Educators say that housing terminals in labs can convey the notion that technology is a separate subject. With evidence mounting that classroom computers may have more impact on student learning, machines have been moving out of labs and into classrooms. Two years ago, Market Data Retrieval found that 46 percent of school computers nationwide were in labs and 45 percent were in classrooms. MDR's latest survey, scheduled for release next month, reports 52 percent of the instructional computers are in classrooms and 39 percent in labs. But school officials say putting computers in classrooms is not always possible due to space and wiring limitations.
Some schools continue to cluster machines in labs.
Some teachers also argue that computer labs are more efficient for activities involving an entire class. Students usually have less access to those machines, though, because teachers must reserve the labs. For greatest flexibility, some schools place a few computers in each classroom and maintain a lab or two for group work. No matter where the computers are, students have more opportunities to use them when there are more machines. In 1994, the national average ratio was 11 students per machine.