Building the Perfect Computer for Today's Student.

It's that time again.

We get to buy several hundred computers for our school.

At our school we are in the enviable position of having a pen-based tablet computer for every student and teacher.  It's been like this for 12 years.

Image: MS Office Imagebank

The students use the computers to get their assignments, do their assignments, and submit their assignments.

They work them harder than any business person I've ever met. When one manufacturer told us they simulate extreme use by opening and closing the lid 30 times a day, we laughed.

That typically happens by noon for our students.

The machines starts at 7:00 am when the student checks their messages for the day, and is shoved into their backpack several times, and generally is shut off after homework (or Facebook if we are being honest) after 10:00 pm.

In cowboy terminology "They's rode hard, and put away wet!".

Ours are leased on a two year cycle.  Even with accidental breakage warranty, on-site warranty repair, and a cupboard full of loaners, the computers are OLD at the end of the two years.

Extreme Damage

For most of them, they are like the ax that has been in your family for five generations... it's only had 2 new heads and 5 new handles (but it's the same ax).

The point is... when you implement a 1:1 computer program in a school, and if you expect them to actually use them, then these things will break.

After all, even with the rigorous use, it is still kids using them.  Kids can be, well, a bit goofy - particularly 14 year old boys.

We've seen computers kicked by horses, computers that have been retrieved from the bottom of a pool, computers that have had all the keys removed (purposely), computers with strange liquids and food stuff inside, computers used as baseball bats, and in the case of the picture above, a computer that argued with an SUV, and lost.  The bag was left in the driveway.  Why you ask?  Before you get too judgmental, remember how your brain was working in your teenage years.

If you put computers in your classroom, you need to make the commitment to keeping them running. One of the most important things you can do is get the student back to class as quickly as possible when their computer breaks.  In our model, no computer = inability to participate in class or do homework.

The Playbook Tablet - Rock Star or Wannabe? (BlogIdol Repost)

I play guitar.  It's about the only thing I've done longer than being (happily) married, and I've been married a long time.  If you look at my profile picture, you will soon conclude that in no way, shape, or form, do I resemble a rock star.  Ozzie has no worries about competition from me.

If I look at REAL rock stars; Clapton, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Jimmy Page, Jim Morrison, Les Paul, [add your list here], they are defined by the innovation they brought to their music, bending the rules to create a whole new experience that was soon copied by everyone else.

Rock and Roll defined a whole generation, and the artists collectively took popular culture to a whole new level.  Almost every 12 year old that asked for a guitar wasn't thinking about Uncle Bob's old nylon string classical that's been under the bed in the guest room for years.  They wanted a Strat, or a Telecaster, or a Les Paul, or a Flying Vee, and a really, really, big, amplifier.