Not as bad as I feared.... and some really good things to report.

Yesterday we had the first official demo of the new room set up and I for one really like it.

Forget for a moment about the shiny hardware quietly throbbing and glowing on the tables in front of us, the best bit of kit was the clip on wireless mic. In this large oblong space with 108 students (sorry, make that 108 chairs - we have actually enrolled 127 students since clearing...) it is going to be a challenge to make yourself heard above the hubbub.

Second best bit of kit is the switch on the teachin gconsole that allows you to show content on all three screens simultaneously - or not, as you like. I used this space last year for a one off session and we had to have Powerpoint monitors (like the ink monitors we used to have at school, not the monitor attached to your PC) at each end of the room, pressing the forward arrow when cued. The space is capable of being divided into three distinct rooms each with their own presenting console, screen and speakers, but for the big groups (like ours) it is now possible to have everything linked. This is really good news.

Thirdly - the tables. Now Sharon may be right and we should perhaps have had them a bit bigger, but they are pleasingly round, they do have holes in the middle where the power and network cables for the macs protrude and there is space for nine students in three gorups of three. I'd like to say we had tested the seating arrangements but actually less than half a dozen pilot leaders turned up for the session - we were outnumbered by the IT squad by about 2:1

Now for the niggles. The laptops are stored in charging cabinets which have big padlocks on the doors. The presenters yesterday cheated by having all the Macs ready on the desks, plugged in before we arrived. It was suggested to me that I could get to my session early and set up. Provided I am not teaching immediately before.... and provided no one is in the room before me using the space without laptops.

Then there is th fact that they are, well, Macs. But I have said all I want to say on that front. The IT guys were incredibly helpful, teaching me how to use the "gestures", when two fingers were required (don't tempt me...) and how to select Apple TV. The problem for my students is that there won't I suspect be 108 IT bods on hand to personally guide them through the process.

I asked for "Quick Start " help cards to be available and was told that there were some great You Tube videos showing how to use a Mac. So how were the students going to watch these if they couldn't use a Mac. In their own time? On their PCs? Do I need to go on?

So then I was advised to show the videos as part of my session - ie, teach the students how to use the kit as part of my lesson plan. OK, I am teaching digital literacy skills in one module so that's fair enough, perhaps. But my other module is concerned with team work and leadership - "How to Use a Mac" isn't one of the learning outcomes, so why am I spending my valuable contact time teaching students to use unfamiliar technology? The tech in that context should be invisible.

Anyway, I rather enjoyed playing with the Mac and with Apple TV and though the IT guys treated me with withering scorn when I said I had an Android tablet and preferred Google Drive to Sky Drive, I actually found them a jolly and helpful bunch who were genuinely enthusiastic about what they have created here.

I am sure there are going to be hiccups along the way, but I aim to keep calm and pretend its in the lesson plan.....