The Ventilation and Filtration Thread

[downer]

What are you doing to make sure you get good flow of outside air into your classroom this fall?
What assurances have you been given that the a/c is filtering the air?

I'm thinking of taking a can of WD40, a crowbar, and a mallet to my classrooms to do some problem-solving with the windows.

[ergative]

Our school actually is taking it very seriously. All classrooms approved for face-to-face teaching need to have access to outside air and ventilation. We actually just had a huge email chain about one of the technical labs, whose windows don't open (for sound insulation), and for that reason wasn't approved for a teaching space. But then the director went at TPTB like a bulldog and made them double-check the incredibly expensive HVAC system until they confirmed that it did intake external air, and so now could be approved for teaching.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

What are you doing to make sure you get good flow of outside air into your classroom this fall?
What assurances have you been given that the a/c is filtering the air?

I'm thinking of taking a can of WD40, a crowbar, and a mallet to my classrooms to do some problem-solving with the windows.

Ha! Our windows don't open. :(

[ergative]

What are you doing to make sure you get good flow of outside air into your classroom this fall?
What assurances have you been given that the a/c is filtering the air?

I'm thinking of taking a can of WD40, a crowbar, and a mallet to my classrooms to do some problem-solving with the windows.

Ha! Our windows don't open. :(

All that means is that you don't need to bother with the WD40 and the crowbar.

[the_geneticist]

What are you doing to make sure you get good flow of outside air into your classroom this fall?
What assurances have you been given that the a/c is filtering the air?

I'm thinking of taking a can of WD40, a crowbar, and a mallet to my classrooms to do some problem-solving with the windows.

No reassurance whatsoever.  My building has failing HVAC, known asbestos problems, and if the room has windows they don't open. 
We do not speak of these matters.

[downer]

OSHA guidance. Para 7. https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework
Filing an OSHA complaint: https://www.osha.gov/workers/file-complaint

[Caracal]

I'm really frustrated that so few schools have set up outdoor classroom spaces. It isn't going to work if you need a projector, and it wouldn't be feasible in some weather, but it would certainly help. I usually have a decent number of class sessions where we are mostly doing discussion or some other kind of work that doesn't require a projector.

It's the kind of thing that could stay around after covid fades into the background. There are tons of days where the weather is lovely and going into a dim indoor classroom is so depressing. It would be great to be able to book an outdoor class space for those times.

[mamselle]

At Ohio State we used to have dance classes and small sit-down lectures in various places around the campus in the 80s.

The Oval and Mirror Lake were the two favorites.

It wasn't something you booked, though, you just found an empty tree and set up under it...

It helped that the modern classes were often accompanied by guitar or drums or something portable, of course....

And on return visits for conferences, presentations, and library research, I have still seen outside classes in good weather as recently as the Fall of 2019, i.e., the last time I was there.

Now, if we could just run a plug-in line to all the trees...

M.

[Caracal]

At Ohio State we used to have dance classes and small sit-down lectures in various places around the campus in the 80s.

The Oval and Mirror Lake were the two favorites.

It wasn't something you booked, though, you just found an empty tree and set up under it...

It helped that the modern classes were often accompanied by guitar or drums or something portable, of course....

And on return visits for conferences, presentations, and library research, I have still seen outside classes in good weather as recently as the Fall of 2019, i.e., the last time I was there.

Now, if we could just run a plug-in line to all the trees...

M.

Yeah, I think the hard part is seating. Sitting on the ground for an hour isn't comfortable for a lot of people.

[Cheerful]

Yeah, I think the hard part is seating. Sitting on the ground for an hour isn't comfortable for a lot of people.

And if you're in an area where ticks are a problem?

[the_geneticist]

Yeah, I think the hard part is seating. Sitting on the ground for an hour isn't comfortable for a lot of people.

And if you're in an area where ticks are a problem?

Or if it's hot, cold, wet, windy, snowing, etc.  There are only a few places where you could teach outside for even part of the year. 

[Caracal]

Yeah, I think the hard part is seating. Sitting on the ground for an hour isn't comfortable for a lot of people.

And if you're in an area where ticks are a problem?

Or if it's hot, cold, wet, windy, snowing, etc.  There are only a few places where you could teach outside for even part of the year.

Huh? Where do you live? There aren't many places where it would work all of the year, but there aren't any where it wouldn't sometimes work. Its too hot in most parts of the South in August and the first half of September, but its usually very pleasant after that well into November and often gets nice again starting in March.  Northeast is good in the late summer/early fall and later spring. Part of the problem is this idea that every intervention has to be perfect or we shouldn't bother. The goal is to stack mitigation measures on top of each other.

Having things outdoors is easily one of the best ways to prevent the spread of covid, so why wouldn't it be a good idea to try to create some infrastructure to allow that to happen more when the weather allows it?

[the_geneticist]

Yeah, I think the hard part is seating. Sitting on the ground for an hour isn't comfortable for a lot of people.

And if you're in an area where ticks are a problem?

Or if it's hot, cold, wet, windy, snowing, etc.  There are only a few places where you could teach outside for even part of the year.

Huh? Where do you live? There aren't many places where it would work all of the year, but there aren't any where it wouldn't sometimes work. Its too hot in most parts of the South in August and the first half of September, but its usually very pleasant after that well into November and often gets nice again starting in March.  Northeast is good in the late summer/early fall and later spring. Part of the problem is this idea that every intervention has to be perfect or we shouldn't bother. The goal is to stack mitigation measures on top of each other.

Having things outdoors is easily one of the best ways to prevent the spread of covid, so why wouldn't it be a good idea to try to create some infrastructure to allow that to happen more when the weather allows it?

I'm originally from the part of the country that rains 9 months of the year and is lovely in late summer & early fall.  I've also lived in the midwest: hot humid summer, freezing winters, damp Spring, Fall is delightful.  Now I live where it would be possible to teach outside in Spring - Fall is too hot (or poor air quality), Winter is too wet.

[apl68]

What are you doing to make sure you get good flow of outside air into your classroom this fall?
What assurances have you been given that the a/c is filtering the air?

I'm thinking of taking a can of WD40, a crowbar, and a mallet to my classrooms to do some problem-solving with the windows.

Ha! Our windows don't open. :(

All that means is that you don't need to bother with the WD40 and the crowbar.

Actually the crowbar could probably be used to improve ventilation in that situation one way or another.

[downer]

I am concerned that the crowbar might be a bit conspicuous. It probably won't fit in my backpack. Maybe I should stick with a chisel.