[K12OSN] OT: Apple Imac lab

[Ryan Collins]

David Hopkins wrote:
> Now, the teacher has already added that she'll want all the packages
> on the thin clients on the Macs but ... she doesn't want OpenOffice
> on the Macs because 'it doesn't work right'.  Instead she wants a
> different package. And we need to order the Type-to-Learn package for
> the Macs as well.  So, the 'usage creep' has already started and the
> lab isn't even ordered. *SIGH ...

She needs to look at OOo 3.0.1, it works fine. If she wants something 
more "Maccy", look at NeoOffice.

Whoa, I thought this was a multimedia lab. What's Type-to-learn doing in 
there? Are you running this on the thin-clients?

(* I hate taking instructional time out for teaching typing. That's the 
biggest waste of resources. Get the students on the machine, they'll 
learn how to type. I've never had a typing class and can type 70wpm. *)

> So far this has been done except that newer staff and adminstrative 
> staff in particular coming in from the other schools aren't buying 
> into thin clients quite as much. They acknowledge that the uptime 
> statistics are phenomenal (less than 4 hours of downtime this year to
>  this point and part of that was a power failure that took out the 
> school) but then they say "We can do the same with Windows as well" 
> which I'll admit can be done with a huge investment of resources.

For those naysayers, you really need to talk about the initial and 
ongoing costs.

The most resistance I've had is the English dept. at the HS. They're 
complaining about the lack of a grammar checker, and the Language Tools 
plugin for OOo doesn't cut it.

> They also acknowledge the ease of use and ability to sit anywhere and
> work is also fantastic. 

Who runs a district where you can't do this?

> Budget issues: There is tremendous resistance within parts of the DOE
>  to going this route. Unfortunately for them, Delaware is looking at
> a 20% reduction in the state budget next year across the board and
> the new Governor is very open minded to new ideas and approaches.
> This is the best chance I've seen in 8 years to really get some
> attention. And the timing of the Mac lab couldn't be worse?  But,
> everything works out in the end. I'm sure that will be the case here
> as well.

I've been running thin-clients since the 02-03 school year, but it's 
only been in the past 1 or 2 years that the state of Ohio has finally 
decided that thin-clients might be a direction to go. Hopefully the NJ 
DOE will realize the savings in time and money.

Be vocal on the costs. 24 machines x $1,149 is $27,576. That's a lot of 
money. Also be aware that schools can still buy the 17" iMac for $899 
($21,576), so that might come up if the money isn't there for the 20" 
iMacs. You won't be able to use TCO figures, since Macs have such a low 
TCO. BTW, where was the $40K figure coming from?

-- 
Ryan Collins - Technology Coordinator - Kenton City Schools

Blog: http://ryancollins.org/wp/
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