Computer to Pupil ratios - fact or fiction?

[Face-Man]

Do 486's count ?

[accura2000]

All our children from years 3-6 have there own laptops. Year 1-3 use the ICT suite, and shared area bays.

 

We work out to roughly 1:2.14

[Sylv3r]

I suppose the question we need to ask here as well is, its all well and good being at low ratios 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 etc, but the age of the machine must be an issue as well.

 

A school with 700 students and 600 PC's aged 5 years old, has a good ratio, but not necessarily good facilities.

[danielson81]

Is there somewhere on the BECTA website that actually states the recommended ratios for Primary Schools?

 

Our current ratio is 1:5.5 however around 19 of them old Elonex's which I obviously want to replace.

 

The school don't mind replacing them but they want some sort of proof that we are keeping within recommended guidelines. Without the new machines our ratio would become 1:7.15

[Butuz]

As you can see by the response on this thread 1:7 is way behind what most schools are aiming for.

 

1:2 is a realistic ratio to achieve. 1:1 is over the top IMHO though congrats goes to schools that have achieved that.

 

Butuz

[Butuz]

ps - cant find the exact defenitions on Becta website but found this:

 

Computer to pupil ratio has also improved over the last year, with 4.3 pupils for every desktop computer in secondary schools.

 

So I think schools are expected to be better than 1:4.3 this year.

 

Butuz

[localzuk]

1:2 is unattainable for us at the moment. We don't have the network sockets, or wireless to do it. We also don't have the money. We are slowly but surely moving to 1.3 (we're now at 1:3.9 compared to 1:4 a while back, and should be at 1:3.7 in the next month or so, and then our numbers drop next year so, we'll be at 1:3.5).

[Butuz]

Yep - it's a year by yer thing, slow but sure (unless your lucky enough to get a big investment all of a sudden). Its taken us 7 years to move from 1:7 to 1:3. Hope to get to under 1:3 by 2010.

 

Butuz

[grumpy_git]

We're almost at 1:2 if you count (number of pupils) / (total number of workstations).

 

However this includes teacher laptops, classroom teacher machines, admin machines, office machines etc. If you take them out, you're looking at about 1:3.5.

[john]

Is there a definition in terms of spec that can be allowed for the count? I am meaning is a 486DX allowed to be counted if it still works even though it may run Win 3.1?

[featured_spectre]

if all goes to plan, we will have more machines than pupils by september...stupid i know but hey, i dont make the rules!

[Butuz]

if all goes to plan, we will have more machines than pupils by september...stupid i know but hey, i dont make the rules!

 

It'd be an exceptional school that is able to teach pupils to use two computers to work on two different subjects at the same time

 

Butuz

[farmerste]

in my mind ( warped and twisted as it is )

 

2 laptops = 1 desktop

3 wireless laptops = 1 desktop

4 umpcs = 1 desktop

6 asooseeeepc = 1 desktop

 

by desktop i mean wired connection, p4 2.8ghz upwards 512Mb upwards

 

we've actually got a ratio of around 3:1 here ( if you count processors ) and were a primary

 

but i don't think the ratio takes into account how useful, or 'solid' the system you are using is, so ratios are not in my opinion a good indicator of how good the ict is in school.