Waiting on a slow computer to load or update wastes valuable time and can detract from lessons and class time. However, shrinking budgets make it hard for schools to offer reliable computers and technology to students and teachers. Many school administrators think buying new devices is the only way to provide computers that will help students and teachers succeed. Rather than allocating budget toward expensive new computers, schools can easily improve system performance, save money and extend the life of existing systems.
The importance of memory and storage is often unknown until something goes wrong with a computer. Upgrading a computer’s memory or storage can help students and teachers be more productive, use classroom apps, and find new ways to engage via technology.
Here are 5 things you can do with upgraded systems that you may not have been able to do before:
1. Use Design Apps like Adobe Photoshop or Premiere Pro: Many media and design apps that are used in schools all require a lot of system resources. But using them in a classroom can better prepare students who are entering the workforce. These are skills that extend beyond typical classroom instruction and can help students succeed in the working world.
2. Engage students in new ways: The classroom is constantly changing and as more schoolwork is assigned and completed online, computers and servers need more RAM and SSDs to power the digital classroom. Fast systems can boost online classes and make virtual chatrooms run with ease.
3. Keep students excited about coming to class: Fast computers with near-instant boot times and improved system responsiveness can help students be more efficient and maintain their attention. Seamless multitasking on upgraded systems can maximize the limited one-on-one class time that teachers have with their students.
(Next page: 2 more ways to boost IT offerings while decreasing IT spending)
4. Save IT budget while ensuring students and teachers are still efficient: Installing more memory and SSDs can speed up computers instantly. Even doubling a system’s memory from 4GB to 8GB and adding a 275GB SSD costs 75 percent less than buying a new computer.
5. Upgrade quickly and easily: Memory and SSD installations are quick and easy. A system upgrade won’t require significant downtime and you can teach students in computer science courses to install memory and SSDs—a valuable skill they can take outside the classroom.
Ensuring teachers and students have the technology they need to be successful doesn’t need to be a huge headache. With the appropriate knowledge about upgrading existing devices instead of replacing them, schools can decrease IT spending and save more funds for other classroom-related upgrades. There’s always new and exciting technology that teachers want their students to use, so IT funds shouldn’t be spent unnecessarily on new computers without first considering ways to upgrade the current offerings!
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