gypo Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Does anybody know of, or have experience with protecting workstations, keyboards, mice and monitors from vandalism? In the academy I work at we have a problem with keyboards being vandalised, mice being stolen, screens being written or and desktops being messed with. Is there an all in one solution out there to protect?
3s-gtech Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Yes - trying not to be facetious - classroom control. You need to work with your teachers and other classroom staff to help prevent the vandalism. Ten years of experience with this sort of mindless destruction has taught me that you need a unified approach - teachers keeping an eye and reporting damage (and giving detentions/reporting students on), SLT support, sanctions etc. It pays to have smart equipment which looks good - it usually doesn't get trashed so quickly - but without support it's impossible. There is no technical solution overall, as much as cable ties on mice and locked closed PCs help. 1
Arreks Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 inb4 "classroom management" *edit* Damn ninja @3s-gtech
elsiegee40 Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Beyond cctv and proper classroom control by teachers there is a limit to what you can do
gypo Posted January 25, 2016 Author Posted January 25, 2016 Classroom control isnt a route I can go down easily, hence why im here. I've been in the job 8 years, and its now worse than ever and even though we have over 70 cameras we cant add them to IT rooms. I didnt think there would be any physical solution, but worth a try.
CamelMan Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 We used cable ties to stop theft but that only slowed them down, bought a load of this type of machine: The Novatech Pro NAI20 And thats stopped the mouse & keyboard theft and moving around (connections are hidden behind a panel that we used security screws on). In terms of malicious damage (breaking panels / monitors / buttons etc) it really is a supervision issue, or work really hard checking them after each session find a few culprits and throw the book at them as a deterrant!
synaesthesia Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Minor level CCTV is a good thing to get involved in; a couple of cameras in the suites and make an example of people who cause the issue, and it'll slow down. The rest does indeed need to be down to classroom control, maybe hold the staff accountable.
Edu-IT Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Classroom control isnt a route I can go down easily, hence why im here. Why? Explain to SLT what is happening, and let them get the message out, if it's not your remit?
6Foot2 Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 You have my sympathy. With keyboards and mice going missing or being damaged, cables being swapped and then the station reported as not working I know your pain. I visited a school nearby that had more issues than us at that time. They had encased the printers in 'bulletproof' perspex [i say 'bulletproof' because it seemed to be an aspirational description rather than a name] The perspex allowed students to pick up their printouts. Furthermore, toner and paper were replenished via padlock secured ports in the perspex. Keyboard and mouse cables were pinned to the table with only just enough slack to make them useful. The PC cases were covered with tough perspex only allowing access to the on/off button. All of this was their own design and I do not know if it was successful. I am sure, however, it would make the job of maintenance (when the time came) much more of a chore.
gypo Posted January 25, 2016 Author Posted January 25, 2016 Why? Explain to SLT what is happening, and let them get the message out, if it's not your remit? Believe me I have done several times every term, hard work.
Edu-IT Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Believe me I have done several times every term, hard work. Sometimes it goes beyond being your problem. If you've raised it, and it's not being addressed, then perhaps as kit becomes out of order more frequently, they'll understand where you're coming from. Sometimes actions speak louder than words.
Narwhal Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Believe me I have done several times every term, hard work. One thing that seems to sharpen their focus a little is for you to let them know how much it is costing in pure vandalism alone. Keep a note of the cost of repairs including the amount of your time that is being spent. It is often a wake-up call.
mikeprice Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 AT my last school we had a similar problem - actually worse at times due to memory being ripped out and broken/stolen. I ended up visiting the room after every lesson for a few days ( by arrangement with SMT) and checking everything - with the threat that the teacher in the room would be held responsible if there were problems and they couldn't identify the kids responsible Once the kids realised the teachers were recording who was sat in each seat and the hardware was being checked the problems stopped Although it sounds like a right chore if it is managed properly and hit full on by everyone it CAN stop the problem (note CAN not will - YMMV) Good luck with SMT support though - no point in doing it without
just_david Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Tie wrap everything. Stop keyboards and mice being nicked at least. Makes cables harder to unplug and run off with. Add the little screw to every PC case that prevents it being opened without a screwdrivers. The rest is, sadly, classroom control, and CCTV so you can bill the ones who get caught.
dry Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Cable ties and screws is the only thing we did. As has been said, the rest is down to the teachers. I worked with a technician who would snip the excess from cable ties at a particular angle so that a sharp point was made, in order to keep any inquisitive hands at bay. Definitely not condoning this!
6Foot2 Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Tie wrap everything. Stop keyboards and mice being nicked at least. Makes cables harder to unplug and run off with... We cable tie stuff in place but they still find a way to change mouse/keyboard USB ports. They even walk off with mice and keyboards! How does someone leave a room with a keyboard without being noticed?
mikeprice Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Cable ties on everything may help - but I have seen circumstances where kids just pull harder to try to break the ties and hence pull the USB connector off the cable - thus destroying the keyboard/mouse However - this still comes back to classroom control - which comes back to SMT and policies to check all devices before the lesson When I was as teacher we had a policy that all kids had to check the keyboard and mouse were in one piece and working as soon as they were allowed to start using the computer If anything was found to be broken after that they were assumed to be responsible and dealt with accordingly - also all teachers had to have a plan of who sat where in every lesson. I used to take a screen shot from AB Tutor to fulfill that task
ricki Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 You have 3 choices Put up with problem Get head to implement teachers checking keyboards at start and end of class and punishment Or. Cctv in all ict classes
ricki Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 We caught one child a fews ago and bill him parents for damage. He was biting through the leads of the mice and keyboards. His mother complained he got an electric shock and we should protect him better. What do you expect biting through a cable richard
mikeprice Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 We caught one child a fews ago and bill him parents for damage. He was biting through the leads of the mice and keyboards. His mother complained he got an electric shock and we should protect him better. What do you expect biting through a cable richard Yeah - high voltage in those keyboard cables - muppets
DJ-1701 Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 You have 3 choices Put up with problem Get head to implement teachers checking keyboards at start and end of class and punishment Or. Cctv in all ict classes Bouncers?
mikeprice Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Bouncers? Hope this helps Tobar Retro Space Hopper Ball: Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games 1
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