Comment We're in our second year (Score 1) 515
I work for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where we started up a laptop initiative two years ago. Freshmen who enter in the Fall are required to purchase an Apple laptop that they will use throughout their stay at the school. When setting this up we had several concerns that we addressed before we launched and some that came up after things got rolling. Due to the complexity of the project, I'm only going to cover some of the main points, and not in detail.
Licensing - We decided to provide a full suite of applications, with licenses served using Sassafras KeyServer. This allows the school to own and maintain a smaller pool of licenses that are used by the community as a shared resource. A small technology fee is applied each semester towards software and infrastructure needs. Students have access to software as long as they are enrolled at the school. We use LDAP authentication to control access to the keyserver. Pro Apps (Final Cut, Maya, etc.) are made available by request. Certain apps, such as Maya, are only available on campus to keep costs down.
Distribution & Updates - We decided to use a split partition scheme on the hard drives with the Users folder mounted on a separate partition from the rest of the system. Each Fall we image new laptops using Bombich's NetRestore. Returning laptops are also re-imaged, using different post-restore actions to place the latest versions of the system and applications while leaving the user data intact. Only their local NetInfo entry needs to be rebuilt. Since the majority of studnets only have one account, Setup assistant takes care of this so long as the user enters their old login name exactly as it was before. Users are required to back up their own data before restore, but the backups are rarely needed.
Workflow - Using a laptop on campus to scan, print, surf the web, etc. is quite different from using a Desktop. We have a fairly secure wireless network that uses WPA enterprise & 802.11x. Due to bandwidth limitations, we discourage large file sharing and printing over wireless and provide peripherals areas that have stations where students can connect via ethernet while they scan, print and file share. Wireless is used for "lifestye" behaviors like web browsing, email and chat. While some of our "fixed fleet" is being decommissioned, a fair percentage of Desktop labs will remain and continue to be used for high end peripherals, video and 3D work. Students can perform the bulk of their digital coursework on their laptops.
Staffing - we have several staff dedicated to laptops and have experienced a fair amount of hidden labor costs. Many of us have put in extra hours to make this thing fly. Mileage may vary depending on the platform you choose and existing infrastructure.
Documentation - We have created a series of PDFs that describe in detail the systems and peripherals students will encounter during workflow. These are included with their software and also available via the intranet. Documentation is updated as needed.
We're currently up to approximately 1200 laptops or the halfway point in delpoyment of this program. So far, feedback, for the most part, from users is positive. Most entering students are very excited to be getting a new laptop and returning students are happy to get the latest applications and OS. Students have been pretty understanding about having to re-install their "custom" applications. Frankly, they're happiest to see their old desktop pattern and documents after restore. Since we test the template thoroughly, most of the problems we encounter with students involve some sort of hardware problem -- spills, dead hard drives, dents, dead batteries.
Licensing - We decided to provide a full suite of applications, with licenses served using Sassafras KeyServer. This allows the school to own and maintain a smaller pool of licenses that are used by the community as a shared resource. A small technology fee is applied each semester towards software and infrastructure needs. Students have access to software as long as they are enrolled at the school. We use LDAP authentication to control access to the keyserver. Pro Apps (Final Cut, Maya, etc.) are made available by request. Certain apps, such as Maya, are only available on campus to keep costs down.
Distribution & Updates - We decided to use a split partition scheme on the hard drives with the Users folder mounted on a separate partition from the rest of the system. Each Fall we image new laptops using Bombich's NetRestore. Returning laptops are also re-imaged, using different post-restore actions to place the latest versions of the system and applications while leaving the user data intact. Only their local NetInfo entry needs to be rebuilt. Since the majority of studnets only have one account, Setup assistant takes care of this so long as the user enters their old login name exactly as it was before. Users are required to back up their own data before restore, but the backups are rarely needed.
Workflow - Using a laptop on campus to scan, print, surf the web, etc. is quite different from using a Desktop. We have a fairly secure wireless network that uses WPA enterprise & 802.11x. Due to bandwidth limitations, we discourage large file sharing and printing over wireless and provide peripherals areas that have stations where students can connect via ethernet while they scan, print and file share. Wireless is used for "lifestye" behaviors like web browsing, email and chat. While some of our "fixed fleet" is being decommissioned, a fair percentage of Desktop labs will remain and continue to be used for high end peripherals, video and 3D work. Students can perform the bulk of their digital coursework on their laptops.
Staffing - we have several staff dedicated to laptops and have experienced a fair amount of hidden labor costs. Many of us have put in extra hours to make this thing fly. Mileage may vary depending on the platform you choose and existing infrastructure.
Documentation - We have created a series of PDFs that describe in detail the systems and peripherals students will encounter during workflow. These are included with their software and also available via the intranet. Documentation is updated as needed.
We're currently up to approximately 1200 laptops or the halfway point in delpoyment of this program. So far, feedback, for the most part, from users is positive. Most entering students are very excited to be getting a new laptop and returning students are happy to get the latest applications and OS. Students have been pretty understanding about having to re-install their "custom" applications. Frankly, they're happiest to see their old desktop pattern and documents after restore. Since we test the template thoroughly, most of the problems we encounter with students involve some sort of hardware problem -- spills, dead hard drives, dents, dead batteries.
