I LOVE new tech! The advanced features, the latest-and-greatest applications, the computing power, the speed, and so on.
Now, that doesn't mean that I think that we should get rid of our "old" tech. Schools invest significant dollars in technology every single year and they want a return on that investment (ROI).
It used to be that a laptop would last for about five to six years and a tablet would have a life span of about three to four years - a fairly decent ROI. Not anymore!! If you get three years out of your laptop, you are doing amazingly well and two years is about it for a tablet! The ROI numbers are significantly different these days then it was say, three years ago.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/267474/average-life-of-pc-and-tablets
Now, I hear you already... you are saying: "Yossele, I have an iPad and laptop that has been running for over 5 years!!"
I believe you!! But, you are no longer able to load the latest software/app updates, or run the latest version of the Operating System (OS). Considering the security vulnerability on the older OS's, that is a huge liability!!
Don't believe me? Well, then, did you know that the newest copy of iOS for the iPad has been announced - just this week! It won't run on an iPad version 2, 3 or iPad mini (original). If you don't have the latest hardware (well, iPad 4 and higher anyway) then you are just out-of-luck! And that's not all...
The most popular laptops being made are now thinner and lighter than ever before! A good thing? Yes, but there is no way for a consumer to update components like the battery or RAM memory! When your well used battery won't hold a charge anymore, the only choice is to purchase a whole new laptop! (Yes, you can send it to a tech store to replace the battery, but sometimes the device is trashed during the service attempt.)
I must say that I feel like the harbinger of doom when I tell you that the Access Points (AP's) that run our schools' WiFi Internet will be changing - dramatically - in the next year. The 802.11ac WAVE 2 is about to hit!! That means that (sorry about going all techie on you here...) we will have AP's that can handle 5 gig of data!! Most of our schools are only wired for 1gig!!! This will require us to have to start replacing our infrastructure and that means big money!! But, sorry folks, if you are looking for a five year plan, you are out-of-luck! All of this now works in two to three year cycles.
Oi Vey - What do you do??!!
Well (Jean-Luc), to start, if you are CIJE school, there is no better time than right now to have your IT or EdTech person get in contact with me or my East Coast counterpart, Yitzchak, to schedule a meeting to look at what you are currently doing, discuss where you want to go and how can you get there. We don't buy you the tech, but we can help you create a plan that will prepare you for the future.
If you are not a CIJE School - then join us for our free on-line link-ups that we will be running throughout the next school year. Stay tuned to the blog site and I will announce the events as I schedule them. (You can catch previous sessions on my YouTube Channel.)
The next major event will be the InTELA (www.InTELA.org) Tech Day, being held in Los Angeles on Thursday August 4th at the Shalhevet High School. It is free (CIJE is a co-sponsor for lunch!!) and we will be having presentations on the new Apple Classroom, iOS 10, Meraki's Mobile Device, Manager (MDM), Telepresence from Revolve Robotics, 3D printer demos, maker spaces, and much, much more. Oh yes, we will also be having a vendor area!
The Silver lining to this cloud is...
... that by us being prepared, we can give our students the edge that they will need to succeed and thrive in the 21st Century.
As always, I solicit your comments on the blog site.
Yossie
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