Surface Pros for teachers

[rrrrr]

1st year warranty out of the box. The warranty for year 2 and 3 was costing too much and came out at nearly half the cost of the device so we are going to cover it ourselves and see how it goes then review it at year 3 as to whether we really needed the warranty. We have ordered spare Surfaces too so we can swap at a moments notice too so some are going to sit on a shelf till needed.

 

We went for mendIT cover, sure it was nowhere near that. Will check tomorrow if needed. On our first lot of pro 3's, we went without cover. These are now out of warranty and microsoft is still exchanging damaged devices free of charge. They even send the replacement out 1st and give us 30days to return broken one

[bclarke]

We went for mendIT cover, sure it was nowhere near that. Will check tomorrow if needed. On our first lot of pro 3's, we went without cover. These are now out of warranty and microsoft is still exchanging damaged devices free of charge. They even send the replacement out 1st and give us 30days to return broken one

 

I have heard this about Microsoft and the warranty. We are getting a lovely discount on these so the warranty was not making any sense to buy, but these are just Surface 3's, not Pro so are cheaper anyway.

[difinity]

1st year warranty out of the box. The warranty for year 2 and 3 was costing too much and came out at nearly half the cost of the device so we are going to cover it ourselves and see how it goes then review it at year 3 as to whether we really needed the warranty. We have ordered spare Surfaces too so we can swap at a moments notice too so some are going to sit on a shelf till needed.

 

I'm not surprised it's expensive, screens cost about £180.

[CHR1S]

The driver for this project is to provide a better and easier process for teachers to gather evidence of pupil progress and record it on SIMS. We're an infant school, so evidence is mostly observations taken during lessons. Currently they write post its and take photos and then enter all of the data after the lessons. We've looked at lots of software and identified various options using a tablet to record as being the most efficient in terms of work for teachers.

 

The proposal put to me was iPads as the tablets in addition to a windows laptop. Windows tablets is my counter proposal. Having played with a range at BETT, the Surface devices seem the best - light enough to be a genuine tablet replacement and powerful enough to replace the laptops they currently use.

 

I think in that context they represent reasonable value. It's a teaching and learning decision about the best classroom procedures and software, although having seen what they are trying to do, I think they've made a good decision. After you've put a value on the teachers' time and mine (for not having to manage iPads) the price starts to look more reasonable.

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

We currently have 2/3/4 year old iPads that still fulfil similar needs for evidence, straight to a blog etc. I suppose the price of a laptop + a new iPad would be in a similar ballpark , horses for courses and all that

[Iain.Faulkner]

This was a good thread to find :-)

 

We've just ordered 100 of the Microsoft Surface 3's (thank goodness we didn't put the order in prior to Microsoft dropping 30% off the retail price!!). We've gone with the MendIT extended warranty and accidental damage cover which wasn't too bad I didn't think, certainly not half the cost of the device. I would be interested in hearing people's experience though of MendIT and what service is like? Depending on delivery times, these will be distributed to teaching staff on February 22nd. We're working with Tablet Academy to provide training to staff on Windows 10, One Note and Office 365. Longer term, we're looking at buying a couple of sets of Surfaces prior to looking at a 1:1 deployment further down the line.

 

We're trying to get the Surface's to image using SCCM but are having difficulties with it, really struggling to get devices to image using the same Microsoft USB Network Adapter. @10101010 I'd be interested in talking about how you've done it?

 

Going back to the original post....we've purchased the UAG Folio Case, not overly attractive (although it is growing on me) but does seem rugged.

 

Buy UAG Surface Folio Case - Microsoft Store United Kingdom Online Store

 

Ignore the price, we paid £25 for them (although we did buy 100).

[Iain.Faulkner]

So that's how they get away with charging £35 for them!

 

If anyone is looking for these, the Microsoft Store had them at £25 last week.

