Teenager-proof mice

[enjay]

Can anyone recommend a really good teenager-proof mouse?

 

We have recently been buying USB Optical Mouse Educational which have braided cables, sunken buttons and a strain relief where the cable connects to the mouse, but the students (in fairness, probably just one or two students) have taken to prising the mouse body itself apart. I've had a quick go at this, and I don't think it can be done without something small and poke-y such as a very thin key, knife blade or pair of compasses, so we're well into the territory of determined vandalism not casual fiddling and it may therefore be the case the model we have is about as tamper-proof as they come, but I thought I'd ask the question anyway.

[Bompalompalomp]

Bulk cheap ones or the old ones when we get new computers with peripherals in. Mice in suites get vandalised, no point spending much money on replacing them.

 

It's a classroom management issue and needs to be policed by the teachers, no mouse is teenager-proof because they'll find a way if they're bored. Send emails to who needs to know about who was logged in before the damage was logged and who was teaching when the damage happened.

[NB9457]

The only proper fix for vandalism is classroom management. At my last place we were replacing at least 3 keyboards or mice a day, no matter the brand of peripherals, whether we cable tied them or not, they'd break them.

 

Think the best action would be speak to SLT, break down the costs, staff time, peripheral cost, quantity going through and it could shape things up.

 

Unfortunately where I used to work, they were much happier to throw money and waste time than address the bigger school wide problem.

[enjay]

Completely agree re. classroom management. Unfortunately, I think the damage is happening in the times of lower supervision levels (break-time, if you'll excuse the pun...). I do appreciate we can't buy something totally indestructible, I'm just trying to minimise the frequency, so if I could buy a toughened mouse for £5 which lasts twice as long as a £2 mouse, that would be a win (until the LDs move on to the keyboards, of course)

[unixman_again]

BYO mice? No mouse, six of the best (or whatever punishment is allowed these days).

[NB9457]

Completely agree re. classroom management. Unfortunately, I think the damage is happening in the times of lower supervision levels (break-time, if you'll excuse the pun...). I do appreciate we can't buy something totally indestructible, I'm just trying to minimise the frequency, so if I could buy a toughened mouse for £5 which lasts twice as long as a £2 mouse, that would be a win (until the LDs move on to the keyboards, of course)

Prefects to monitor the areas? Or if it's happening that frequently, lock the rooms when not in use and put a temporary ban on use of PCs during breaks to see if it improves?

[SamanthaD]

CCTV in all PC suites. Had it in my last school, I can count the amount of vandalised kit on one hand over the 2 year period I was there.

[NB9457]

CCTV in all PC suites. Had it in my last school, I can count the amount of vandalised kit on one hand over the 2 year period I was there.

 

That is a real grey area

[enjay]

That is a real grey area

 

Then you need better cameras! Sorry

 

As long as you have communicated to people they are being recorded and why, I think you're okay. I'm not an oracle on CCTV law though, other people here have the knowledge on that.

[FN-GM]

CCTV in all PC suites. Had it in my last school, I can count the amount of vandalised kit on one hand over the 2 year period I was there.

 

CCTV isn't the answer, classroom management is. We don't have CCTV in classrooms and it is very rare we get damage. When I first started we had loads of if, with the support of SLT we billed the departments for every bit of damage. Now it doesn't happen.

[enjay]

CCTV isn't the answer, classroom management is.

 

And that is where this particular area is falling down - the damage is happening in the library during break time. Students are supervised, but there are lots of students in a big, multi-section room and one staff member. We are looking at that issue, but in the meantime, I was hoping for a quick win to minimise the financial cost of the students under lower supervision.

[dapaulio]

We, like I think every school, is one of the most annoying support calls I have to put up with. Must go through between 50 and 100 mice a month.

Honestly the pet shop are beginning to ask questions [emoji23].

I tend to get bulk orders on eBay or online refurb stores when they come available otherwise buying the cheapest I can find.

Reminds me of a funny story

I had a meeting where mice was one of the topics that came up and what I could do, if any to minimise the number of mice being broken... typical non tech management question. I will let your imaginations think of quip responses I could have come up with.

sensible “actually addressing the problem” answers like locking rooms and asking staff to be more vigilant was obviously out of the question so As a hip fire shot I suggested half jokingly replacing the monitors and mice with touch screen monitors (I know a bold move but it was an out of the box thought).

What threw me was their reaction as they asked how much would that cost... obviously with no figures to hand I told them I would price it up and we continued to discuss the pro and cons.

Oddly What started as a Witty response turned into a potentially viable solution.

I worked out 100 mice per month at £5 each = £6000 per year in mice replacements

I have 6problematic ict rooms where the majority of the replacements go with 30 computers in each. That’s 180 monitors @ £120 each = £21600

No one in management was brave enough to make the bold move and put their job on the line I think. From a financial perspective The solution would begin saving in the 4th year. Oddly the more I got involved with this the more I saw this as a working solution if I had the financial backing. From a technical perspective as it has never been implemented before it would have been near impossible to say whether it would have worked long term.

Edited January 27, 2018 by dapaulio

[forkies]

How about, every student buys one and they have to carry it in their bag, they must bring it every day (like their pencil case) and plug it in for every IT lesson (almost like a PE kit), removing theirs at the end of each IT lesson.

