Laptops for Teachers

[PaulRenda]

Hello everyone,

 

Does any schools here provide individual laptops to all their teachers? We're trying to cut down on costs and this question has popped up. Could you please provide feedback.

 

Thank you.

 

Kindest regards,

Paul

[sparkeh]

Yes we do, what do you want to know?

[witch]

If you search the site, there are several threads that might be of interest.

Here's one : http://www.edugeek.net/forums/blue-skies/88167-teachers-laptops.html

[Edu-IT]

When you say 'keep', do you mean for the time they're with the school?

[Gibson335]

All teachers and TA staff get a laptop here, while they're here.

[sparkeh]

"Does your school provide (free of charge) laptops to each individual teacher to keep?"

To keep? They have a laptop as long as they are employed by the school but obviously give them back when they leave or go on maternity leave or something.

[PaulRenda]

Hello,

 

Our teachers have laptops they take home and in some cases never to be seen again. They have a brand new staff resource room, with enough desktops for everyone and all classes have brand new computers. So my question is why will they also need a personal laptop (which belongs to the school) to be used at home? I understand if they need to do some work at home, they can use a laptop from ICT for some days and then give it back. Am I thinking this wrong?

 

Thank you

[PaulRenda]

All teachers and TA staff get a laptop here, while they're here.

 

WOW, your school must have a gigantic ICT budget!!

[Grey-gear]

That sound like a practical idea but teachers are never that practical, the teachers where I work only have laptops if they are middle management up. Most departments use their budget to buy them if they have a teacher that really needs one.

[sonofsanta]

If they have a computer in each classroom, and computers available for use in other staff areas, they don't need a laptop.

 

Laptops cost more for the equivalent spec, die sooner even if cared for like a first-born (heat, battery), are ergonomically worse and harder to keep track of. Most people then also treat them fairly roughly, letting kids loose, destroying power bricks (how people manage this so consistently I don't know) and generally seeing them as personal kit not school kit.

 

Yes, staff are required to do some work on computers at home these days. So am I, and I don't get bought a laptop. Near everyone has a computer at home now anyway.

[FN-GM]

Everyone had one here. We got rid of them in favour of a better remote access solution.

[glennda]

I've been through the process of removing Laptops at my last place, it came as a strategic move from SLT (of which we were pushing). We put the stats in front of SLT comparing cost and effectiveness and in the end removed all laptops from teachers (and students) and moved to having fixed desktops and areas of staff to work in within the building (staff resource area). Teachers then complained this room wasn't enough so we put the stats in front of them showing that in a room with 15 pcs for them the only 3 times they were all used was during staff training

[CAM]

My current school does not do this but take it from me through past experience, it is not worth. They are easily damaged yet treated poorly, they are intended for work but used for all sorts of virus-laden activities at home and they are a total pain in the rear to keep maintained since they can go years without seeing the network, bringing in the dirt from home when they do.

 

Add to that the costs of emergency maintenance, initial outlay and your own sanity as staff (not just teachers, staff!) come in with a very possessive attitude about "their" laptop and you will see why a computer in every classroom is more effective!

[SneakyBeaky]

Small primary: 10 teachers. We provide all teachers with a laptop for use whilst they are with us. When they leave it is returned. The laptop has secure logon and network file synchronisation to ensure that all sensitive data is protected should the laptop be stolen. For this reason we do not allow teachers to use their own laptop, hence we must provide one. They also have an encrypted memory stick and are told not to use their own for reports etc.

[Danp]

Nope, staff do not get a laptop by default, in some cases the odd one may be given out.

[X-13]

Yes, staff are required to do some work on computers at home these days. So am I, and I don't get bought a laptop.

 

I did. [When I was on 15 hours a week, term time only.]

 

And I don't even use it.

 

 

We have a few staff with laptops here. Some are hardly used, and the ones that ARE used aren't used properly. [i scanned one with CCleaner... I was slightly shocked at the internet results.]

 

We also have staff who have family members that "know about IT" [including one with an other-half in network security] who like to mess about with the laptops to get them to do things they shouldn't. Like torrenting [the bad kind] and various online games.

 

 

I'm looking into a decent remote access solution.

[laserblazer]

Our teachers get one, many of which double as their classroom computer. I think there would be a riot if we stopped giving them out.

[sparkeh]

I don't think its fair to make statements like "Its not worth it" and "They get treated terribly" and the like, that might be some people's experience but certainly not everyone's.

Our staff value their laptops as a vital resource and treat them exceptionally well.

[Earthling]

All our teaching staff and cover supervisors get a laptop, which they use as a classroom computer and take home if they want to. They all sign an AUP, and they all return the laptop when they leave.

 

For the most part, they look after them quite well. One teacher has wrecked her first two, but it's been made crystal clear that if this one gets wrecked, she pays for a replacement.

 

The first batch were purchased March 2008, and we've been topping up with replacements, 10, maybe 15 per year, since 2010. A *lot* of the original Tosh A200's are still going strong today.

 

One thing that threw me when we bought the first 60 was that we'd pay £500-£600 for a laptop, but then the Bursar baulked at paying a tenner each for a bag to carry them round in.

 

When she showed me her alternative choice of bag, I said, 'You know what, don't worry. I'll whizz down Morrison's and get some carrier bags instead.'

 

She got the message, and we got our bags.

 

If I was ever to buy a laptop of my own, I'm sure I'd pay at least 10% of the purchase price for a decent bag to carry it around in.

[tommej]

Each teacher across out 3 schools is assigned a HP 4530s - TA's generally all have a laptop too of an older spec.

 

This causes us many a headache!

[CAM]

Did you find any ponies?

 

EDIT - Jokey response to X-13. Silly forum missed the quote. >.<

[Gibson335]

WOW, your school must have a gigantic ICT budget!!

 

It's something I've been trying to fight, but thus far without success. Business Manager has also tried - also without success. And we're on a 4 year cycle of replacement.

[chazzy2501]

I voted yes, but to be clear all I do is assign a laptop to each teacher & cover supervisor, not admin and not TAs. They don't own the laptop they just have exclusive use of the device and can take it off site. They can't install apps or extra hardware and if they leave they must return it.

 

laptops are replaced usually around 4 to 5 years and earlier if they get to tired.

[mthomas08]

We do give teaches and now quite a lot of TA's laptops....

 

Not far off from giving the cleaners laptops to be frank.

 

Seem to be dishing them out like anything at the moment.....

[bossman]

Laptop for Teachers scheme died out around 5 years ago and so with the last lot of laptops dished out they have slowly come to an end, hehe!

 

The schools policy is if the staff require a laptop to work from then they have to purchase it themselves, as we do not have a fully managed wireless system in place we also stipulate that they cannot use our network for accessing work or internet access as it is not secure.

 

As all rooms are equiped with IWBs and a computer there is not a necessity for them to have a laptop as wherever they go they have access to a workstation which has internet access and also to their files.

 

They have remote access to their files from home so do not have to use US pen drives or the like as they can use all the applications they use at work on their remote access.

 

Unless a teacher has no access to their work both at school or from home without a laptop then there is no requirement for them to have one provided by the school.