Today’s educators know the importance of ensuring that their students have working devices throughout the school year. Not only is the vast majority of student work dependent on computing devices, but communication, assignments, and grading are often now done electronically as well. A broken device can significantly hamper student learning (and teacher efficiency). Fortunately, there are several steps that schools can take to help extend the life of devices to make sure students have the tools they need to be successful.
Budgetary Issues Underline Importance of Device Care
Obviously, extending the life of student devices helps schools stay within their technology budgets. However, this factor is even more important right now as the final round of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds is set to expire soon. Since these funds often make up a significant part of current education dollars, schools may be struggling with budgets when these end. In addition, other state tax cuts and higher costs may further exacerbate the issue.
Daily Device Care
It’s important to start with the basics when it comes to device care for your students and teachers. Help everyone in your school understand the importance of caring for these educational tools by setting expectations on how they should be used, taken care of, and cleaned on a regular basis.
Be sure each classroom has access to basic cleaning items like microfiber cloths for screens, compressed air for dust, and electronic cleaning products for spills. Then, encourage teachers to set specific routines for using and caring for devices in their classroom such as dimming screens and closing unused devices to preserve battery life in between uses.
Each classroom should have dedicated storage areas where devices can be safely kept in between uses, decreasing the chances of stacking devices where they could fall. Procedures should exist for cleaning and charging them on a daily basis as well.
Finally, educators should understand how and when to solicit assistance for broken or damaged devices as well as the process for obtaining a temporary replacement. This is usually managed by either an internal or external break-fix program.
Break-Fix Programs
Typically, schools use either an internal or external break-fix program when devices need maintenance or repair.
For those schools with internal resources, they may simply have a dedicated IT staff person to swap out loaner computers so students can continue learning while they work on those devices that need care, updating, or maintenance.
In some cases, schools may use the opportunity to teach students who are interested in fixing or maintaining devices, either as part of an existing course or as an extracurricular activity.
Another option is for school districts to contract with a third-party provider that agrees to certain maintenance and repair tasks for specific schools. Using an external provider provides several advantages. Not only does it eliminate the need for on-site staff, these companies typically can draw from a larger pool of temporary devices and may have greater expertise in dealing with common problems quickly.
Invest in Protective Cases and Protection Programs
Finally, districts may want to invest in the AGiMAXProtect program, a unique break-fix program that features high quality MAXCases protective cases for iPad, MacBook Air, and Chromebook devices as well as unlimited accidental damage repair coverage. AGiMAXProtect covers cracked screens, headphone jacks, home buttons, speakers, charging ports, and many more repairs with no deductible.
Protection with rugged cases from MAXCases reduces the odds of damage. If device damage does occur, all repairs covered under a AGiMAXProtect plan will be performed by AGiRepair at one of their four state-of-the-art repair facilities for no additional cost, including free shipping both ways. AGiRepair has been in the mobile device repair business for more than 20 years, ensuring that devices will be returned to schools quickly and with unmatched quality.
Conclusion
Electronic devices are a mainstay of education today. While they help provide unparalleled opportunities for education, they also introduce a new level of complexity and budgetary management for school districts. By relying on good basic cleaning and care protocols in the classroom, having a reliable internal or external break-fix program, and investing in quality cases and protection programs, school districts can successfully extend the life of their student devices in 2024 and beyond.
