Case study : Warwick School.
Inspired Technology
Why Warwick School needs laptops, what research was
done and why rockdirect were chosen.
- A conversation with the Head of ICT.
Warwick School believes that, if we are to prepare
our pupils adequately for higher education and future
employment, we must give them the ability to use ICT
appropriately and to take the use of ICT for granted.
This can only be achieved if staff are also in this
position. If staff are expected to use ICT as a tool
in their teaching then they must not only be familiar
with it, they must be confident enough to deal with
the unexpected. This level of confidence only comes
with practice in using the technology to do real tasks.
It was decided that this level of confidence would
best be developed by the use of laptop computers. The
free access to ICT that this allows will facilitate
four prime areas: administration, assessment, lesson
preparation and lesson presentation.
Our approach to curriculum ICT is from two directions:
as a specific timetabled subject leading to external
examination and in a cross-curricula fashion. The free
access to ICT facilities will facilitate the full integration
of ICT into the work schemes of subjects across the
board as opposed to an add-on that it can be at
present.
All the big players were approached, including IBM,
Dell and Toshiba, and asked to provide a quotation for
80 laptops, based on a standard specification of machine.
rockdirect responded very positively from the outset.
Their quotation was very competitive. Several companies,
including rockdirect, supplied evaluation machines.
The rockdirect laptop felt robust and featured a very
high quality screen and keyboard, for many users the
most important aspects of any laptop. After-sales support
was a key area for us and it was clear that rockdirect
would provide a high level of support. This included
the provision a free machine for use in the event of
a problem.
These factors, along with substantiating references,
helped us decide to place the order with rockdirect.
What will they be used for and by whom?
At this stage they will be used by teachers only. We
are providing all full-time and part-time teachers with
a
laptop. For many, personal administration and lesson
planning will be the main use, but for some the machines
will be used in lessons as part of their teaching aides.
The school is developing a computer-based system of
pupil monitoring, allowing a more efficient method of
setting realistic but challenging targets for our pupils.
This includes the recording of all pupils assessments,
reports and exam results throughout their time in the
school. The laptops should go some way to facilitating
this.
What about Pre and after sales support?
From the outset rockdirect have responded very positively.
They have listened to our requirements and proposed
what we believe is the right solution for us. They have
been very helpful in providing evaluation machines and
offering valuable advice on wireless networking. The
combination of high build quality,
excellent components, the support package offered and
financial expediency persuaded us to enter into what
we hope will be a fruitful partnership between Warwick
School and rockdirect.
How many have we purchased?
103 Sigma Si notebooks.
History of Warwick School
Warwick School is one of the oldest and most established
academic institutions in the country, having provided
over one thousand years of education to boys of Warwick
and its environs.
The school traces its origins to the year 914. The
Foundation was strengthened by a charter issued by King
Edward the Confessor. In 1545 King Henry VIII increased
and re-organised the endowments. The school subsequently
moved to the Lord Leycester Hospital in central Warwick
and moved again in 1571 to another
site within the boundaries of Warwick. In 1879 it moved
to its current position on spacious grounds adjacent
to the River Avon and overlooking Warwick Castle.
As a result the School has been able to grow substantially
and to use to the full the fifty acre site that lies
behind its imposing rococo Tudor-style frontage.
The School welcomes boys from the age of seven to eighteen.
The first four years are spent in the Junior School.
The School is now a large community with over two hundred
boys in the Junior School and over eight hundred in
the Senior School. The School is part of the Warwick
Schools Foundation, an educational charity which also
includes the King's High School for Girls and the Warwick
Preparatory School.
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