mySociety: Free PCs for Schools

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Free PCs for Schools

FROM: Mike Hart

What NEED does this meet?
ICT costs in schools are cut by companies and other organisations donating their old PC's to schools.

What is the APPROACH?
A web site which would allow schools and businesses in the same locale to contact each other. This would be to enable bussinesses to donate to a local school still usable computers, which they were going to throw away. It would also allow schools to either download, or buy, for the cost of manufacture and shipping, CD's of OSS, such as Linux and OpenOffice.org. The provision of OSS software would be to help prevent licence issues.

The web site would also allow organisations who are willing to help schools set up open source system and LTSP systems and/or help train staff in their use and maintainace to find and be found by schools.

What are the BENEFITS to people?
It will help cut the cost of IT faccilities in schools, there by making those facilities availible to a wider audience. It will also mean that schools can stretch their IT budget further, allowing them to purchase products and services they might otherwise be unable to afford.

What is the COMPETITION?
I do not know of any competing ideas. My idea must win because ICT is one of the most important subjects taught in schools today and the biggest restriction it faces is the cost of faccilities.

What BUDGET & LOGISTICS are required?
I'm not totally sure of the cost, as I'd only just started lookking at the options and possabilities when I heard about your site.

November 1, 2003 in Education, Giving stuff away, Matching System | Permalink

Comments

I like that idea but at my school (at least) they are tied to nasty MS Windows on an RM network. I don't know if the ICT techs would be capable of properly looking after a Linux based system, so wouldn't these schools need to pay for training, buy licenses for something they can use or get illegal copies? It might confuse both teachers and kids because it'll be totally different at home and school. So it's a good way to get free hardware but what about other stuff?

Posted by: Fish at Nov 1, 2003 9:54:42 AM

You also need to remember that the computers in schools are to train students to use computers in the workplace as well as aiding learning. The most popular os is windows, so people need to know how to use it. I belive this idea would be better suited to local charities where they aren't tied into maintanance contracts, and don't have the number of pc's that require similar setups to aid administration.

Posted by: Al Green at Nov 1, 2003 10:09:04 AM

This is a poor idea. The premise that putting computers in schools aids learning is totally wrong. Just because the kids will use them in later life does not mean that they need them in schools. To extend that argument to its logical conclusion would have meant that, years ago, we would have put looms and lathes in the classroom.

No! School is a place where kids LEARN to LEARN! I don't use a lot of the specific information that I learned at school (1066, Battle of Hastings...what use is that in today's society), but what I DID learn from having to absorb those abstract specifics were techniques that allowed me to learn things quickly and efficiently in later life, and reasoning and logic techniques that are essential to me today. That was made possible by the work of dedicated teachers with not much more than a blackboard and a piece of chalk (and a board rubber to throw at me when I messed round) They were also paid a sensible wage and not made to jump through ridiculous government hoops.

I have seen at first hand the effect of putting computers in schools. My experience has been that the majority of use is for playing games. What a total waste. Get the teachers back in charge, get the kids learning, and throw the computers back to industry, where they too can make a contribution (like an old time lathe, loom or any other tool)

Posted by: Jim Blake at Nov 1, 2003 10:39:25 AM

This a fairly good idea, at our school we use K12LTSP, so basically any machine can be used as long as I can get it to boot as a thin client. so pretty much anything from a 233 upwards is usefull to me.

Posted by: Martin Stevens at Nov 2, 2003 10:32:37 AM

The problem with this is that the donating company is likely to be legally liable for any content on the donated machine. For example, there may be licensed software on it (that would have to be removed), or company confidential information. Or even something "illegal, immoral or fattening" that's been left on the machine inadvertently by a careless employee who used it for something they shouldn't have. American companies, especially, are extremely wary of possible litigation occurring because of such things having been overlooked.

The marginal cost of old PCs is so small that in many cases it is cheaper for the company to trash them than to invest the time and effort in cleaning them of this sort of thing so that they can be re-used. In most cases the safest way to clean them is to do a complete software rebuild; and if the machine is being discarded because it's too old and low-powered, it is quite possibly too old to be rebuilt using a current, supported level of software anyway. And putting unsupported old software levels on them will once again mean a notional legal liability due to unfitness for purpose. Of course that shouldn't matter in a voluntary gift, but try convincing the legal department of that - it's much easier for them just to say, "No."

Posted by: Colin at Nov 2, 2003 11:34:24 AM

I work for a charity that does much the same thing, only the PC's are sent to other charities and NGO's in third world countries. Computer Aid international is the largest supplier of second hand PC's to this market. We don't raise enough money to supply these computers for free, and as such have to charge £39 plus delivery per machine.The charge covers the rental of the workshop space and warehouse, all the equipment needed , and staff. Most of the refurbishment is carried out by volunteers, but there are around 12 full time staff as well. We want to be able to supply the machines for free, but it simply isn't possible without large financial support.

We do recieve and refurbish a large amount of computers (around 1000 a month), and businesses are cooperative, especially as new waste regulations mean the disposal of computer equipment by other means is very expensive.

Each machine is tested and wiped of all data before it is sent anywhere. Computer Aid takes on the full legal obligation for the machine and it's data once it is collected. At the moment we are planning to install Linux on every machine, but there is a big education problem. If the recipients have used PC's before, they have used Windows.

The idea is possible, but to do it for free would require a lot of cash from somewhere.

Posted by: Simon Kirby at Nov 30, 2003 1:26:59 PM

I am looking for a free pc

Posted by: james at Feb 20, 2004 2:42:49 AM