompressed, sound card,
internal CD drive, Windows 95. Good for down loading digital camera to
fast COM port. We bought this computer in Brighton at the Laptop shop.
Network information: Computer name: 420cdt
Connects to: Slim Jim CD drive, external floppy drive
Installed software: PSP, Word 7, AOL press, Uninstaller, AVG anti virus,
all Full Marks educational software, Times Educational Series software,
when used with Slim Jim Reader Rabbit, All CD's marked with green dot.
FAT FREDDIE - old CD drive, the software for the drive doesn't recognise long file names used mainly with the Octopus
SLIM JIM - mostly used with Satellite sometimes used with Sat Pro when using Reader Rabbit as the drive can read CD RW disks.
CANNON BJ10ex - printer works with all computers but only prints in black and white at the moment.
OLIVETTI - colour printer, works with all computers (belongs to Piet).
INTERNET AND NETWORKING
NETWORKING
We did try connecting the computers together using Direct Cable Connection
but never succeeded in making a connection, all data was backed up onto
CD using Piet's CD writer and his computer, to transfer the data we used
Intersvr.exe on Piet's computer and Interlnk.exe on the other computers,
this method seemed to work fine. It would be useful to connect the computers
together in a network so CD drives can be shared between computers, other
uses will become apparent when the network is up and running. Equipment
needed to set up the network is: 4 x ethernet network PCMCIA cards, 4
Ethernet cables, network hub and networking software.
INTERNET
At Brighton we managed to get the access numbers for AOL using a mobile
phone, prior to that we could only access the internet using the madasafish
account on Piet's personal organiser. Unfortunately we could only use
Piet's computer to access the Internet on the mobile, this wasn't too
much of a problem, it just meant emails needed to be written on this computer.
The reason why the other computers didn't work with the mobile phone was
not investigated to any great degree, a possible conflict with the CD
drive software is suspected, time restraints prevented further investigation.
Using the mobile to browse the internet costs 14p per minute after 7pm,
due to the cost and speed of connection we only used it for emails.
We used FFT's phone line to upload the updates. Cyber cafes were sometimes used for emails but for uploading the cyber cafe was useless as they don't let you use their phone line. When using AOL you need to access the internet using their software if you want to upload to the AOL web space.
The main Travellers School Charity web site can be found at: http://www.tsct.co.uk/index.htm
The updates that we've been doing can be found at: http://members.aol.com/hgvkaye/tsc/.
Bella's page was created during the mission, these pages are based around the kids' animals, usually dogs. The pages are created by the children who learn how to use a digital camera, how to create web pages and if they find themselves on the internet they can see their work in the public domain.
EQUIPMENT
We used solar cells, a wind generator and a split charger to put power
into battery banks, for a full description of the equipment see technical
information. 4 laptop computers were used and an inverter (converts 12
volt DC to 240 volt AC) was used to power them. The renewable energy power
sources were sufficient to run the system. As long as there was wind and
sun we would have all the power we wanted. Discussions on our choice of
power source usually took place whilst the young people were using the
computers. Sometimes this didn't happen until we had run out of power
as when this occurs the inverter emits a loud whining noise, this gave
us an opportunity to discuss the environmental benefits of renewable energy.
POWER SOURCES
General - the battery banks are all 12volt banks and an 150 watt modified signwave inverters was used for mains power, this provided enough power for 3 computers but not all 4, a bigger pure sign wave inverter rated at 400 watt would be a good investment.
Left bank - 4 lead acid batteries in 2 yellow boxes.
GNT - the battery bank in Grunt (Piet's ambulance) 2 x 95 amp hour truck batteries.
Gaza Strip - (Banks 1 & 2) the main battery bank consisting of 4 lead acid batteries the same as left bank and 2 x 95 amp hour truck batteries with a switch to link the 2 banks. 2 solar cells, the wind generator and the split charger all go into this bank
![[Image]](pic25.jpg)
This is the wiring diagram of Gaza strip, the main power supply, used constantly for the duration of the project.
Solar cells - 4 x 55 watt BP panels mounted on the top of the truck, the power from 2 panels goes into Gaza Strip (banks 1 & 2) and the power from the other 2 go into the batteries in the 2 yellow boxes. The roof rack shades the panels so to obtain full power we need to remove the panels from the housing, because of this problem the power obtained from the panels was limited, that and it being winter meant we had to get most of the power from the wind generator and the split charger.
Rutland 913 wind generator - mounted on the side of the truck or independent of the truck using guy ropes, we used an extra bit of pole when more height was needed. The only problem we had was with the regulator which seemed to fail but Rutland tested it and said it worked properly.
Split charger - charges the batteries when the vehicle is driving, takes a long drive to charge up the battery bank fully.
This graph shows where the power has come from, 0 = no power from the generating device 100 = full power from the generating device eg if the sun shone all day the 'sun' line would = 100, if its been raining all day sun = 10, if the panels weren't out sun = 0.
