1:1 Staff Laptops Vs Designated Class PC for whiteboard

[titch]

Morning all.

 

I know this isn't strictly AV-related but it's in the context of connecting to a classroom whiteboard.

 

We currently have decent PC's in every classroom but are looking into giving all staff a device as well. It has been muted that will pull out all the PCs and staff roam with their windows laptop. If money constraints weren't an issue (within reason) what do you think is the best approach for technicians/teachers and learners?

[hardtailstar]

If you are going full laptop then make sure you have spares incase a teacher is off and you have a supply in or you need to repair a teacher one

 

My last school went from PCs to laptops. It was a pain.

 

Current school is just laptops and works well.

[paulkerton]

Whatever happens, if you're getting rid of in-class devices running the boards, you need to have USB-C capable devices, and USB-C docks set up anywhere there is a whiteboard. Makes it simple and easy to plug in one cable, and keeps any damage from removing and reconnecting cables all the time at the dock and USB-C port.

 

That should be a non-negotiable now. You don't need, or want the headache involved with HDMI vs VGA, audio routing, what happens when someone bends a pin etc.

[TechMonkey]

Personally I would always kit a class out with a dedicated device, not necessarily a desk PC. So all our whiteboards now have built-in PCs, this way no matter what happens a class is setup for learning. We may move to laptops, we may move to tablets, we may move to BYOD but the class is set up and maintained. Who ever walks in can be up and running the same across all our classrooms.

 

When I have dealt with staff moving devices and having to set them up and connect them to a board or projector there have been problems and the teachers have got annoyed. Slightly easier with USB-C, so one cable and no wrong way round, but I have still seen those cables destroyed, and teachers will huff and puff about wasting their teaching time to setup and the IT department run ragged having to visit many classrooms a the beginning of each lesson.

[3s-gtech]

We have recently implemented this for all teachers and classrooms. If you need any insight on how we've done it, just ask.

[chazzy2501]

USB-C docks have to be the way forward. I'm replacing my HP dock fleet with USB-C based HP docks. One cable for everything. charging, picture, sound, interactive. it could also do networking to remove wifi woes, mouse, keyboard, graphics tablet, 2nd webcam, visualiser...

 

I have found a few issues, the ports are hyper sensitive to dirt / hand lotion. contact cleaner spray will be your friend. The rather strict length limit and nebulous specs on getting a compatible extension lead is a pain. Just place the dock on the desk. (I wanted to hide them away in a ceiling or wall box)

[titch]

If you are going full laptop then make sure you have spares incase a teacher is off and you have a supply in or you need to repair a teacher one

 

My last school went from PCs to laptops. It was a pain.

 

Current school is just laptops and works well.

 

What was the difference between the 2 schools that made one be a pain and one work well

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

We are looking at surfaces and the expensive docks that go with them

[titch]

We have recently implemented this for all teachers and classrooms. If you need any insight on how we've done it, just ask.

 

Yes please. How have you got on with it and which devices did you choose? Always keen on a chat with a fellow edugeeker if you would prefer a call?

[3s-gtech]

PM if you want.

 

Some outline:

 

Lenovo E14 gen1 (Core i3) running Windows 10 20H2 and Office 2019

Lenovo Hybrid USB-C docks (with HDMI to VGA adaptors where wallplates didn't have HDMI)

Single USB-C for docking and charging

Teaching staff assigned their own charger, case and projector remote

Always On VPN setup for these devices

 

Reception so far has been very positive, with some criticism of VPN speed (we're hammering the WAN link to be fair to it!). The machines themselves are beautifully made, very quick and light. As we moved from Core 2 Duo desktops the contrast in speed helped the project feedback!

 

I can't feed back on port or cable durability for USB-C yet. I expect them to fail - I'll replace the cables (genuine only, at like £30 a pop!) but the staff will get a surprise if they wreck the port on their laptops!

 

We've hung on to 4:3 monitors for years as it suited things like Smartboards etc - that's something that isn't always considered when your projectors don't support a 16:9 signal or the display surface is the wrong shape. I'd been buying 16:9 projectors only for several years so compatibility has been excellent. Less so with the surface they project onto!

 

We also have a new wifi install (802.11ax) and the laptops support this too, to reduce the complaints we've had in the past over speeds when away from desks. Of course, network cabling to the docks themselves in is still the best bet!

[jthompson]

Staff laptops here for years now. Have a set of ready spares to hand out when there are any issues or new/temp staff. We find that our set of spares has a fairly regular amount of use such that they don't really need much attention from us in terms of keeping them up to date and ready to roll. With laptops, it means that all your teaching staff also have a device available for all of their non-teaching work, meetings and training sessions.

 

We're starting to look into USB-C docks in classrooms now too. That'll be expensive for ~100 classrooms but undeniably simpler for teachers to live with and the rates of cable attrition ought to drop considerably. It would also remove the need for staff to carry chargers and display dongles around with them, which is what we're increasingly having to deal with now that newer laptops don't have VGA.

[psydii]

The Lenovo USB-C cables are garbage. Look for alternatives (make sure to spec PD and DP ALT Mode).

