Many thanks to all who replied to my query about having a totally wireless library.
I am posting a hit at the request of a few members. More about this topic can also
be found in the archives. Thanks again.
I would be aware of the load on your wireless network. With so manyconnections
wireless networks can bog down to a crawl defeating the idea ofhigh speed internet
even more quickly than a regular network.
*****************
We have a wireless network too, but I would die if they took away the fully wired
desktops that we use for admin purposes. For one thing, "wireless" generally refers
to the network, not electricity. There are no laptop batteries that last a full
school day. Surely you need to keep your administrative computers on all day. Our
library is over 25 years old; they put very little electricity in when it was
built, and we are constantly asking for more outlets around the edges, in the study
carrels, along posts--wherever they can put it. We've added electrical outlets all
along the hallways where kids sit during their free periods. Until they come up
with 10-hour batteries you will have to plug in those laptops for parts of the day.
Overnight charging will probably not even get you to lunch. As far as theft goes,
depending on how and where the laptops are used, you may be able to get cables that
thread through part of the tables--legs, or braces under the tables. but nothing
repla!
ces supervision, which, of course, cuts down on your ability to do your real job.
Good luck!
***************************
We have 2 carts of 12 each we have 4 lessons a day. They are for class use not
library use.
We do not lend laptops at lunchtime or at morning break to give them a small chance
of charging. Mostly it is OK but we sometimes have to lend out the chargers too.
This is a big problem in classrooms with only a couple of powerpoints (most)
One issue is returning the laptops right on the end of the lesson and students
expecting to pick them up right at the start of the lesson. ( they are not back
and students are waiting to get them) You need to get them back before the end
of the lesson - they can then charge for 5 minutes!
Carts make charging sooooo easy compared to when we had them sitting on a bench.
********************
Get an engraver and engrave the school name on the front of the laptop.We had a
break in at HS and they stole laptops. The one they did not take isthe one I had
engraved on top and bottom. I am well known with the HS kidsthey knew that there
was no way they could remover all the places that Iwould engrave. 2. Check out
Office Depot, Quill for security ways to lock them down. Mylaptop is wireless, but
I still keep it plugged in to electricity. I am a JH with 420 students, but worked
in HS with 500 I would loan theguys anything but I wanted their Car keys. I have
take shoes in lieu of thekeys. I am not sure that I would not limit the location of
the laptops whenin Use. I will say that I allow JH students to borrow laptop
overnight touse Office. They have to come to school to print. I require that
theybring the laptop in every day, but they may pick it up at the end of the dayif
they need it again. Laptops I use are teacher rejects. They were purchased in
1999-2000 and2001-2!
002. Tech has stripped them to the bear minimum. Office, Network, virus
projection. He has them with a static IP address that will not letthem go on the
internet. You might check Lufkin High school Lufkin Texas and/ Longview ISD they
havebig HS.
We have several wireless carts in our library, in addition to traditional machines.
The major problem that we have with the lap tops is battery life. After awhile,
with the constant use they get, they just don't hold a charge any more. Our tech
department just replaced many of the batteries on machines that are less than a
year old. There are other problems with properly turning them off, supervising
plugging them back in, but they are less important.*********************
We have a wireless lab and all the laptops are barcoded and checked out. It does
take time, but I think it is worth the effort.
**************************
I just want to write a quick note - I saw your post while in between classes....
we've got 35 laptops and are completely wireless except for 4 OPAC stations. It’s
been wonderful! First thing I did was put a BIG note on each laptop: "replacement
cost is $1500.00". Seems to work! I check them out to the kids - take their i.d.
card to put in the slot and officially check it out. That way there's some record
of its checkout. I keep them behind the counter. It's just been such a good
experience. I wouldn't trade it for a second. Kids are all over the library at
lunch working - sitting on the floor, couch or tables. Sure, the oversight is less,
but by roaming around I pretty much see all the screens. If you have questions, let
me know.**************************
The laptops MAY charge quickly when they are new... but what about when they get
some age.... will they replace the batteries... when they don't charge as fast? Is
your County known for timely replacements or are they like most and things get
replaced only long past when they should have been replaced
***************************
Because my IMC is teeny, I have had only wireless laptops for the past 6 years. It
was my choice so a slightly different situation than yours but it has been great.
I have a school of just under 1000 students. I have 32 laptops. Frequently ALL of
the laptops are in use most hours of the day. If you have high use of your
computers, recharge time can definitely be an issue. My solution was to have 16
extra batteries kept fully charged and able to be switched into laptops as the
batteries die over the course of the day. So, the batteries recharge externally
not by plugging in the laptop so that the laptops can remain in use. This is a
critical aspect for us. If we did not have this our laptops would never be
available for use in the afternoon because they would be charging. Even if that is
a quick process, when an entire grade level is in doing research someone's class is
going to be out of luck. That would get ugly quickly in my building and I am
guessing the same would be true in yours.
