JSpaced Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 Hey guys, I'm reaching out to get your ideas for how to deal with the ongoing problem of sound in a crowded Languages Computer suite. A few years ago we had to get arond 50% of our suites' computers 3.5mm jacks fixed because they'd been bent and damaged under constant use. We then decided to replace them with USB headsets. Last month I got asked to grab a headset for a student taking an exam on site and almost none of the headsets were intact! the most common problem was the USB portion literally being ripped from the cable. What do you guys do to provide for your Languages Rooms? Just suck it up and keep buying cheap headsets?
paulkerton Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 What do you guys do to provide for your Languages Rooms? Just suck it up and keep buying cheap headsets? Well, how do the jack ports on the machine cope with people plugging and removing things all the time? Do you get much vandalism at the machine end? I'd be tempted to get some cheap earbuds with the school name screen printed on the box. You can get them done for about £1.50 a unit these days. Pass the responsibility for looking after the headphones to the kids. First ones free. Lose em and you'll have to bring your own or pay £3. That kinda thing.
JSpaced Posted March 2, 2021 Author Posted March 2, 2021 Well, how do the jack ports on the machine cope with people plugging and removing things all the time? Do you get much vandalism at the machine end? I'd be tempted to get some cheap earbuds with the school name screen printed on the box. You can get them done for about £1.50 a unit these days. Pass the responsibility for looking after the headphones to the kids. First ones free. Lose em and you'll have to bring your own or pay £3. That kinda thing. It's the constant plugging and unplugging (they're not gentle our students) that caused the first problem. They aren't vandalising, as much as not caring very much about the angle or force with which they're removing the jacks. I'm still not sure, short of vandalism, how they broke all the USB headsets, but I'm imagining a view got up and forgot they had them on, OR decided that grabbing the cable and yanking hard was the way to get it free. Telling the kids to use their own is fine, but our Lost and Found at the end of the year is testament to just how little they care about their property: glasses, piles of glasses. Who walks around all day, unable to see properly and buys more spectacles, rather than get them when they go back to school? I like the idea that we could charge for replacements, with the silk screen or printed logo etc. BUT, most of the PCs are not 4-pole, they're two 3-pole ports. That's fine too, you can buy an adaptor. I can just see us finding loads of broken bits and bobs at the end of each term. (Which we're doing anyway.)
dhicks Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 I'm reaching out to get your ideas for how to deal with the ongoing problem of sound in a crowded Languages Computer suite. Ideally: an ultrasonic directional speaker per PC, so sound from each PC can only be heard directly in front of that PC. I'm not sure if there's anything affordable and suitable for a classroom setup - a Google search for "ultrasonic directional speakers" brings up some interesting information, plus several YouTube videos on how to make your own, but no handy Amazon link for a £30 USB device. I think Lightspeed (not the filtering company, different company) were demonstrating speakers a few years ago at the BETT show for in-classroom sound reinforcement, they might have something suitable.
paulkerton Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 It's the constant plugging and unplugging (they're not gentle our students) that caused the first problem. They aren't vandalising, as much as not caring very much about the angle or force with which they're removing the jacks Hmmm. Are they on the front of the machine or the back? If they're on the back, I'd get some cheap extension cables that can take the punishment instead of the actual port. 1
Protec Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 All we have here is a USB and 3.5mm female to male cable and the female ends are on the desk and held in place really tight with a thick cable tie going through a cable tie holder which is screwed into the desk. 1
bald_pig Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 I'd be looking at using 3.5mm extension leads and securing away the pcs and ports, then just replace the leads when they get busted.
JSpaced Posted March 2, 2021 Author Posted March 2, 2021 All we have here is a USB and 3.5mm female to male cable and the female ends are on the desk and held in place really tight with a thick cable tie going through a cable tie holder which is screwed into the desk. Are the students expected to provide their own headphones, or is there a stash of them in the classroom?
thimon Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 We use Sanako software in our language IT suite. The Sanako headsets are brilliant quality, the person who came to our school to demonstrate the software jumped up and down on a pair. They connect via USB. If the cable does break they’re detachable from the headset so can be easily replaced. Even if you don’t use the Sanako software maybe you can still purchase the headsets from them? 1
Protec Posted March 2, 2021 Posted March 2, 2021 I think students are sometimes asked to bring in their own for exams on the computer and if they don't have any they have to borrow some scratty headphones from the drawer.
SamanthaD Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 JSpaced - forget 3.5mm for constant unplugging and plugging in. As you've found out it's just not up to the abuse. 1/4" jacks however should be a lot better. Headphones - https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-signal/psg08239/education-headset/dp/AV12754?ost=av12754 Combined with this - https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-signal/psg03257/6-35mm-st-skt-to-3-5mm-st-plug/dp/AV18845?ost=av18845 Cable goes in the back - secure the cable with a couple of cable ties and leave the socket loose. At least now you have a cheap headphone that is a bit more durable and a sacrificial cable that can be replaced for £1 and the damaged one possibly repaired?
Andrew_C Posted March 5, 2021 Posted March 5, 2021 The Sanako headsets are brilliant quality, If they are still using the headsets that I dealt with ten years ago, every part is also replaceable. Ear pads, headband spring, mic arms and capsule... The whole lot. Canford Audio - not known for being cheap stock them. There may well be others. 1
Protec Posted March 10, 2021 Posted March 10, 2021 The ones here are Cosonic. They are as cheap as they sound
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