Year 9 Laptops - Page 2

pipsqeek · 30th October 2009, 1:30 PM

I use to contract to a high profile school where every kid got a laptop from year 7 through to 12. I guess that's what daddy's paycheck paid for when he wasn't driving his kids to school in the Porsche.

Trouble with that was exactly how you put it. The difference being that the kids at this school didn't care even if the whole laptop was written off. They'd just pay the school for a new one.

It was funny though. The fathers just paid up. The mothers on the other hand would kick and scream. In the end they all paid.

But I guess that's what $75k per semester brings you. I always wondered about the families that had three kids enrolled in that school. $225K per semester. What's daddy do to afford my entire home loan for 6 months of schooling?

pip

Oxley · 30th October 2009, 1:35 PM

Well flame on because I think it’s a great idea, there are a lot people who can’t afford or don’t want to waste money on a home computer (drugs, smokes and booze are essentials types), and it’s these kids that end up working at places like I do (meat works).They could benefit from basic computer skills (and as an ex school admin I know how little they get while at school) to get them selves up the ladder from floor boy (shovelling up the bits that fall on the floor) to grading terminal operator.

Jezmad · 30th October 2009, 1:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyrax83

waste of money. its not needed or required. Schools have been getting by using paper and textbooks for god knows how long.

put it into hospitals damnit.

Stuff the hospitals. Put it into Primary Health. Saves much more money in the long run, and not just health cash either. The return isn't as instant as hospital spending though.

Back on track, I wonder what the warranty service is like on the Lenovos. I remember the Laptops for teachers in WA. they ran out of some model's replacement motherboards.

pipsqeek · 30th October 2009, 1:51 PM

The education system has only really been around for no more than 150 years. It was invented to provide academics for the industrial revolution at the turn of the century.

Laptops in schools.... just another excuse to throw money at something that's not as hard to fix as real issues like health care and transportation.

And this is coming from me, IT geek. Loves gadgets and toys. I'm happiest surrounded by laptops and desktop PC's, Mac's, whatever. Technology. But even I know a scam when I see one. We didn't have computers when I was in school and I'm savvy.

One of my clients is 97 (ninety seven), and he rings me up once a week on Skype to talk about the latest crap he read about on digg/slashdot/the register/etc.

In fact, I have a few clients who are tech savvy and all above the age of 60. They not only didn't grow up with the stuff, they weren't even exposed to it till their middle ages.

So, not exposing kids to computers now won't affect them... they're not stupid. If they really want to use one, they'll do it. They don't need my government spending my money to buy them an underpowered laptop that they'll forget about when chucking their bag at their mates or when it's used as a football.

Cheers
pip

Formage · 30th October 2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxley

Well flame on because I think it’s a great idea, there are a lot people who can’t afford or don’t want to waste money on a home computer (drugs, smokes and booze are essentials types), and it’s these kids that end up working at places like I do (meat works).They could benefit from basic computer skills (and as an ex school admin I know how little they get while at school) to get them selves up the ladder from floor boy (shovelling up the bits that fall on the floor) to grading terminal operator.

problem is most of the students from these kinds of scenarios will have laptops taken off them for "quick cash" by the guardians.. along with that in my opinion the whole scheme itself paints a big red sign on all these little year 9 kids backs saying I GOT A LAPTOP! STEAL IT!!!!

dingdong555 · 30th October 2009, 11:18 PM

Download/drag the Windows setup files onto the desktop, install = done

This was you don't need to boot from CD/USB?

Formage · 30th October 2009, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dingdong555

Download/drag the Windows setup files onto the desktop, install = done

This was you don't need to boot from CD/USB?

mate believe me these things are in no way as simple as they seem..

dingdong555 · 31st October 2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Formage

mate believe me these things are in no way as simple as they seem..

That's how I install my windows and it's simple, unless they have something on the netbook to stop it?

chip · 31st October 2009, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyrax83

waste of money. its not needed or required. Schools have been getting by using paper and textbooks for god knows how long.

"Students today depend upon paper too much. They don't know how to write on slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?" - American Principals Association, 1815

skootyloops · 31st October 2009, 5:31 PM

I find the idea utterly stupid and a waste of tax payers money. I'm currently at a public school, where there is no need for more computers really. Most schools have multiple computer labs (my school has 4 with about 30 computers in each, 2 computer pods with about 5 or 6, the library with 20 computers and a Mac lab with 12 Mac pro's). Most classes require the use of a computer lab once a fortnight, and there is rarely ever a time where a class cannot get into a computer lab when they need it. Sure it's not a 1:1 student to computer ratio, but it does the trick. If they really want to waste their money on helping students to study with computers, they should work on hiring competent IT staff who fix problems quickly and can learn how to properly block unauthorised software.

Not to mention, giving people computers to use for taking notes instead of pens is going to make most people's handwriting skills worse then they currently are.

Formage · 31st October 2009, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dingdong555

That's how I install my windows and it's simple, unless they have something on the netbook to stop it?

well besides the fact these things cannot boot .exe files within windows, i overheard the tlo talk about how the machine bios restricts it from being activated with any other os/cd key other then the DET key

skootyloops · 31st October 2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Formage

well besides the fact these things cannot boot .exe files within windows, i overheard the tlo talk about how the machine bios restricts it from being activated with any other os/cd key other then the DET key

It would be very interesting to get hands on the laptops that are been handed out, to see exactly what the government has done to prevent it's unauthorised use. Also I wonder how long until we have year 9's posting blogs on how they cracked the governments protection and can play games in class on it.

