laptops to conservation of power. It puts some perspective on the amount =
of power we demand (more popularly our "carbon footprint") and helps =
students see the real need to husband these resources as opposed to =
using them frivolously. This conversation then extends far beyond the =
laptop program to our personal and community-wide habits in regards to =
power and energy.=20
And the solution once again makes it the responsibility of the student =
to be prepared, organized, and thoughtful, rather than the teacher or IT =
department's job to supply support services to them for every aspect of =
their lives.
Jenni Swanson Voorhees
Sidwell Friends School
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of Jim =
Heynderickx
Sent: Sat 2/9/2008 4:16 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Battery "best practices" in an 1:1 environment
=20
Hi, Dave
I've been sharing an idea on this topic that I've seen work successfully =
at two schools. First, a school should determine how many hours during=20
the school day a laptop really should be used for academic work. Is it=20
2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours during the school day (8-3?).=20
A new Macbook battery can carry a charge for about 3.5 hours. It may=20
only be able to do that for about 18 months of use, but typically they=20
can run that long if the use of the laptop is managed well.
So, consider this idea. If the goal of a laptop program is quality of=20
use and not quantity of use, what if students didn't have AC adapters at =
school? What if the challenge for students was to manage their laptop=20
and battery use to make one full charge last for the school day?
Of course, there would be exceptions. A student could be loaned an=20
adapter if the battery is out by the last period (but not every day). =20
In science, there may need to be adapters for hours of probe data=20
collection. Batteries that begin to fail will need to be replaced.
The benefit, however, is that the use of the laptops could be more=20
focused. Additionally, most of the electrical cable clutter in=20
classrooms is removed. The laptops weigh less being transferred from=20
home to school and back again. The laptop cases can be narrower because =
there doesn't need to be an outside pocket for the adapter. Finally,=20
the laptops will likely last longer if their use was more focused during =
the day, and their use as "big iPods" just before and after school was=20
reduced.=20
So, just an idea. I have seen it work successfully, but obviously it's=20
not a fit for all laptop programs.=20
Jim Heynderickx
Director of Technology
American School in London
Dave Candelario wrote:
> We're in the process of developing our 1:1 implementation plans.
> I'm very interested to hear from 1:1 schools that have a good solution =
to
> keeping student laptop batteries charged. =20
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