mthomas08

Seriously: A tablet which ran all Apps from Android/iOS and still allowed me to install windows software on it.

Couldn't agree more, strange thing is though if she was their daughter they would react the same way. My mother would comment the same thing that maybe she should behave but if that was me or my sisters.....

On one side I think this kind of punishment isn't a bad idea but then again I would be just as angry if it was my kids that suffered this. What I don't like to read is the teacher immediately regretted doing this: was this immediately after taping her mouth, immediately after 15 minutes had gone by or immediately when the Head Teacher/Parent was involved. Personally I think the Teacher should be suspended, the amount of damages I see caused by Students to the IT equipment is shocking. I wouldn't just tape their hands together so they couldn't brake the keyboards.. I would expect to be suspended pretty quickly. A lot of bad examples lately in regards to the education system, you would think people would watch the news.

Think I might have posted this in another thread: 1. Full audit to check what equipment you have 2. PC age (although the myth has been 5 Years, I tend to aim more for 7) so anything older should be replaced 3. Look at SSDs (Solid state drives for the machines hitting 5 Years old) I have found that they work very well even if that old. 4. Upgrading the network, we are in the process of replacing all the switches with new HP Procurve switches. From 100MB to 1GB with improved core. 5. Replacing the 7-9 Year old machines. 6. Replacing our very old IWBs (interactive whiteboards) these are around 6-7 Years old and are unreliable. 7. Replacing the Projectors (again some are 7-9 Years old and these are failing). 8. Looking in to improving the servers, I got a virtual server 6 or so months ago and we have been switching all our basic servers to this which are aging. 9. Upgrading any 2003 servers to 2008 R2 and even WDS to 2012. 10. Plasmas linked up to XIBO system and the next step is linking up ICT TVs to these. We have a few big plasma screens around the school and the ICT rooms have a small TV. 11. Guides/Documentation for as much as possible. 12. Android Tablets in September from Netbooks 13. Video editing suite, this currently is a few Macs but since re-imaging our classroom windows machines they have been impressed on how reliable it is. Previously we didn't have a decent imaging system and spent too much time fire fighting. The new suite will be wall mounted monitors, wireless mice and keyboards, trunking hiding all the cables and very little will be seen. The idea is to give the Mac affect which is usually the glamour look. This isn't meant as an insult to Macs just to show we can make them look good because the head of dept was quick to comment on the look factor of Macs at another School. 14. Remote control in every classroom for projectors. 15. State of classrooms - this is a big one, the state of the rooms is very poor. Some even had health and safety problems due to teachers moving the desks without checking with us first. Every classroom has been evaluated and every half term we try and do a few. Replacing any old cables, using correct length ones, placing trunking, moving power/network closer to the desk. Making it look as perfect as possible. 16. Researching bulbless projectors 17. Researching Tablets to Projectors 18. Replacing the XIBO machines with decent wall mounted cabinet PCs instead of "sitting on cupboards, behind desks with cables everywhere". 19. Continue to develop our online Tablet section, this is useful if you do 1:1 or Tablet Schemes. This allows Parents, Students and even Staff to review all the information regarding costs, support, Apps etc etc. As you can tell I really have thought of my job, if I can improve something I will.

Thing is though anyone who criticises Apple is immediately accused of being Pro Windows. Anyone who criticises Windows isn't immediately accused of being Pro Apple. Bit of a difference. Some of the issues people have with Apple has nothing to do with how Apple/Windows talk to each other in fact at times its more on the price of Apple devices. I my self have spent the last 6-7 months being a Google man, there is also several other posters in this discussion right now in the same boat.

Only thing I can add is, if your looking at £100 I don't think they will last 3 Years let alone 2. Been testing the Hudls and talking to people who own them (plus some online review work). For the price range £100 it is worth it, you really do get what you pay for a basic device. They are relatively slow and do come with Tesco all over it. I also find the wireless is a tad slower then what I would expect. People who I have spoken to have said similar things, fine for some one who uses once or twice a week but a device that is used throughout the day on/off I believe it will struggle. I personally would persuade the above to push for closer to the £200 range and you will get better devices, screen sizes, specs and something that will last. We have access to our drives through our Website so Students are fine on that sense.