Formage · 31st October 2009, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skootyloops

It would be very interesting to get hands on the laptops that are been handed out, to see exactly what the government has done to prevent it's unauthorised use. Also I wonder how long until we have year 9's posting blogs on how they cracked the governments protection and can play games in class on it.

like i said, i work at a school as a network admin and i have, it took them from memory 35mins into period 1 before i sore 3 in a row playing wc3

AussieTemplar · 31st October 2009, 11:41 PM

Our school have tried a new method of using these laptops.

We have recharging stations at the back of the classroom, where about 33 laptops are held. Students CANNOT take the laptops home. Basically this means instead of booking one of the 5 computer rooms, you can just grab the laptops from the back.

The IT guys at our school are extremely good and have blocked most ways of getting around the filters. Mind you, I guessed the BIOS password as it was the name of our school which is fucking stupid. But they fixed that and they run really well!

We use the WiFi installed and use a wireless login account assigned to each student.

Smashwa · 1st November 2009, 12:36 AM

The whole project is a joke if you ask me. BOTH TSOs at different schools i work at spend their day either:

Complaining about students/staff (when they are asked questions about the netbooks they are employed to fix)
looking up watches/cloths
looking up car parts
playing games

Honestly. The money would have been much better of spent else where.

Sure, if you wanted kids to have more access to computers at school, increase the T4L allowance each school is allocated and then the school decided how to best do it. If the schools wants to setup x more computer rooms, then so be it. If the school wants to create a room based laptop pool, then what ever.

30th October 2009, 1:30 PM	#16
pipsqeek Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Earth Posts: 684	I use to contract to a high profile school where every kid got a laptop from year 7 through to 12. I guess that's what daddy's paycheck paid for when he wasn't driving his kids to school in the Porsche. Trouble with that was exactly how you put it. The difference being that the kids at this school didn't care even if the whole laptop was written off. They'd just pay the school for a new one. It was funny though. The fathers just paid up. The mothers on the other hand would kick and scream. In the end they all paid. But I guess that's what $75k per semester brings you. I always wondered about the families that had three kids enrolled in that school. $225K per semester. What's daddy do to afford my entire home loan for 6 months of schooling? pip __________________ Now with Awesome Bar!

30th October 2009, 1:51 PM	#19
pipsqeek Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Earth Posts: 684	The education system has only really been around for no more than 150 years. It was invented to provide academics for the industrial revolution at the turn of the century. Laptops in schools.... just another excuse to throw money at something that's not as hard to fix as real issues like health care and transportation. And this is coming from me, IT geek. Loves gadgets and toys. I'm happiest surrounded by laptops and desktop PC's, Mac's, whatever. Technology. But even I know a scam when I see one. We didn't have computers when I was in school and I'm savvy. One of my clients is 97 (ninety seven), and he rings me up once a week on Skype to talk about the latest crap he read about on digg/slashdot/the register/etc. In fact, I have a few clients who are tech savvy and all above the age of 60. They not only didn't grow up with the stuff, they weren't even exposed to it till their middle ages. So, not exposing kids to computers now won't affect them... they're not stupid. If they really want to use one, they'll do it. They don't need my government spending my money to buy them an underpowered laptop that they'll forget about when chucking their bag at their mates or when it's used as a football. Cheers pip __________________ Now with Awesome Bar!

30th October 2009, 11:18 PM	#21
dingdong555 Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Australia, Perth Posts: 2,165	Download/drag the Windows setup files onto the desktop, install = done This was you don't need to boot from CD/USB? __________________ Project (Corsair Obsidian 800D) - HULK V2 Project (Silverstone TJ07)- MORTAL

31st October 2009, 11:41 PM	#29
AussieTemplar Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Eastern Suburbs Sydney Posts: 2,433	Our school have tried a new method of using these laptops. We have recharging stations at the back of the classroom, where about 33 laptops are held. Students CANNOT take the laptops home. Basically this means instead of booking one of the 5 computer rooms, you can just grab the laptops from the back. The IT guys at our school are extremely good and have blocked most ways of getting around the filters. Mind you, I guessed the BIOS password as it was the name of our school which is fucking stupid. But they fixed that and they run really well! We use the WiFi installed and use a wireless login account assigned to each student. __________________ \| AMD 7970 3GB \| FX-8350 @ 5.1ghz \| 32GB Corsair 2200 \| Lian Li PC-P80B \| AX-850w \| Win7 Ultimate x64 Successful Trades(28) ($3600+): Un-updated Trades

30th October 2009, 1:35 PM	#17
Oxley Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Old Bar NSW Posts: 484	Well flame on because I think it’s a great idea, there are a lot people who can’t afford or don’t want to waste money on a home computer (drugs, smokes and booze are essentials types), and it’s these kids that end up working at places like I do (meat works).They could benefit from basic computer skills (and as an ex school admin I know how little they get while at school) to get them selves up the ladder from floor boy (shovelling up the bits that fall on the floor) to grading terminal operator.

31st October 2009, 5:31 PM	#25
skootyloops Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 5,692	I find the idea utterly stupid and a waste of tax payers money. I'm currently at a public school, where there is no need for more computers really. Most schools have multiple computer labs (my school has 4 with about 30 computers in each, 2 computer pods with about 5 or 6, the library with 20 computers and a Mac lab with 12 Mac pro's). Most classes require the use of a computer lab once a fortnight, and there is rarely ever a time where a class cannot get into a computer lab when they need it. Sure it's not a 1:1 student to computer ratio, but it does the trick. If they really want to waste their money on helping students to study with computers, they should work on hiring competent IT staff who fix problems quickly and can learn how to properly block unauthorised software. Not to mention, giving people computers to use for taking notes instead of pens is going to make most people's handwriting skills worse then they currently are.