These school years span the largest part of pupils' development - not just as young people making decisions about their future, and preparing for college and careers; just as much so in terms of considered engagement and interaction with the wider world, and where they fit in.
The curriculum has now shifted from content consumption, to creation.
In terms of the right tools for the task, there is a gradual
move away from tablets; and towards notebooks, convertibles and workstations -
tools that enable students to develop critical thinking, express creativity, to
collaborate and communicate – and to aid with essay writing, design and art,
science and laboratory work; and ultimately to facilitate assessments and
exams.
Students meanwhile are on the road to adulthood, and are
developing and changing rapidly as individuals; forming firm friendships,
questioning and pushing the boundaries... and, crucially, they are coping with
both educational and personal development simultaneously, and at different
rates.
Perhaps the biggest challenge, therefore, for teaching staff; is
delivering personalised and relevant lesson plans - while maintaining a level
of engagement and interest - in large classes made up of high performers, low
performers, introverts, extroverts, leaders, followers, and rebels.
From some pupils' perspective, the transient utility of ICT
remains completely unconnected to cost
or value. Others may covet such Bond Villain gadgetry, viewing some of the
'shinier' communal resources as their personal property.
Requirements at this level therefore are more demanding:
- Extended and extensible features for utility and relevance over a longer life-span
- Security mechanisms for theft deterrence
- Resilience - with build quality just as robust and ruggedised as ICT for younger pupils – these devices will be used by many pupils, of many ages, a lot of the time
- Full connectivity via WWAN for delivery of updates, and storage
- Geo-fencing to ensure that only appropriate content is accessible.
HP Innovation for Schools.
HP has developed a large range of best-in-class technology -
specifically designed for demanding Educational environments - with price
points, programmes and discounts that can make a real positive difference;
helping to ensure better ICT coverage in Secondary Schools.
Recommendations for the near term include ruggedised tablets,
and notebooks running Chrome or Windows OS - such as the HP Pro Slate 10
Education Edition, the HP ProBook; and the HP ProDesk Microtower series for
desktops.
Westcoast's HP in Education portal is your gateway to accessing
exciting promotions designed to keep costs well within constrained budgets;
cash-back trade-in programmes for redundant ICT; and an integratable, full
product catalogue to help present quotes, configs and options to your
customers.
