Laptop Maintenance for HS Science Departments

Physics, chemistry and biology labs should have at least 7 laptops for experiments(in addition with the laptops you may also consider iPad). It is also recommended to have one classroom set of laptops. If the number of laptops are still not enough (i.e., less than the overall number of students in the most crowded science class), there are sufficient science budget funds for technology. Thus, science teachers should place their orders for those missing laptops right after the summer training and before the school starts to ensure the success of this program. (Note: they should be strong enough to render movies; dual core i7 processor)

•# of laptops = # of students in the most crowded science class + 1
The science department is the only group responsible for the maintenance and usage of the class set of science laptops. In addition, they are to be used ONLY for science-related activities and lessons.Save your laptops from the others ! Do not let anyone switch their own (used -old) laptops with the new science laptops.

Laptop options:

Option#1 - DELL Latitude 3570 - $819.85 Vendor: Brighten

15.6” FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti Glare (16:9) WLED

Intel® Core™ i7-5500U Dual Core 2.40GHz, 3GHz Turbo, 4MB Cache, Processor

1x 8gb 1600MHZ DDR3L Memory

500GB 2.5inch Serial ATA (7,200 Rpm) Hard Drive

NVIDIA GeForce 830M 2GB Graphics

4-cell Lithium Ion (58WHr) Battery

Windows 7

Option#2 DELL precision 3510 - $1118.65 Vendor: Brighten

15.6" UltraSharp™ FHD IPS (1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit

Intel Core i7-6820HQ Quad Core 2.70GHz, 3.60GHz Turbo, 8MB Cache, Processor

1x 8gb 2133MHZ DDR4 Memory

500GB 2.5inch Serial ATA (7,200 Rpm) Hard Drive

NVIDIA Quadro M1000M with 2GB GDDR5 dedicated memory

56Whr Lithium Ion polymer battery

Windows 10

Case logic Laptop Tablet Slim Case $24.95 Vendor: Brighten

Electric extension :https://www.steelcase.com/products/computer-support/thread/
Laptop Power Stations: http://www.powergistics.com/ Video, Sample Quote download for POWER Stations

Why do we need laptops in high school ? (2012-2013 edu. year)

1. Laptops/iPads are required for for PBL level 1 investigations and level 2/3 digital presentations and e-portfolios

2. Laptops are not supplementary materials , required for experiments

Students and science teachers cannot make any experiments without laptops. For collecting data , sensors should be connected to the laptops.This year , 12 x 3 = 36 experiments are arranged in physics , chem and bio curriculum.
Experiments cover 40% of STATE standards.
for some topics 40- 50% of EOC exam questions are experimental.
if we do not purchase laptops we have to buy INTERFACE for both vernier and pasco sensors which are more expensive then laptops , and cannot be used for other purposes.

You may see the prices of INTERFACE (350+330=$680)

Vernier interface for chem and bio labs:http://www.vernier.com/products/interfaces/labq2/
Pasco inerface for physics labs; http://www.pasco.com/prodCatalog/PS/PS-2008_spark-science-learning-system/index.cfm

3. They will be used for online assessment and tutoring like ;

Mastering physics , mastering biology and etc ...for AP COURSES. (Chromebooks does not have flash and java)
Interactive science simulations and animations like JAVA applets
interactive CD and softwares

STEP BY STEP LAPTOP MAINTENANCE:

You have 3 options to keep your laptops;

1- Keep all physics, chemistry and biology laptops in one cabinet.They will not be signed out by teachers and will be kept in a locked cabinet that will be available for all science classes and science teachers.Please do not use laptop carts to keep the laptops. PICTURE 1-2

2- Share the laptops for each lab and keep them locked in the related lab. (2/3 groups of laptop and assign one teacher for each group for maintenance and security)

All laptops are to be added to the school server with names such as “science01, science02” so that students can log-in and use school server and Internet.

One of the science teacher will be defined as an admin user to be able to install all necessary software. PICTURE 3-4

Necessary software (vernier , pasco) will be installed to all

Make sure Microsoft Office and Java is installed and updated.

All laptops will be in safe laptop bags (purchased separately) but NOT the carts PICTURE 5-6

In all bags , their chargers and USB cabled mouse(purchased separately) will be included.

Same Numbers will be labeled to the laptop , bag , charger and mouse PICTURE 7-8-9 AND PICTURE 5-6

Laptops can only be used with the chargers so that batteries will always be kept fully charged.

For each class there should be enough amount of extension cords for students to use laptops connected to their chargers.

You may order laptop bags , USB cabled mouse and extension cable from where the school purchases office supplies. Case logic Laptop Tablet Slim Case $24.95 Vendor: Brighten

On the door of laptop cabinet , a sign-in , sign-out list will be posted. PICTURE 10-11

Only Science teacher will take and return from locked cabinet , DO NOT ALLOW THE STUDENTS TO TAKE ANY LAPTOP FROM CABINET AND NEVER GIVE THEM THE KEY!

if any of the laptops or its accessories (mouse , charger) is lost , the science teacher who sign in will be responsible for it.

Note: Order only windows-based laptops; they should be strong enough to render movies; Minimum dual core i7 processor is preferred no need CD driver , finger print etc .

Campuses are used to prefer DELL from the vendor Brighten Technology Solutions ,

Please try ask for a better quote from other vendors

Brighten Technology Solutions

11000 S Wilcrest Dr Ste 150Houston, TX 77099

Phone: 281-495-2004 x 115

Fax: 281-495-2006

www.brightentech.com