Three Keys to the Successful Reuse of Computers in Schools

There are three factors that significantly effect the ability to use previously-owned computers effectively:

1. The technical expertise (hardware-related) of school or district personnel. A school that does not have a computer technician on staff--or any competent teacher, parent, or volunteer help--will find used computers too challenging to implement. However, as one of our wise respondents remarked, "the day after a computer is installed, it becomes a used computer." But a school without any technical resources will do best to purchase new computer equipment with enough warranty support to get through any difficulties.
2. The technical expertise (software / programming) of teachers. The computer familiarity and expertise of the teachers is a major factor. Teachers with limited technical expertise or background who are asked to teach computer-related material will depend on quickly being able to learn programs that they can then teach to the students. They will gravitate toward popular commercial programs that are well-known and well-documented, such as (for Jr. and Sr. High School level) Microsoft Publisher or FrontPage, or Adobe Photoshop. These programs are regularly improved and updated, and the newest versions are well-publicized with compelling new features that require that they run on newer and faster hardware. Teachers with a deeper background in computers will be more familiar with a wider variety of programs that provide a broader computer education, and don't necessarily require the latest technology to teach computer skills of value. This is especially true with programming languages, databases, networking, and server applications.
3. An often overlooked, but significant factor, is the categorization of computer uses in school. It would be a mistake to see all the uses of computers in a school as being the same. An helpful analogy might be automobiles. A family frequently owns more than one car, and those cars often differ in style and usage. In our family, we drive two different types of cars. When we are going on a family trip, or car-pooling children to activities, we drive our van--which is more expensive to operate, but provides the needed horsepower and seating-room that our old sedan does not. But when I'm driving to Home Depot, I can take our 25-year old diesel sedan, which isn't pretty and new, but does the job just fine and costs a whole lot less to run (and insure!). We're not used to thinking of separating our computers by their usage, but many schools do so for the same, pragmatic reasons as driving different cars. Categorizing the use of computers will help to provide opportunities for using used computers that might not have been apparent otherwise.
   
   Now, it is not always possible to physically segregate computers into specific uses, and the highest use of a particular computer will determine its specifications. However, with categorization of use in mind, there will be circumstances when it is possible to classify specific uses for certain computers, e.g., a set of web-only research computers in a library or study hall, which could be older computers.

It may be the over-generalizing about computer usage in schools can lead to all or nothing decisions about used computers. As I hope to show in future posts, there are opportunities that lend themselves more naturally to used computers.

Reasons to Consider Computer Reuse in Schools

There appear to be three main reasons that schools can and do consider the use of used computer equipment.

1. Cost Savings. While computer prices have fallen dramatically in the past few years, there are still many schools (public and private) which find that they have difficulty funding their computer technology programs. There is a cost to the purchase of computers, there are software purchase and licensing fees, and their is the overhead of maintenance (both paid and unpaid) on the computers. While Total Cost of Ownership Studies (TCO) have produced varied results and are quickly outdated, most schools have had the experience of finding that substantial moneys have been invested in technology, often when other programs are at risk. Within three or four years of intial purchases, most schools find that they are actively looking at having to purchase new computers. As well, there are some schools that just don't have the funding for computers at all, and therefore receiving donated or subsidized computers are their only options.
2. A Commitment to Reuse. While not nearly as compelling as the cost concerns to most schools, the re-use of computers in a school can be motivated by a desire to model the responsible use of resources. It is my hope that this aspect of computer reuse, while not considered practical by many, will be given more of an opportunity to succeed through the ideas below.
3. Technical Education. Just as the automobiles worked on in a shop class don't need to be (and shouldn't be) only the latest models, technical classes on computer repair and upgrading, as well as some programming and network studies, provide a good environment for used computers.