[10101010]

This was a good thread to find :-)

 

We've just ordered 100 of the Microsoft Surface 3's (thank goodness we didn't put the order in prior to Microsoft dropping 30% off the retail price!!). We've gone with the MendIT extended warranty and accidental damage cover which wasn't too bad I didn't think, certainly not half the cost of the device. I would be interested in hearing people's experience though of MendIT and what service is like? Depending on delivery times, these will be distributed to teaching staff on February 22nd. We're working with Tablet Academy to provide training to staff on Windows 10, One Note and Office 365. Longer term, we're looking at buying a couple of sets of Surfaces prior to looking at a 1:1 deployment further down the line.

 

We're trying to get the Surface's to image using SCCM but are having difficulties with it, really struggling to get devices to image using the same Microsoft USB Network Adapter. @10101010 I'd be interested in talking about how you've done it?

 

Going back to the original post....we've purchased the UAG Folio Case, not overly attractive (although it is growing on me) but does seem rugged.

 

Buy UAG Surface Folio Case - Microsoft Store United Kingdom Online Store

 

Ignore the price, we paid £25 for them (although we did buy 100).

 

Hi Iain

 

looks like you are taking a very similar path to us.

 

I'm not going to take all the credit:), one of my Techncians got it working. (this way you don't have to use usb or a seperate adapter for each device)

take of box and add to the domain using the Microsoft Adapter. (defo works for windows 8.1) untested for windows 10 - but method should still apply.

 

Immediately remove the Micosoft Adapter and make sure device is now on Wifi Network - that way sccm will register the wifi mac address as the primary address.

 

Install the SCCM client

 

Leave it to then report in SCCM2012 R2.

 

We then advertise task sequence to the collection you create that contain the tablets and then the whole image is pulled down into software center on the local client. - IMPORTANT make sure the task sequence is advertise as 'available' and not 'required' (otherwise it will automatically deploy to clients)

 

We just then run the install from the SCCM software center.

 

For the record I picked up the STM Dux for Microsoft Surface for about £19

 

How much is everyone paying for the Edu Surface 10.8 bundle ?

[Iain.Faulkner]

Hi Iain

 

looks like you are taking a very similar path to us.

 

I'm not going to take all the credit:), one of my Techncians got it working. (this way you don't have to use usb or a seperate adapter for each device)

take of box and add to the domain using the Microsoft Adapter. (defo works for windows 8.1) untested for windows 10 - but method should still apply.

 

Immediately remove the Micosoft Adapter and make sure device is now on Wifi Network - that way sccm will register the wifi mac address as the primary address.

 

Install the SCCM client

 

Leave it to then report in SCCM2012 R2.

 

We then advertise task sequence to the collection you create that contain the tablets and then the whole image is pulled down into software center on the local client. - IMPORTANT make sure the task sequence is advertise as 'available' and not 'required' (otherwise it will automatically deploy to clients)

 

We just then run the install from the SCCM software center.

 

For the record I picked up the STM Dux for Microsoft Surface for about £19

 

How much is everyone paying for the Edu Surface 10.8 bundle ?

 

Thank you for that, going to give it a try this morning :-)

[Arthur]

this way you don't have to use usb or a separate adapter for each device

There's an even easier solution. Simply tell SCCM to exclude the MAC address of the USB Ethernet adapter or docking station from the hardware inventory.

 

• http://blogs.technet.com/b/system_center_configuration_manager_operating_system_deployment_support_blog/archive/2015/08/27/re_2d00_use-the-same-nic-for-multiple-pxe-initiated-deployments.aspx
  
• http://deploymentbunny.com/2016/01/29/os-deployment-allow-pxe-deployment-to-the-same-mac-address-by-configure-sms_discovery_data_manager-in-configmgr-or-how-to-deploy-windows-to-shared-docking-stations-and-usb-network-adapters/
  

[jaminben]

There's an even easier solution. Simply tell SCCM to exclude the MAC address of the USB Ethernet adapter or docking station from the hardware inventory.

 

• Reusing the same NIC for multiple PXE initiated deployments in System Center Configuration Manger OSD - Configuration Manager OSD Support Team Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs
  
• OS Deployment – Allow PXE deployment to the same MAC Address by configure SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER in ConfigMgr, or How to deploy Windows to shared docking stations and usb network adapters « The Deployment Bunny
  

 

Excellent... been looking for something like this for awhile.

