Best IT Solution For a School?
Walk into any school probably across the western world and you're likely to find a mix of technologies. Some Desktops, some laptops, some wireless equipment, some handhelds perhaps. The best combination/solution will probably always be dependent on local conditions and needs - but if ever there was an internet discussion that could provide you an answer, it may be this recent one where one teacher at a new school wrote:
"I'm a teacher at a British 'City Academy' (ages 11-19) that is going to move into a new building next year. Management is deciding now on the IT that the students will use in the new building, as everything will be built from scratch. Currently, the school has one ICT suite per department, each containing about 25-30 PCs. My issue with this model is that it means these suites are only rarely used for a bit of googling or typing up assignments, not as interactive teaching tools. The head likes the idea of moving to a thin client solution, with the same one room per department plan, as he see the cost benefits. However, I have seen tablet PCs used to great effect, with every single classroom having 20-30 units which the students use as 'electronic workbooks,' for want of a better phrase. This allows every lesson to fully utilize IT (multimedia resources, Internet access, instant handout and retrieval of learning resources, etc.) and all work to be stored centrally. My question is: In your opinion, what is the best way for a school to use IT (traditional computer lab, OLPCs, etc.) and what hardware is out there to best serve that purpose? Fat clients for IT/Media lessons and thin client for the rest? Thin client tablets? Giving each student a laptop to take home? Although, obviously, cost is an issue, we have a significant budget, so it should not be the only consideration."
The full discussion can be found at Slashdot here: http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/25/1644249&from=rss
