The Guernsey Grid for Learning
LapSafe® Products recharges the island of Guernsey
01.10.2010
The Guernsey Grid for Learning, the island’s strategy for ICT in education, is committed to providing every child with excellent access to ICT opportunities and facilities. Catering for all of the schools throughout Guernsey, the organisation maintains each school’s network through a centrally managed server. Each school is wireless enabled throughout and students benefit from state of the art equipment and fast connection speeds.
In 2004, the Grid was tasked with introducing mobile ICT for students into every school on the island. With such a significant investment, the Guernsey Grid for Learning needed a secure, intelligent and fully mobile solution to protect and charge their equipment. Seeking resilience and advanced technology, the body turned to LapSafe® Products and purchased 30 trolleys across 20 sites. In October 2010, all trolleys were upgraded to charge a newer make of laptop.
Hamish Brown, Project Leader and Business Systems Analyst at Guernsey Grid for Learning, was initially attracted to LapSafe® Products because of the strength and superior build-quality of the Mentor™. He said: “We first saw the product at the BETT Show, and were immediately impressed. Although we also looked at competitor products, it was clear that LapSafe® was the Rolls Royce of storage and charging trolleys.”
Hamish continued: “We wanted a product that was solid and robust to protect against theft. Laptops have become increasingly important to our students and are now used in a range of subjects, so we need to secure them effectively. The Mentor™ has an excellent build quality, and our trolleys play a significant part of our school’s security.”
Although the quality of manufacture was important to the body, a commitment to safety also lead the Guernsey Grid for Learning to choose LapSafe® as its solutions provider. As Rob Couch, Head of ICT Services at the Grid, explains: “We wanted our students to be able to access the units themselves to take out and replace their laptops, so we needed a solution that would allow students to use the trolleys easily without putting themselves at risk. We knew that LapSafe® never compromised on safety, and we wanted only the safest solution to charge our laptops and protect our learners.”
In addition to safety and security, both Rob and Hamish wanted a product that would make the management of their mobile ICT easy. Hamish said: “As we move to a topic based curriculum, our students now use their laptops in a range of subject areas, meaning that the equipment is frequently used throughout the day. Often, this means that we can only update their software after school hours.
“To speed up this process for our technicians, we chose to have Data Transfer Modules (DTM) in our trolleys. We use this technology to update all of our laptops simultaneously and efficiently, without even taking them out of the trolley.”
Mobile ICT has had an enormous positive impact on schools and students across Guernsey. According to Rob the difference has been immeasurable. He said: “Using laptops in the classroom has enriched the curriculum and increased stu- dent engagement. I think mobile ICT will only be even more important in the future; the face of education is changing as we speak.”
Although managing such a large number of laptops throughout so many schools is a challenge, it’s one that the Guernsey Grid for Learning will continue to tackle with LapSafe® Products.