We are screwed !!!

We have Students using them (fully their own and no MDM) with zero issues of Malware so far on any Tablet. I just wish I could say the same for our Netbooks. We also have 20 Staff currently using School owned Tablets and come September we will have around 200 Students using Android Tablets. I have been in contact with other Schools who have some Android devices and they have reported no problems. I would rather though listen to real experiences instead of "Article says so". Actually come to think of it I would rather see it for my self. Our Year 7, 8, 9 and Post16 are allowed to bring in their own devices and the only ones who have had Malware/problems are those who purchased Windows Netbooks. We have had zero iPads or Android Tablets in the door with Malware problems. And no they are not managed. The real test as mentioned for us is going to be September and in January I will have a report ready on how its gone if its a success or not. That report will be passed on to SLT and like my netbook one free for anyone on here that wants it. Our Tablets will not be managed but is always an option depending the year goes. edit: for info one of our biggest problems with Windows Netbooks (no management) is Malware problems and no matter what free scanners exist they still get through. We have even resorted to Students using a 2nd account with cut down basic user access to fix the issues but still doesn't stop everything. If some one wants to complain about Malware it should have M$ in the subject.

Congratulations!!!!

I completely agree. This part I also completely disagree with though: "It is a school’s job to churn out students who will be able to walk into a job in industry on day one and work in whatever language/paradigm is flavour du jour. - WRONG" If this statement is wrong why are Head Teachers, Deputy Heads, SLT and most Teachers using this exact statement for every subject, education in general and one of their biggest advertising lines for Schools to Parents. It's worded 100 ways but all means the same thing "Its the Schools job to educate the Students as much as possible ready for the world". Some of the comments are right though that some coder's (some times IT in general) may not be the best socially adapted people. I knew one some time ago, was happy sitting in an office all day every day without saying a word. Then again that has nothing to do with her actual argument that she should be teaching what she see fits. There is a reason why Schools tend to use Office, Windows, Macromedia (or Adobe), Photoshop and all the other software for the last 10+ Years because its all pretty industry standard. You can do things differently but if in general it educates them to the point where an employer will be attracted to that Student then the Teacher's job is done. She used the example that she would be proud to have her Students create a program to say Hello World, BUT an Employer isn't going to care about that. They are going to care if the Student can create a program or maintain something already built. In today's world an employer will be more attracted to the bigger picture. It's like for Teachers, there is no point in Teaching in English if you can speak, read and write in the language its about fully understanding the art of English (so to speak). A good example for that would be understanding Macbeth not just knowing the story. I know a little bit about coding but I wouldn't be proud if I made a calculator I would be proud if I did something that made a difference to my job or the School. Her entire post sounds too much like a rant to coders but guess what in a few Years time she will probably be screaming at them to fix her problems and she will blame them for it. Her School could end up employing one and she wont take a bit of notice of the coder yet try to purposely cause problems - instead of concentrating on the actual job at hand which is Educating our Youth in programing.

I am sure something here will be your fault or what you want from them. A few people here nailed it on hard that it's down to us to say how we want to control them. Apple can't argue the case that they are for home users because they have been pushing to get in to Schools and are quick to say "We will help Education any way we can". It's a lot of money though just to perform an English test, I noticed here there are a lot of Netbooks scattered around the School and now they are sitting in classrooms, cupboards, cabinets and barely being touched. It's a lot of money for devices just to sit there and not after 5 years but after 2. I am in the process of working out exactly how much money this School has spent in regards to mobile devices and I'm not including our man hours. The costs involved are staggering considering the main reason they walked away from PCs is cost and space. We all know that PCs can be done tidy, cost effective and don't require a ton of space. When I have finished my video editing suite Staff and especially those pro mobile devices Staff are going to be shocked at how much I spent to get a classroom setup. Not only setup but looking impressive with very limited space. My aim is to make this look like a Mac Suite as well. Don't get me wrong I can see the benefit of Mobile devices, we are going tablets after all but if it doesn't work out well enough I won't be afraid to say it to SLT.