 

No mice stay on the computers and if they brake their own mouse their parents must replace it, like if they lost their PE kit.

 

Sensible solution?

[dapaulio]

How about, every student buys one and they have to carry it in their bag, they must bring it every day (like their pencil case) and plug it in for every IT lesson (almost like a PE kit), removing theirs at the end of each IT lesson.

 

No mice stay on the computers and if they brake their own mouse their parents must replace it, like if they lost their PE kit.

 

Sensible solution?

 

Brings a whole new meaning to byod [emoji23] I like it

[forkies]

Brings a whole new meaning to byod [emoji23] I like it

 

BYOM = bring your own mouse

[dapaulio]

BYOM = bring your own mouse

 

It is sad to admit that Some students and teachers would take it literally.

 

April fools is coming up though [emoji41][emoji106]

[jmak]

How about, every student buys one and they have to carry it in their bag, they must bring it every day (like their pencil case) and plug it in for every IT lesson (almost like a PE kit), removing theirs at the end of each IT lesson.

 

No mice stay on the computers and if they brake their own mouse their parents must replace it, like if they lost their PE kit.

 

Sensible solution?

Mr Boring alert:

 

Assuming they didn't get damaged through misuse, the USB ports world wear out.

 

Otherwise I think it's a reasonable request/requirement.

 

Maybe remove the mice and provide a laminated sheet with keyboard shortcuts for common functions...

[forkies]

Mr Boring alert:

 

Assuming they didn't get damaged through misuse, the USB ports world wear out.

 

Otherwise I think it's a reasonable request/requirement.

 

Maybe remove the mice and provide a laminated sheet with keyboard shortcuts for common functions...

 

Or a usb extension for them to plug into, cheaper to replace then a mouse and would last much longer than vandalism of the mouse.

[FN-GM]

If you have a vandalism problem and do this with the mice, they will have a go at something else. I'm sure you have found laptops still get vandalised even though they don't have mice.

 

Each student have their own mouse isn't a solution, the root cause needs fixing.

 

It is written into policy here that staff are to check for damage before and the end of the lesson and report accordingly. If any dame us found the teachers department is billed automatically. This means department heads are onto their teachers about damage.

Edited January 28, 2018 by FN-GM

[dapaulio]

If you have a vandalism problem and do this with the mice, they will have a go at something else. I'm sure you have found laptops still get vandalised even though they don't have mice.

 

Each student have their own mouse isn't a solution, the root cause needs fixing.

 

It is written into policy here that staff are to check for damage before and the end of the lesson and report accordingly. If any dame us found the teachers department is billed automatically. This means department heads are onto their teachers about damage.

 

Our slt aren’t that logical. My suggestion of locking rooms and asking for increased staff vigilance made them look at me in a way as if I had taken away something so dear to them. Think hell would freeze over first before a logical decision like asking staff to take 10 seconds before the end of lesson to check.

It’s not as if the teachers would have to actually do it but if the students thought they were it would at least make some of the students think twice

It’s sad to say it’s always been like that. I remember when mice had balls and they would go missing, and as a junior tech I was tasked with supergluing the locking mechanism. Snore

[synaesthesia]

We don't get anywhere near those levels but if we spent much more than £100 a year on keyboards/mice then we'd be very, very worried. The vast majority of keyboards we have in use are the original RM branded ones from back in the day - probably 10 years old at least.

CCTV in all the IT rooms; acts as a deterrent but also adds to overall security, and costs next to nothing to implement so it's a no-brainer for us. We ask for vigilance constantly and have to keep reminding people that the rooms need locking between periods, students need supervising etc. The usual issues are the odd key going missing and mice buttons being prised up, but if that gets caught on camera (and examples have), they get hauled in, made to pay for the damages/replacements or made to re-arrange the keys correctly in their own time; word gets around that it doesn't get taken lying down.

Again, we feel lucky with our senior leaders but at the same time none of us are afraid to stand our ground if needed. It would be easy to say that spending £1000 a year on replacement input devices may sound like a lot but getting staff to lock a door behind them costs nothing, and nothing is a great price to pitch to SLT to get something done

[mikeprice]

At the of the day even main BAttle Tanks are not totally immune to a group of determined teenagers soa mouse has no chance

 

It is always down to staff

 

At a previous school we had one room that was a constant problem - I instituted a check before every lesson where I went round and checked - the teacher were also told that the kids should use this to tell me about any problem - and if problem arose next lesson that hadn't been reported then the previous user would be held responsible

 

it meant that I used up 5 mins at the start of every lesson for a few days but the problems were identified quickly and then were stopped

 

The IT Manager also made it clear how much it was costing - including costing in my time and the result of all other problem being remaining unfixed for an extended amount of time due to me not being available all day (which we MIGHT have over estimated!!)

 

It was then passed onto the actual teachers as their responsibility

which it the REAL solution

[Davit2005]

We had issue with this at a secondary school.

 

We charged the departments for the damage and if they had proof of a specific student doing the damage the bill would be sent to the parents.

 

It is not only the small expense of the mouse but also your time to fix and the fact that the PC is unsuitable for use by another user till it is fixed.

 

As others have said this is a classroom management issue not a technical issue.