Re: [school-discuss] health issues coupled with interactive classroom display technology

[Marilyn Hagle <marilyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Daniel,

I enjoyed reading this as well.  I have already used up all of my sick days for
the year and just went to the doc to get antibiotics after school tonight.

I use hand sanitizer like crazy - after every time I touch a kidś keyboard.
 Apparently it is not enough!

Would it damage keyboards to spray them with Lysol?


Marilyn



Quoting Tyson Gray <tysongray@xxxxxxxxx>:

> Daniel,
> 
> Since I'm allergic to just about everything on this planet, I'm a germ freak
> in a way and could relate to your inquiries.  Reading your post made me
> laugh a little (no offense).  I found this article that might be of some
> interest about germs in the classroom.
> 
> *http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=8133*
> **
> *Classroom Germs*
> 
> They're everywhere! We found the top ten virus and bacteria facts that
> teachers have to know (even if you don't want to).
> 
> 1) Top spot for classroom viral presence: student desktop [1]
> 
> 2) Top spot for bacteria presence: water fountain toggle [1]
> 
> 3) Most germy job: teacher (Are we surprised?) [1]
> 
> 4) Germs build up throughout the day. By the afternoon, 50% of classroom
> surfaces have the flu virus. [1]
> 
> 5) Teacher illness-related absences average 5.3
> days a year. [2]
> 
> 6) 622 million school days are lost each year in the US due to the common
> cold. [3]
> 
> 7) The cold season starts in late August and lasts until April. [3]
> 
> 8) Forty percent of parents have sent a child to school sick. [4]
> 
> 9) Seventy-four percent of teachers believe they have missed school because
> of illnesses picked up from their students. [5]
> 
> 10) Germs can survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours! [1]
> 
> Sources: [1] Study by Charles P. Gerba, University of Arizona, 2005; [2]
> It's a Snap, Clean Hands Statistics, [3] Centers for Disease Control and
> Prevention [4] June 2006 Clorox Survey, [5] 2005 Scholastic.com survey
> 
> 
> 
> On 1/8/08, Daniel Howard <dhhoward@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > As I watched the US primary election results on CNN, complete with
> > multi-finger touch-screen geographical displays, I began to think about
> > the health issues associated with various interactive technologies in
> > elementary schools.  If a flat panel, touch-screen display was at the
> > front of the class, seems like it would be a great way for viruses to
> > propagate, unless teachers had to wipe down the touch-screen every time
> > a new student came up.  Likewise, if the hand-held markers used by
> > commercial interactive whiteboard companies, or indeed by any
> > whiteboard, are shared by all students, there's another way for viruses
> > to propagate.  If, on the other hand, a hand-held IR pen or whiteboard
> > marker was cheap enough so that all students could have their own, it
> > would go a long way to reducing a virus propagation mechanism...I think.
> >
> > Am I way out in left field here?  Does it make sense to evaluate
> > classroom technology in terms of health issues?
> >
> > Just curious in Atlanta,
> > Daniel
> >
> > --
> > Daniel Howard
> > President and CEO
> > Georgia Open Source Education Foundation
> >
> 


:)