McAfee at my previous job and current one, no major issues in my time.

I have recently seen a massive drop in this old effect, people are starting to notice Tablets more. This is through a lot of things though like Tesco getting involved and now many other companies. Just had the business manager start talking to me about what Argos are offering and I noticed that even Novatech offer their own brand. When I met Parents on our open evening many of them seemed to know what Tablets are. I will say this for Apple they started something simple and easy to use and other companies simply offered better costs. With more and more stores offering Tablets and even their own brands the Tablet world is no longer iPad. Been using a Google Nexus with a Bluetooth keyboard and it cost a lot less than an iPad but I use it for the exact same thing minus iTunes sync with my iPhone. That is on my laptop which I use for big documentation because the Google Apps is still nothing compared to M$ Office. So after all this technology I still use my PC for the occasional game, laptop for Office/Work/syncing to my iPhone and Google Nexus for skiing on the internet/Apps basic docs.

Lucky, I really have to say that - very lucky. You have a chance to make everything perfect from the get go before you have turned on a computer. Had to do the 3 Year budget plan for my not so new job, spent several hours going through everything for next Year once I got told the estimated budget I could be getting. What sort of budget do you have, or is there not one? Personally I wouldn't only go down the Thin Client route unless I had a ton of low spec machines to make them less server/networking reliant. Then again if you get your networking top notch you might not even notice the difference. Virtualisation on non core servers is my preference with the core servers clustered. You might as well aim for the moon because you have a great chance at future proofing everything. Print management with Biometrics linked up to a cashless catering system is very useful to have (perhaps Parent Pay as well to avoid all the cash handling). Not sure if you are going to want a Reprographics area to be used for large printing? Online ordering for head of departments Projectors/IWBs ? personally I would avoid all in ones because our old ones cost a fortune to replace, a new projector, new mount/bracket which cost almost as much as a new IWB. Unless you resort to eBay and even then you may not get what you want. Wall mounted speakers with trunking Wall mounted Remotes for the projectors - scrap the remotes because they lose them left right and centre Budget plan to replace out dated kit (although it may take 5-7 Years average) it can be useful to have because when I came here there was nothing but PC replacement plan. People have a habit of forgetting Projectors/IWBs don't last forever. Trunking every where, network/electrical points everywhere - Staff have a habit of moving desks causing new cabling requirements. Air con/UPS for the servers The above is just some stuff you may/may not care about but I hope it helps - will have some more at another time.

Quite simple - managing them really. Like any device in IT that gets used by Staff/Students or general users some places prefer to lock them down. They should have the option to do so and it should be simple, after all M$ likes to do things backwards these other companies/products that are supposed to be "better" should be making life easier for the IT Crew. That quotation isn't really aimed at you FYI Completely agree which is why we don't manage our Android Tablets, which is also why I still am very reserved about Mobile devices in Schools. There is a reason IT spends months locking down PCs, networks and servers. It isn't always about protecting the device but protecting the user and allowing the IT dept to easily deploy Apps, favourites, homes pages, Pre-Configured Apps (we are looking at Toshiba E-Studio Printing App) Changing your thinking approach makes little difference compared to M$ or non M$ Tablets, we do a Scheme for Year 7 and heading towards Tablets. The only real thinking approach is managed or not to be managed (that is the question). We don't managing them simply because of the work load and system changes needed. At the moment our HotSpot which is used by any mobile device users (including our Year7, 8, 9 and P16 netbooks) is completely cut off from everything minus the Internet. I can completely understand why some may go down the route of managing. So far the Staff who have been using Tablets (around 20 so far for the last month) have too had little issues. If we managed them we certainly would be making their lives easier but it will be a lot of work to get going. I have a strong feeling in 8 months time I will be wishing we managed our New Year 7 Tablets. What Tesla is stating is very good points in managing them. Sad but true, only been on the phone once with Apple and never want to again. Their product like anything else out there will work but will require a lot of work. I thought M$ and Google would react like that but actually were polite (at least last time I spoke to M$ many a year ago). I think that's where Apple falls short, the fans will claim its better than anything else out there and why would you look at the competition. Similar attitude M$ had a long time ago but with all the competition out there with Tablets its a buyers market. You really can choose a product best suited to you and you don't need to go Apple for the fan fest or M$ because your used to it. I am still waiting for a project to go ahead so I can start looking at Chrome Books. So my CV has M$, Apple, Android and Google Chrome experience

