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



On Tue, 2008-01-08 at 21:15 -0500, Daniel Howard 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?

The kids are the greatest transmission vector just due to proximity. The
only way to attenuate that aspect is to have each kid in their own
little bubble room. That's a good idea for the behavior-challenged :)
but costly enough to wipe out all technology spending for decades.

As it stands now, kids walk past desks and touch everything and the
teacher can't wipe it down between contacts. Shared keyboards are a
bigger concern than touchscreens. The health factor there is not virus
or bacteria (it's a small risk) but instead fungus is a serious issue.
Poor student hygiene and accumulated finger oils make a good medium for
some persistent fungi. But again, we are talking about a tiny fraction
of cross exposure compared to the rest of the school activities.
> 
> Just curious in Atlanta,
> Daniel
> 
> -- 
> Daniel Howard
> President and CEO
> Georgia Open Source Education Foundation
> 
-- 
James P. Kinney III          
CEO & Director of Engineering 
Local Net Solutions,LLC        
770-493-8244                    
http://www.localnetsolutions.com

GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S. Physics)
<jkinney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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