Student One-to-One Computing Initiative

Program Status:

Mercy began its one-to-one tablet computing program as a pilot for the 2005-2006 school year. The Class of 2010 were the first class required to purchase the computing package. With the Class of 2012, there will be over 600 students and teachers with the tablets and software used in research, note-taking, writing and presentation. All students have web email and can access their school storage drive from outside of school hours. The school CMS (course management system) is (MOODLE). Grades, progress reports, assignments and teacher comments are available online through the school system information system, PowerSchool Premier. Students without tablets access computers in the school's three labs and the two wireless carts.

Each year there is a focus for professional development for our teachers. In the 2005 through 2007 school years, teachers attended regular meetings each cycle to share pedagogy and various how-to's. The staff development theme for 2006-2007 was Explore, Experience and Integrate, a continuum in which teachers find themselves someplace in each area. As a school, Mercy teachers were able to attend the MACUL (Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning) March 2007, a two day conference in Detroit. The MACUL 2007 theme was Touching the Future with Technology. Keynoters and colleagues shared talks and workshops on various software, techniques and their results with using technology in learning. This year of 2007-2008 have teachers individualizing, deepening and logging their understanding of integration into the classroom with the application of various technology tools.

More information follows and a FAQ is available on the inaCOMP website where orders may be placed.

Basic Student Program Components $2,435.88:

At $2,435.88, the program cost is less than $2.00/day over four years. Base units selected for the program are not sold in retail stores. They are of a business quality class with metal alloy cases designed to withstand more wear than retail models. When a current model is no longer being manufactured, the new model is selected "as the newest" in its class so that a user may be fairly confident of performance over four years to the school's computing standards. This comes with a higher price point but is mitigated by our purchasing program. Other significant cost components are the 3 year accidental protection damage warranty with an option for a fourth year, the tablet capability (screen and pen), shipping and MI taxes.

Students, with the exception of seniors, are required to refresh the base unit and any old hardware peripheral that does not fit the refreshed model every three years. This is because parts and service options are increasingly unavailable or are available in very small quantities with higher prices. This fact has been conveyed to us by other warranty services and is now our proven experience. A transfer student may purchase the Mercy Computing Package from a student leaving if it matches the base model and components of the entering student's class. Example, a student transferring to Mercy for her junior year (Class of 2010) she needs the 4200 model or higher. See chart below.

This complete student package is also available to 6th-8th graders who know they will be a Mercy Girl and wish to purchase the package with Mercy IS support and web accessible storage. These students would fall within the refresh requirement.

Parents are required to purchase the Mercy Computing Package through Mercy's authorized distributor, inaCOMP. This requirement supports the reduced pricing that Mercy students receive and guarantees that all required components are available to the student. These tablets come with Mercy's comuting configuration imaged on them. Teachers must know exactly what they may expect of students, that there is uniformity in the students' tool sets. To be increasingly integrated into everyday classroom work, servicing must be kept to a minimum as much as possible with a pool of units available for extended servicing needs. Parts must be as uniform as possible and available. The cost is further mitigated by the in school support and servicing program which provides hardware and software troubleshooting, an antivirus program, and imaging services.

Support and Servicing:

Mercy High School's Technical Services Department's support coordinator, Mr. Bank, is certified by HP to provide warranty services. He and Mr. James, System Administrator are often able to turn around repairs and software issues within a day if no parts are needed. Most parts come in next day delivery. As mentioned above, a pool of units are maintained for extended servicing needs. Besides hardware and software troubleshooting, The Technical Services Department provides McAfee antivirus which is kept current in updates provided in the background when a student logins to the network. Units are reimaged as needed to keep the software, patches, and configurations current. Units are also required to be reimaged if P2P software is detected. Students are responsible to keep their files backed up on their network drives and a storage device at home. The Technical Services Department are not responsible to back up non-school related photos, music, etc.

                                                               Overview of Basic Hardware:

Training and Study Resources:

Each freshwoman is currently required to take the Technology Overview class within the Business/Computer Department. Those students not scheduled for the class until second semester receive an orientation to their tablets and software in September. Additional resources are available on Microsoft's web site and many other sites.

Tutorials on hard drive (Last updated 9/7/08)

Financing:

Credit Union ONE offers financing for the Mercy Student Computing program. There is an option within the inaCOMP Mercy online store to select CUO as a payment method. If selected, an email is sent to CUO which notifies them that you are interested and gives them your contact information. They then will contact you for further discussion. There is a rate calculator in the online store which approximates the finance amounts over 12, 24,36 or 48 months to current market rates.

You may also contact Jan Anderson, manager at the Surburban Branch at 248-474-7100 ext. 3170 or jan_anderson@cuone.org if you are interested in exploring this option. Finance closings are handled at the following branches:

                     31716 Grand River Avenue, Farminton       248-474-7100

                     31600 W. 13 Mile Road, Farmington Hills    248-855-1773

                     28845 Woodward Avenue, Berkley            248-399-5040        

Infrastructure:

Mercy initiated a fiber network with copper 100 Mb to the desktop throughout the school in the early nineties. Mercy adopted wireless laptops for teachers and a limited wireless network over 802.11b in 2000. Beginning to ramp up for the tablet initiative in 2003, Mercy started installing the necessary capacity over multiple summers to support up to 1000 wireless and wired users. These have included a more robust backup system; increased storage capacity with web access; server clustering for reliability in uptime for critical applications; 802.11g access points at data and VoIP grade schoolwide; digital phone system and three bonded T1's for internet access. Switching infrastructure is being refreshed last summer and this summer to support 10 GB backbone; Instructional lab replaced for 1 GB to the workstations to support our developing multimedia curriculum.