[p858snake]

We are looking at surfaces and the expensive docks that go with them

 

What I will say for surface docks, to make your experience better:

 

1. Keep their firmware somewhat up to date and consistent across the site
   
2. For users that are dual screens (eg: office staff), I found matching screens (Make & Model) make the experience a lot better when they commonly dock/undock
   

[Andrew_C]

What I will say for surface docks, to make your experience better:

 

[*] Keep their firmware somewhat up to date and consistent across the site

This is causing us grief at the moment. All back in now post-lockdown, to find docks needing firmware updates in SOME cases.

[titch]

Dock needs firmware?.........what magic does it have inside? I did wonder why it was so expensive.

[jmak]

Going back to the very first post, I can't see any reason to pull out perfectly good PCs from classrooms*. I also would have thought it's essential for all teachers to have 1:1 portable devices.

 

There's been discussion on here for years about whether teachers should be provided with personal devices. In the past it was arguably a luxury as teachers could do all their work in school and working at home was a choice. I'd say that the way things have been over the last year has shown that giving teachers 1:1 mobile devices is essential and if money is short, you probably need to compromise on fixed PCs in the classroom.

 

I always found it quite effective for teachers to have their own devices, especially when there was a docking station; at lesson change over if a different teacher came in they could have their lesson set up on their device and just plug into the docking station, avoiding the waiting for the last teacher to log off, new teacher log on, then find their lesson resources.

 

Any combination can be made to work well, all solutions need a decent plan for how it's going to operate.

 

*Just thought of a reason: you could use them for a computer suite refresh to save some money to fund there teacher devices if that's on your list.

[Andrew_C]

Dock needs firmware?.........what magic does it have inside? I did wonder why it was so expensive.

Network adapter, 2x DisplayPort out, 4 USB ports, charging (but not, apparently, if you let the charge drop <15%).

[psydii]

Network adapter, 2x DisplayPort out, 4 USB ports, charging (but not, apparently, if you let the charge drop <15%).

 

TBH the docks probably run an embedded Linux.

[Norphy]

Dock needs firmware?.........what magic does it have inside? I did wonder why it was so expensive.

 

The Dell TB16 docks that we have are horrific on their out of box firmware. The instant you get them out of the box, you have to update them otherwise you’d regret it.

 

These things are only marginally smaller than a first generation Mac Mini. For what they do, they’re absurdly large.

[titch]

Still a bit confused. I would assume a dock either works or it doesn't. What actually happens when they aren't updated?

[Andrew_C]

Still a bit confused. I would assume a dock either works or it doesn't. What actually happens when they aren't updated?

Random disconnects, don't show video on the outputs without restarting in just the right sequence, don't always charge... That sort of thing.

[titch]

Random disconnects, don't show video on the outputs without restarting in just the right sequence, don't always charge... That sort of thing.

Sounds like an absolute PITA. You would assume that a dock was capable and rock solid in doing the very few tasks it was designed to do!

[thimon]

Are docks worth it? We have A/V cables trunked up to the classroom desks, which staff connect their laptops directly to.

[titch]

Are docks worth it? We have A/V cables trunked up to the classroom desks, which staff connect their laptops directly to.

That's depends. Anything I wonder "is it worth it" I always run through my time/cost spreadsheet.

 

If you save am average salary teacher 5 mins a day you're looking at about a £900 quid saving per year. A £100 dock is a no brainer.

 

I know this kind of spreadsheet is rudimentary and other things come into play but if management ever question your choice you have hard numbers to fall back on which can't be argued with. Time Cost Saving.xlsx

[Roberto]

Are docks worth it? We have A/V cables trunked up to the classroom desks, which staff connect their laptops directly to.

 

Docks reduce support queries because there’s only ever one cable to connect or disconnect, and with most laptops you can tell everyone to connect the dock to any usbc socket on their laptop and not have to remember which virtually identical (at least to them) cable goes in which similar but slightly different socket on their devices.

 

Docks standardise connectivity in each room regardless of the differences between hardware in each room. Hello less disruption to the start of each lesson as Mr Luddite, the maths cover teacher, struggles to remember how to connect each one of 4 different cables to a device he barely understands or ever uses, while going full Grandpa Simpson to the kids about how you didn’t need to plug a stick of chalk in back in his day...

 

Docks reduce ‘wear and tear’ damage to cables and hardware because the room’s hardware can be carefully run to the dock, and a usbc cable can be run from the dock to the laptop, without worrying about constant plugging and unplugging of connectors that may not have entirely been designed with that in mind by people who may not entirely understand how to treat the connections with respect.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Roberto
Accidentally a word.

[titch]

That's depends. Anything I wonder "is it worth it" I always run through my time/cost spreadsheet.

 

If you save am average salary teacher 5 mins a day you're looking at about a £900 quid saving per year. A £100 dock is a no brainer.

 

I know this kind of spreadsheet is rudimentary and other things come into play but if management ever question your choice you have hard numbers to fall back on which can't be argued with. [ATTACH]61134[/ATTACH]

*edit. Just had a look at my spreadsheet. 5 mins saving per working day for a 40k teacher works out about £500 a year.