Probably cost them several million to pay a top artist to make the change.

I feel left out, I have yet to receive any advertisement from non green badges!

One of my projects (when its gone ahead) will be dealing with a Chrome setup for another site. They have limited budget and simply want it to work, when he has given me the go I will order one and see how it all works. As for your look ma - quality made me chuckle. There is this false accusation that if you use comments like that your simply being pro M$ yet as you have said (and my self in other posts) just because your not accepting Apple/Tablets doesn't mean there are alternative solutions to the problem. Which usually is internet access device + basic office usage. Although I am no fan of the Google Apps on Tablets other then Drive because the docs/spreadsheet/power point Apps by Google still need a ton of functions. You don't realise what you are missing till you sit there and use it. Luckily for us though it does cover the very basics so most of our Year 7-9 work should be fine.

It's what Ephylyon has said - it really does come down to your work load. Having spent a large time at two different Schools, same amount of Students and Staff. The two are very different in terms of work loads, my old job we spent years making things work permanently. At my current job we are spending too much time fighting fires. Then there is the Mobile device scheme. There is so much here that has been badly planned and put together with tape and glue. Although things are improving it's still going to take another 2-3 years to make the changes I have started. We have 4 technicians and one is term time only on a short time contract. I have had to make a case to keep him on for another Year which I will discuss with the deputy head possible next week. One of the main reasons why we walked away from netbooks to tablets is the support time required on those compared to tablets. Sorry edit: didn't give you the useful info. 1600 Students 200 Staff 600 PCs up to 1000 mobile devices 90 Projectors 70 IWBs Our Support team is heavily relied on to organise equipment for events (usually attend too), setup for halls etc. Do a bit of admin work, keep our website updated, support everything IT. Staff here really do have the attitude of "Who ever has an IT issue go to IT" at the start of the lesson regardless of the problem.

Just goes to show what electrical equipment can cause, regardless if it was a data projector or not its still electrical. Requires maintenance, looking after or even common sense to use. Turning things off isn't something people do enough, our projectors (newish ones) are all set to auto turn off. The School also has a new fire alarm system. Both the Schools I have worked at have had the safety officers on site pretty much throwing the book, cost has been high but same thing has been implemented at the Schools.

Thanks everyone, all sorted and videos are gone

Thanks everyone, its more classed as harassment/bullying. An ex Student by the looks of things targeting a member of Staff. I have told her to consider reporting it to the Police. With the way things are going in todays world this kind of stuff does actually bring up real charges but its finding evidence to prove who it is.

The same old same old: Would all mind reporting the user and the videos please I have asked our staff to do the same https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDAfG81JoWEfuChdyh4_v8w Thank you

We allow it even though I prefer not to but I am putting together a proposal to: 1. Upgrade our internet bandwidth because it is consistently hitting 90-100% 2. Put up with it but tell Staff/Students tough on their problems 3. Consider banning websites that in my view are not really educational but we can allow future EDU websites. I prefer 3 mainly because its what I did at my last job and having 1000 machines roughly on the same internet connection with a consistent 65/75% hit on busy times just shows what you can do with a bit of work. I didn't allow Youtube and a lot of other sites at my last job. FYI we tested a block on youtube and we witnessed the spike drop.

We are signed up to this Scheme, very positive feedback so far but not fully live yet. Costs: You are always going to find those who are not happy but this time around we had more happy Parents. The School can also choose to help those with twins/financial problems etc.