Meet the Changing Needs of School Technology Head-On With These Solutions
As we enter the digital era, education technology has become an essential tool for students. However, school districts face overwhelming expenses from device damage, theft and maintenance.
Some schools even struggle to keep track of their tech inventory, and especially equipment such as school classroom headphones. Thankfully, there are solutions that help reduce these costs. Here are some to consider.
1. Organize Your Media Files
While the movement towards one-to-one technology might make it seem like storage needs are decreasing, students and teachers still need a place to keep books, projects, tools, equipment and personal possessions throughout the day. Additionally, new trends in educational facility design are limiting wall space for traditional storage solutions.
Teachers have also cited keeping track of classroom devices, such as laptops and tablets, as a key challenge. When stored on the floor or stacked in bins, it’s easy for devices to get lost and become damaged. Providing central storage for technology allows them to stay charged and organized.
Digital files are a bit more difficult to keep in check, but it’s important to create a system that makes sense for everyone. For example, creating templates and assigning a dedicated file maintenance person can help people stay on top of things. Another way to improve organizational standards is by utilizing cloud storage, which can help reduce the need for on-site servers and equipment.
2. Get Organized With Cloud Storage
Keeping track of the many files and folders created in your school’s cloud storage can be challenging. If you want to streamline file management, create a system that encourages standardized folder naming across the organization. For example, if one office employee names folders after clients while another uses the type of industry a client is in, it can take longer to find files.
Having a system in place to declutter and archive files on a regular basis is also helpful. This means having an admin regularly delete duplicate or old draft files to keep the number of current active files from making it harder to find new ones.
Education is a complex industry, and digital tools can make a big difference in how efficiently staff members manage day-to-day operations. A storage infrastructure-as-a-service solution that offers straightforward pricing and centralized control is the perfect way to meet all the needs of your school’s technology storage without having to invest in expensive on-premise equipment.
3. Organize Your Classroom Devices
School technology has infiltrated every part of the learning process, but devices aren’t always easy to keep track of. A lack of proper classroom storage can lead to lost, damaged or broken tech that will ultimately cost the school money for repairs, replacements and maintenance.
The right classroom storage can help students take ownership of their own tech and teach them how to properly stow away devices between classes. Whether it’s a dedicated desk space, a rolling cart or a central location, each device should have a designated home so students can easily find and return them at the end of class.
Use milk crates to build charging stations where each student can keep their Chromebooks plugged in and ready to go. You can also add number stickers to each laptop to correspond with the corresponding charger cord so they’re easier to match up. Command strips can be used on walls to contain tangled headphones.
4. Keep It Secure
Many schools now utilize cloud storage for their students’ media files. While this is a great solution for saving space, it also introduces some risk. “When storing sensitive information, including student papers, communications with teachers, or personal information (e.g., resumes), it’s important to make sure third-party providers are encrypting data,” Clyde says.
When implementing a cloud storage system, school officials should also keep in mind that one hack or breach can impact multiple students’ privacy and security. To mitigate these risks, schools should ask third-party providers to provide a detailed breakdown of how they secure data.
With so much classroom equipment, students will need somewhere to store their Chromebooks, school chromebook earbuds, tablets, recyclable school headphones such as the AVID Education AE-35 Computer Bulk School Headphones and more. Fortunately, creative storage solutions can help corral all of this technology between uses. From utilizing lockers to creating designated spaces for printers, there are many ways schools can meet their technology storage needs. In addition, teaching students how to care for and properly store their own devices helps reduce the amount of lost equipment.