 

[jmak]

There's an even easier solution. Simply tell SCCM to exclude the MAC address of the USB Ethernet adapter or docking station from the hardware inventory.

 

• http://blogs.technet.com/b/system_center_configuration_manager_operating_system_deployment_support_blog/archive/2015/08/27/re_2d00_use-the-same-nic-for-multiple-pxe-initiated-deployments.aspx
  
• OS Deployment – Allow PXE deployment to the same MAC Address by configure SMS_DISCOVERY_DATA_MANAGER in ConfigMgr, or How to deploy Windows to shared docking stations and usb network adapters « The Deployment Bunny
  

 

Can you do the same with WDS/MDT, or is this only available if you're using SCCM?

[sted]

Can you do the same with WDS/MDT, or is this only available if you're using SCCM?

 

i dont think mdt cares about the mac address as its a manual process unless you have it specced in the optional sql database

[NviGate_Systems]

For protection, you can also get Tempered Glass for the Surface Pro screen if you plan on not getting coverage, as it does help mitigate damage. Smashed screens is the #1 tablet killer. That and water/liquid. Kinda a tie.

[jmak]

For protection, you can also get Tempered Glass for the Surface Pro screen if you plan on not getting coverage, as it does help mitigate damage. Smashed screens is the #1 tablet killer. That and water/liquid. Kinda a tie.

Is that a screen protector applied by the user/supplier or a factory option you specify?

 

Ignore that. It would be the same as I've bought for every touch screen phone I've had for the last 5 years! So yes, it's a protector you buy and stick on. Wouldn't touch (no pun intended) a plastic one, but the glass ones are excellent.

Edited February 4, 2016 by jmak
Edit reason: I asked a dim question :D

[jmak]

We are also looking to replace teacher laptops with surface 3's (10.8 screen size), and have found a case STM Dux for Microsoft Surface which allows the keyboard to folder around the back which then switches into tablet mode. (no ned to detach, also has a pen holder) best one I've found.

 

The pen is the real winner for me, such a powerful tool in OneNote.

 

We use SCCM 2012R2 to image and making sure the wifi mac address is associated with the client in SCCM, that way we can pull the image down over the wifi. SCCM doesn't like it if you try and share microsoft gigabit adapter with different surfaces. (or that's what we found anyway)

 

Is anyone considering using them in a 1:1 programme for students?

 

We went for mendIT cover, sure it was nowhere near that. Will check tomorrow if needed. On our first lot of pro 3's, we went without cover. These are now out of warranty and microsoft is still exchanging damaged devices free of charge. They even send the replacement out 1st and give us 30days to return broken one

 

Torn between the case and the accidental damage cover.

 

I like the look of the STM Dux case - I don't want to make them bulky or lose functionality, so looks like it fits the bill. @10101010 do you have feedback on them in use?

 

@rrrrr I've had a quote for the Mendit cover, which seems quite affordable (I could find the money if we think it's worth it). Have you - or anyone else - had any experience of claiming?

[10101010]

we haven't issued them yet, just tidying up the build.

I really like it, In comparison to the fist batch I bought (maroo) it's much more practical and cheaper case.

The stand is adustable, so you can get the perfect angle you want. I suppose my worry about this feature is if over time the hinges gradually weaken and can no longer hold the angle you want.

For £19 I think it's well worth it in comprison to others.

I guess, just buy one and see if you like it.

 

good idea about the tempered glass by NviGate_Systems, looking into that now.

[mavhc]

Lots of problems with surface pro 4 and surface book though, power issues and gpu driver crashes.

[NviGate_Systems]

The tempered glass is like a screen protector, most techy shops have 'em or buy like 500 - 1000 from china for uber cheap.

[mattpearson]

If staff are using Surface Pro's with ClickView they can install the windows 8/8.1/10 app. This has a swipey, touchy type interface and once they are logged into ClickView it will retain their login for quick access to the ClickView video library. They can also take and upload video directly from the surface pro into their workspace.