[ATTW-L] The Death of Computer Classrooms

[Mark Crane]

Hi,

I currently manage two computer classrooms with 20 machines apiece.  I've
been in charge of them since 2002, with a break of about four or five years
in the middle of that period.

The classrooms are funded, with the exception of Adobe Creative Suite
licenses, by student fees. This includes a couple of color laser printers.

One thing I've noticed over the past few years is that with the
proliferation of phones, tablets, Chromebooks and laptops that students are
not logging into the lab machines as frequently, often preferring to work
on their own devices, even if that means thumb typing on a phone.

I recently put in a order for new machines, and was told that the order was
on hold because the campus is moving towards a policy of no longer
supporting computer classrooms (as opposed to standalone lab not attached
to a course).

So I'm just fishing here, wondering what your experiences have been with
computer classrooms. Also, can you tell me:

1) What software packages do you use with your undergraduate technical
communications courses

and

2) Who pays for those licenses?

Note: Microsoft Office, in some form, is free for the students and
faculty.  (I hate teaching Intro Tech Comm with Word, for what it's worth)

We are hoping to retain control of the rooms and hopefully will be able to
use at least one of them for the teaching of technical communications for
our Writing Studies emphasis.

Thanks,

Mark Crane
Utah Valley University
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