Laptops for ALL pupils

[Wizzer]

The man with the money has come up with a great idea. Instead of spending £20K+ on new desktop PC's every few years he wants all the pupils to own their own laptop (we are a private school so they will buy them from the school or source their own).

 

I have a list of potential problems that would need to be resolved but I was wondering if anyone else had gone down this route already and could share their experiences.

 

TIA

[Geoff]

These threads are a good start.

 

http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=55761

http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=6933

 

There's also been some news stories as well:

 

http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=298

http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=196

[Wizzer]

Thanks for those links, I did a search but didn't find anything.

[GrumbleDook]

I would recommend you also have a look at the ICT Register to look for this sort of thing. There are a number of schools round the country that have opted for this model including Ninestiles Schools and Djanogly City Academy

 

There are some schools that will also explain that it didn't work for them for a variety of reasons, but usually it boils down to support, ensuring adequate work / resources are set up for the students to work from and finances.

[mrforgetful]

And theft/muggings?

[Face-Man]

This soon won't just be an issue for the private sector... I know of a site who LA is going to buy 200 laptops for the students (part of the goverments plans to prevent the digital divide) sound great but with NO money for support the laptops will belong to the schools as well so they have to do all the auditing, updates and eventual disposal. No the thinking behind the scheme is great but the implemntation suck. I've talked to the SLT at the school and suggested they will have a mass walk out of staff if it ends up on the network managers desk to sort out and I think he is thinking of throwing the project back at the LEA and saying you sort it !

 

As for issues with laptops they are multiple but I'll point out a few. You can save a lot of headaches working out exatly what you want the students to be able to do. Stand alones with no connectivity are the easiest but also the most useless. As soon as you connect them you have

 

1) Any device that you let onto you school network infracture must be fully patched and virus checked (symatec have a product to do this but it is very expensive) before it can do any damage. To do this you will also need to know who and what the device is (HP have some Hardware that allows uses a radius server to allow guess some access and other users depenting on rights).

2) Wireless conectivity needs to be everywhere and have enough bandwidth to cope.

3) exactly what the laptops are used for needs to be thought about if they belong to the family then they may quite rightfully want admin access and then the issues of inappropriate for school but ok at home comes to play.

4) Who maintains them .....

5) educational licencd software ???

 

I think some of these issues can be solved by having duel boot systems one locked down for school with some kind of management software on them.

 

I would definatly get a contract writern up about how they are to be used etc..

 

And finally pointout that the money saved should be put on your salary to cover the extra hours it will be setting it all up.

[GrumbleDook]

Just to fill in a bit more information on Faceman's post. There is some funding at LA level (which may be devolved) for the Computers for Pupils scheme. THis is aimed at bridging the digital divide. THe funds involved are meant to cover the cost of the machine, costs of connectivity and costs of support.

 

There may be some unscrupulous LAs who are trying to get more machines out than they can afford to support or connect as this gives better figures to give back to central Govt

 

This funding cannot be used for a whole school laptop scheme unless you go through the organisation I should have mentioned before hand ... the eLearning Foundation. Even then it is dodgy and there are hoops ... but they can explain it far more than me. They can be found here.

[Ravening_Wolf]

Have a word with the tech team at Philip Morant if you get a chance. When I worked there, we rolled out laptops to 6th formers in a scheme similar to that you are describing with a view to covering the whole school at one stage.

 

As far as I know the scheme is still running and they have probably managed to overcome many of the concerns you have and could probably save you some headaches too. Being a "Leading Edge" school, they'd probably love the chance to chat

[Ric_]

Another way to implement it... thinking outside the box... would be to implement a Citrix farm and give users access to that for day to day usage. Obviously media editting and other such things would need to be done locally.

 

I know I harp on about BlueSocket a lot but their wireless kit has a plugin component (not sure of the additional cost) that stops wireless access if there are any nasties on the laptop/device.

 

Also, don't forget about contingencies for when laptops break down or 'throw a wobbler'. You would maybe need a spare stock.

[amacken]

I would strongly suggest you get a rep from the E-Learning foundation to talk to yourself and the SLT. There are multiple schemes out there which can be funded, and it "usually" costs the school very little in terms of finance and manpower. The costs I have seen are reasonably good, and include 3 year next day on site warranty, worldwide insurance cover etc etc. All setup etc is done by the company, not the school tecchies.....to be honest there's too much to mention.

A lot of companies have jumped on the bandwagon as they see easy money, and to be honest it is, but your first stop must be the E-Learning foundation. They can advise on good companies who they have had good relations and service with. In a nutshell, you apply to them for a percentage of funding, and it is very rarely turned down.

[Face-Man]

Thanks for the heads up Grumbledook it would appear the LA has failed to mention to the school that £10k was due to come to it and was looking to use that for the laptop purchase ... tut tut tut ....