As far as security goes, our students are required to carry school picture IDs.
They absolutely have to have the ID in order to check out a laptop. We have
numbered our laptops and record which student has which laptop during what class
period every single day. The laptops "live" in our workroom and we check them out
from there. There have been occasions when we have had to refer to these records
for behavioral issues and also because of damage to the laptops. The damage has
been very infrequent and because we take such a hard line on using the IDs and
documenting use, students have had to pay for repairs and I have never been stuck
with the bill. No student has tried to leave the IMC with a laptop because they
know that I have a record of their being the last user. It is actually kind of
cool to hand the laptops out this way, it helps me learn student names and I really
think that it impacts their IMC behavior because they know they will have to get
close enough to !
be scolded if they are messing around. :-)
If you have other more specific questions as this evolves for you or if your tech
person would like to be in contact with either I or my tech person just let me know
******************************
I would be interested in the other responses you get about this. We also just
received a laptop cart that is wireless. We have found out that you cannot charge
the laptops in the "oven" because they are pretty much used every second of the day
- therefore there would be no time for them to recharge in between classes.
Therefore, we have set up all of the cords on tables in our library and the kids
have to sign them out at the front desk, then go to a table and plug them in to use
them - so not necessarily wireless. At the end of the period, they bring them back
to the circ desk to hand them in and have them checked for vandalism. It is a slow
process, so if you receive other ideas I would be interested in them.
**************************
I'm in an IMC with wireless for the laptops and we have 1840 students.They are
checked out constantly. The first thing I did when startingthis year was to barcode
them. When we check them out we open them sothe student can see the condition of
the machine and we check them againwhen they are turned in. when they are checked
in we plug them in immediately in the cart. Sincethe beginning of the year we have
probably had 3 days where we have notbeen able to check machines out the last
period because they had so muchuse they needed to be charged. We have also had
issues with students not being able to connect. Eventhough our wireless router has
a 100 capacity we still have times whenstudents need to come to the front desk to
login before they canconnect. Sometimes they don't get all their drives either. Our
IT department is not as sophisticated as some and they are stillworking through a
lot of poor planning and issues created by previouspeople.
**************************
When they work, they're great. A lot of the time they spend searching for the
routers (we have 2 in here). They will lose signal strength in the middle of
something, then come back for who knows what reason why.
We have 30 stand alones and 30 laptops, of which, 15 of those laptops work at a
time. They are the pits to check in and out because have a clipboard numbered 1-30.
The student must have a student id or other form of collateral (not driver's
license) to check one out. We spend all of our time checking them in and hooking
back up to the chargers. With kids in and out like you have (very similar...2000
here) charging those batteries will have to happen constantly or plug them all in
every time.
******************************
We have a wireless cart in addition to our desktop computers. The laptop batteries
do last quite a while. We usually try to plug them in between classes when
possible, and always during lunch. The difference between our situation and yours
is that our laptop cart is reserved by teachers and is not used by students without
a teacher present.
The one problem that we have had is that the clip that holds the keys on the
laptops is not designed for heavy use. They break and the key comes off. It’s not
really a problem as long as the laptops are under warranty (other than the time
waiting for the part to come in), but if it starts happening after the warranty
runs out, I’m not sure how we will handle that
*************************
We have a laptop cart and a wireless connection. The battery life is about 3, 45
minute periods of the day. Then they have to charge for about 2 periods. I have 10
wired computers to supplement them and a lab of 25 off the library itself. The
carts are nice but I wouldn't just want them. Make sure you get a wireless printer
too.
***************************
The reservation that I have about the laptops is not the student use. They love it,
and it makes the library looks "futuristic", new and modern. The firewalls that we
have on our server, and all the rest of things to protect the school server and the
student log in every time makes the laptops so slow that the students all prefer to
work on the desk tops with the flat screens. Maybe this is the new craze with our
darlings.Battery life will be an issue, as mine must be charged every second period
when fully in use.
*******************************
We had two mobile labs. They were Dell laptops and they could not hold a charge
for use every period of an 8 period day. Our tech guy set up a new lab with old
desk tops that is in use now. There also was a lot of vandalism to the
laptops--prying up keys, ECT. I still like to be able to see what students are
doing!!
*****************************************
Yes, the computers charge quickly, but they only last 1-2 hours depending on the
task and the battery. I hated the wireless for my library (although I use a laptop
at home). They were constantly going down and security is an issue. They seemed
much more delicate and temperamental than our desktops.
.*************************** Juliann T. Moskowitz Library Media Specialist Norwalk
High School Norwalk, CT 06851 juliann14@hotmail.com To be involved with books is
to live at the heart of light. ~Mary Cantwell, author (1930-2000)
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