Henrico County to continue using Macs

I hate to read comments like these relating to the OS wars -- everyone misses the point. Flashy software is nice (iMovie, iLife, iEverything) -- the true necessity for laptops is the educational tool itself (more in depth research, ability for deeper mathematical analysis, up to date information, communications). This can be achieved through any operating system -- and when the paradigm of education changes to really use this resource, support persons become part of the contracts, and we stop rewarding flashy movies (the replacement for overused power point) of mundane facts as education -- then we've made it.

One big plus in Apple's favor is Apple Remote Desktop. I bid on and got the contract to install an eMac lab in the small K-8 school where I teach computers. It's so much easier to get things done this year that with the Compaqs of old.

ARD allows the admins in a large district like Henrico to inventory all software and files on each iBook, install updates in the background while the kids are in class, monitor what the kids are doing on their computer, lock them down, share screens, and through the use of terminal commands, change or set just about anything to a whole group of computers at once. I set up a proxy server in the lab, and with one terminal command sent from my workstation, all the network settings in the lab were set and locked to proxy.

I don't need to use any imaging software. I have a "student" account on my teacher eMac that I configure how I want the workstations to look, and access to which apps, etc. Two clicks in ARD, and that user is broadcast out to the lab and overwrites all the changes and settings the kids have messed with.

Here's the best part-- the ARD client is preinstalled on all OS X machines, and an unlimited-client copy of ARD for admin is $299 to schools. There is nothing this functional in the Windows world that I've seen at any price.

I'm sure that when you factor in the cost of IT support and maintenance, the Apples were probably cheaper in the long run than the smaller up-front cost for the Dell laptops. A mere $100 more up front seems like a small price to pay for the piece of mind that the next worm/virus/malware epidemic won't cripple all the student computers.

Also I'm sure that OS X allows a much finer detail of control over what students are allowed to install or run on the computers which would reduce the school districts liability for what the students do with the computers.

Good point, Diva. It's good to see not everyone is brainwashed by the "modern" educational paradigm. Seems like kids learned to read and write a whole lot better before the computer era and things just get worse every year.

"...The new contract will begin after the current four-year pact with Apple ends June 30. ..."

Well, I guess this is a clue as to the latest date by which Apple will be announcing the new Intel iBooks?

Why limit an effective tool to just a lab they get use to once a week. Kids in middle school today grew up with computers, they use them for everything. Why force them to use paper and pencil instead of a computer. Because it was good enough for you? You can get better and more work out of them with a computer, especially in writing. (http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v5n3.html)


Don't get me wrong, computers are not the savior of education. You still need a teacher and you need to give that teacher the tools to motivate today's kids to succeed, which is a lot more than heat and electricity.

Think about how long you would last at your job if all they gave you was heat and electricity. And the next time you have to write a report or proposal, do it with pen and paper. When your boss wants you to change a couple of sentences, go ahead and rewrite the whole thing.

Diva(#13)

But this type of "learning" technology is not a solution, it's simply a way to neglect the problem. Yes, education has failed at many levels as has the quality of teachers.

my school in ia has a mix of Macs and win computers but we have mostly macs and emacs are the newest tech we have and there running 10.3.9 (we just upgraded from 9.2.2)

thelgfaud, your high school has double the students my high school has. Be glad that your school district has a student body large enough to finance the purchase of Macs. I live in South Carolina, while I love my state, we are always behind the curve on both technology and money.

Perhaps the pricing is for a low end iBook and includes Apple Care?