The project started with a budget of £4,628.25
Total mileage recorded was 989 miles. The vehicles used 42p per mile in Diesel and oil.
EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS
| DESCRIPTION | AMOUNT |
| Vehicle modification & repair | 710.83 |
| Vehicle Tax | 36.95 |
| Solar water heating panel | 995.40 |
| Plumbing accessories | 156.67 |
| Insulation materials for solar panels | 29.14 |
| Wind Generator | 464.65 |
| Batteries | 82.85 |
| Cables, wiring, fixtures and fittings | 66.98 |
| Computers and peripherals | 705.00 |
| Software | 185.00 |
| Insurance for equipment | 156.74 |
| Floppy disks | 4.50 |
| Diesel/oil/anti-freeze | 422.42 |
| Printer ink | 23.98 |
| Stamps/stationery | 43.72 |
| BT Phone bills | 45.00 |
| Phone box calls | 13.00 |
| Mobile Phone Top-up cards | 60.00 |
| Parking fees | 22.40 |
| Taxi fares | 7.80 |
| Internet access (cyber cafe) | 4.50 |
| Fax transmissions/photocopying | 11.69 |
| Photo developing | 7.99 |
| ----------------------------- | |
| Total | £4,260.21 |
| ----------------------------- |
This is earmarked for printing copies of the report, fundraising for the next phase of the project and maintaining the equipment.
The solar shower is yet to be assembled, most of the components have already been purchased, unfortunately it couldn't be built whilst the project was running because there wasn't any spare time to do it.
To arrive at a figure for cost per child per hour of computer use we take the total expenditure and divide that by the number of hours spent teaching: £4260.21 divided by 199 = £21.40 per hour (this figure includes set up costs)
The value of remaining assets = £2,589.57
so the cost per hour minus remaining assets = £1,670.64 divided by 199 = £8.39 per hour (this figure excludes set up costs)
To arrive at a figure for cost per mile to move the classroom, we take the transport costs and divide it by the number of miles recorded; £1,170.20 divided by 989 = £1.18 per mile
To arrive at a more realistic figure for the future for this project it would be necessary to add to the costs:
Vehicle Insurance
Vehicle Maintenance (£250 self-funded by the volunteers as a result
of the project)
Salaries
These figures are estimated in Recommendations.
TRANSPORT
The volunteers used their own living vehicles for the journey. This was
inconvenient although not from a security point of view. The 'classroom'
was in Kaye's x-BR Dodge 100 and Piet drove his Morris LD 1963 Ambulance.
Having a private space is essential to the welfare of staff, also a vehicle
for wood, water, washing and shopping is an advantage and the ambulance
fulfilled this role as well as being a reliable back-up power supply.
ROUTE
The route that was taken covered a large area of England. Plans to drive
to Scotland had to be abandoned due to lack of funds, daffodil picking
sites in Cornwall were also on the agenda but the breakdown in Chichester
meant a long delay and by the time all was well again the picking season
was over.
SITES
12 in total, 2 were legal council run sites, 1 was a tolerated site on
council land and the rest were roadside or undetected.
ROUTE MAP
OBSERVATIONS
POWER USAGE AND GENERATION
This graph shows where the power has come from, 0 = no power from the
generating device 100 = full power from the generating device. eg if the
sun shone all day the 'sun' line would = 100, if its been raining all
day sun = 10, if the panels weren't out sun= 0.
IT SKILLS ASSESSMENT
Nearly all the children had used a computer before but only a very small
minority displayed more than brief knowledge in their use. Most of the
children attending school had access to computers once a week for 1-2
hours, however they felt that this was not enough and often this use was
at break-time when no teacher was available.
Less than 10% of the children we
met had access to computers at home. Most of them gained considerable
confidence in the following areas during the short time we were available:
- Word Processing
- Using an Art Programme
- Printing
- Using a Digital Camera
- Starting up the computer and shutting it down
- Operating the mouse
Their enthusiasm to learn a modern skill is evidence to show that these children's future prospects would be greatly improved by regular on-site computer use.
EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE -
GRAPH SHOWING THE MOST POPULAR SOFTWARE IN HOURS OF USE:
2 = 10/10 Spelling and Punctuation
3 = 10/10 Junior essentials
12 = Times Key stage 3 English
13 = Times Key stage 1 Maths
22 = 3D Atlas
23 = Solar Heaven
5 = 10/10 Essential science
6 = 10/10 Words
15 = Times Key stage 3 Maths
16 = Times Key stage 1 Information Technology
25 = Learning land 19
26 = DK Nature
8= Full Marks Science
9 = Full Marks Spelling
10 = Times Key stage 1 English
18 = Times GCSE Biology
19 = Times GCSE Electronics
20 = Reader Rabbit
28 = Picture matcher
29 = Microsoft Word
30 = Windows Paint
31 = AOL press
199 hours were spent using the software, this figure excludes time spent showing how computers work. On average each child used the computers for 3.5 hours.
Using educational software can help expand the intellectual capacity of children who are in need of extra stimuli.
