basic big Dell, a basic MacBook, and an Asus netbook for those who wanted to
use our "student discount" but otherwise permitting anything on the system.
We offered proportionate purchase assistance to high financial need
families. It's all about the Cloud, in particular Google Apps.
We beefed up the wireless and added more power outlets last year, laid on a
couple of extra help desk folks for the start of the year, trained the
faculty in a bunch of Web 2.0 stuff last year in in Google Apps over the
summer, bought a few loaner netbooks for dire cases, and basically the
transition to 1:1 has gone pretty much seamlessly, so far. We worked hard to
explain to the constituents that the laptops are an integrated part of the
teaching and learning and not a glitzy end in themselves, and by and large
everyone was enthusiastic.
The public face of the program is at
http://www.bcdschool.org/podium/default.aspx?t=114572
Think buying or leasing hundreds of expensive machines that will become
obsolete is a poor use of school funds, and playing platform favorites as an
institution is now silly, as the world seems to speak PC and Mac with equal
fluency and schools should, too. Many kids will already have their own, so
why not focus on browser-based apps and let the families make their own
hardware decisions? With the OS-agnostic, bring-your-own-hardware
approach,the school doesn't get stuck with having to fix stuff, just help
with connectivity problems (mostly); it might even be that kids will take
better care of stuff bought with mom/dad/guardian hard-earned money than of
a school supplied gadget.
Also think that sometimes the reluctance to go this way is a department or
two that thinks it can't live without this or that installed app, many of
which are PC or Mac specific. But the world of browser-based applications is
growing by leaps and bounds, and I wouldn't let that deter the school from
making an institutional decision that is ultimately better for all kids.
Good luck--Peter Gow
--
Peter Gow
Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
Beaver Country Day School
791 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467
www.bcdschool.org
617-738-2755 <callto:+16177382755> (O)
617-738-2747 <callto:+16177382747> (F)
petergow3 (Skype)
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