AliB Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) Hi all I am an ICT co-ordinator in a primary school. We are in the lucky situation of being able to buy netbooks or laptops, but I don't really know where to start and need advice. Are there any of you out there that can suggest what to buy? We need to able to use them in the classrooms, so they need to be portable in some sort of trolley, we need to be able to put on software that we can use along side the new curriculum. Our current computers are around 10 years old and can not cope with new software, especially as they are on XP which no longer exists. Does anyone use netbooks/ laptops in school? What do you have? What are their pros and cons. I would really appreciate any advice given!! Thank you Ali Edited May 11, 2015 by elsiegee40
elsiegee40 Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Hello and welcome. Can I ask about the infrastructure? I am sorry there are a lot of questions, but unless your infrastructure can handle the new machines you will be disappointed. It is not as simple as just saying "buy those" as every school and its needs is different. Do you have wifi? When was it installed? What operating system is/are your network server/s running? (Which will give us an idea of their age and capabilities) How many machines are you looking at buying? Will your wifi support the new kit? Will your broadband bandwidth support the new kit? How will the new machines be used? What software do you intend to run on them? Is your IT Technician able to come on here and supply a few answers will help us with the suggestions?
psydii Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Hi @AliB, and indeed welcome. As @elsiegee40 has said, to be successful with laptops the wifi and your internet access need to be up to scratch. If they are, or you are starting from a clean slate, you might want to look at this as an option: https://www.google.co.uk/edu/ Though bear in mind that any applications/software you may want to run would need to be web based for the Google route to be a success. It is important not to rush these decisions, so please do ask us any questions, and be as forthcoming as possible with answers to ours and I'm sure we'll get you set up right.
StormTrooper59 Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 From personal experience I would advise against netbooks. They are very slow and generally built with low ram, small processor etc. I'd go for some 13.3 laptops if you wanted slightly smaller "laptops".
witch Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Have a search around edugeek, there are lots of threads about netbooks or small laptops. Very PC thinbooks are popular. We have Lenovo 11e yogas which are laptop/tablet hybrid. But as @elsiegee40 says, it really depends on your infrastructure - it is no good buying new stuff if the old stuff can't handle it. I would also think about upgrading your PCs. 1
elsiegee40 Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 I will also give ICT Direct a plug here as they will be able to make your budget go that little bit further whatever you choose to buy... which will help if you find you have infrastructure issues 1
mikeprice Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 I have just started as ICT tech in a primary school - so I see the problems that you will have if you are not careful. Firstly - and I know this has been pointed out before but... Make sure your wi-fi is up to what you want to do - if you have a "few access point scattered around the school" that will work fine for a few laptops - but if you want 20 or more working at the same time in one room - all on the WWW and all running fast - them you will need a professional wifi system. Also work out what you will be doing with them - will they be using the network much - or running programs loaded on the laptop?? Next work out whether or not you will need to upgrade your server - you may or may not end up needing more storage etc etc Anyway - good luck Mike 1
Duranis Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Having been in a similar situation (new in the role at a primary school and looked to get new laptops/tablets) I can echo the advice above. A lot of your decisions will be based on your current infrastructure. In addition to the above things to look think about: What OS you want to be running, will the software you current use work on it? If you use any kind of network management software (RM CC4 for example) does your version support the OS you want (I had massive issues with this). How are you planning to install/deploy software to the laptops (not all of them will support PXE booting)? What is their working lifespan going to be? Generally a laptop is going to give you more upgrade options than a tablet or notebook which can extend their lifespan a bit. I went with the classmate 2-in-1 from Very PC (Colin at Very PC was extremely helpful all the way and was a pleasure to buy from, would highly recommend having a chat with them) as initially the school wanted me to get iPads and these ticked all the boxes that the teachers had in mind for iPad use without the drawback of being... well... iPads These work perfect for me but might not be an ideal solution for you. For example PXE booting can be done but not easy (I use CC4 so was ok with running these very smartclient instead of a full build via PXE), spec is good for price but if you go for laptops instead of tablet/hybrid you could get better with more room for upgrades (I wanted a hybrid as well as something of this form factor that is somewhat robust which these are). 1
mthomas08 Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 @AliB Others have raised some good points. Have you considered a mobile device Scheme? although for Primaries it may look unattractive but does depend on your School. With families spending money on gadgets and Schools having budgets squeezed it may be an option you consider. Netbooks - There are a lot of choices but depends on a lot of factors: Type of software you are using, how long you want them to last, Students good with IT equipment (abuse etc), Windows based or cheaper options (Chrome), Managed. We currently do a Scheme and I have spent a lot of time working out what good devices there are and what exactly we do with them. We have tried netbooks/tablets and considered other options. If you want a lot more detail drop me a PM, I have several reports I have done over the last two years I could send you a copy. There are a lot of pros/cons when heading to mobile devices even ones on trolleys. The possible future costs, work and even support involved can be higher down the months then what some people expect.
AliB Posted May 11, 2015 Author Posted May 11, 2015 Hi all, sorry for delayed post. Thank you for all your replies. There were a lot of usful questions for me to look at. I don't have an ICT technician so its all down to me. I think i can answer all your questions, so here goes Our wifi was installed in Summer 2014. We have an access point in every classroom, except yr 1 and Eyfs, who share one. There is also one in the hall and one outside the office. Our OS is: Windows server 2012 (not sure if this means anything - SD2012R2 SNGL MVL 2PROC.) Our broadband is currently with KCOM and is 4MBPS (circuit type MPF), but with new laptops, i will be looking to up this to 10 mbps. We have a set of ICT specs that we have been given by the LEA, so i know what i did to have on those as a basis. Hope this makes sense Ali
supawat1 Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 HP does provide very good offer on trading in your old XP computers https://tradeuptohp.com/gb/en/pages/tradein/home, it saved my school a lot of money
Valyyn Posted May 11, 2015 Posted May 11, 2015 If your internet is up to scratch, I know there are some primaries in our area who got Chromebooks and love them - in fact we are now looking at getting some ourselves after seeing what they do with them. They have these touchscreen ones: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-C720P-11-6-inch-Touchscreen-Chromebook/dp/B00HX9AJ4S
psydii Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 What vendor/model of access points is your wireless built around? How many servers? How many Students? What are you hoping to do with the laptops? Example software and activities would be helpful here. Also note that laptops don't generally come with Microsoft Office, so depending on your licences you will need to build it into the cost / time to ensure it is installed.
mthomas08 Posted May 12, 2015 Posted May 12, 2015 From personal experience I would advise against netbooks. They are very slow and generally built with low ram, small processor etc. I'd go for some 13.3 laptops if you wanted slightly smaller "laptops". Lenovo Yoga 11e, good quality and spec. Essentially a Netbook with a laptop spec. Previously we have used Lenovo X131e which again were good quality and spec. If you want the next size up Lenovo M30-70 which is a very nice 13 inch size with good spec. They are also very light weight and give that MacBook "pretty" feel. Chromebook versions of the Yoga are also available, they are a bit cheaper than the Windows versions but as others mentioned all about what infrastructure you have. Summary Lenovo Yoga 11e (10 inch) Lenovo Chromebook 11e (10 inch) M30-70 13 inch
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