BERTIE COMPUTER LABS

  • About Bertie Computer Labs

    In Bertie County in Eastern North Carolina, one of the poorest, most rural and racially polarized counties in the state, we have partnered with the school district to help improve their schools' environments, materials, and systems through design. After installing Learning Landscape math playgrounds at each of the district's elementary schools, we were challenged with the task of transforming two empty classrooms at the high school level Prep Academy into innovative computer lab spaces, with a budget of $50,000 per lab, including all computer equipment. Our design development began over the summer of 2009.

    While traditional computer lab layouts have students facing the walls, with little opportunity for interaction, we designed a more open space that would encourage engagement and functionality for both testing and instruction. Three tower "pods" were built from a steel frame and wood panels, around which eight students can sit at their respective pods. The pods channel all the electrical and network wiring up to the ceiling, leaving the room unobstructed by bundles of wire.

    A Promethean interactive white board at the front of the room facilitates networked learning and communication between teachers and students during lessons. We specified a dark paint, tinted windows, and environmentally friendly carpet tiles, along with efficient laptops that could easily be networked. The labs were installed in September 2009, and fully functional November 2009. They are currently in use by numerous teachers in multiple subjects, and there are discussions of building two more similar labs in another wing of the Prep Academy, as well as at Bertie High School.

    > Bertie County Schools, North Carolina

     

  • Project Location: Bertie County, North Carolina

    Map of Bertie County Schools
     

  • Bertie Computer Labs Photos

     

  • Project Team

    Location: Bertie County, North Carolina

    Project Leaders: Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller

    Contact: info@projecthdesign.org

     

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