For Parents of the
General Information
regarding the One-to-One Tablet PC Program
Financial
How
do we pay for it?
There will be a $600 a year Tablet PC fee, with the first payment due in April,
2008. Or, parents can choose to prepay the fee for all 4 years for $2,000, also
due in May, 2008. (We are still in negotiations with 3 tablet manufacturers.
Confirmation of exact model information will be available in May.)
What
if we can’t afford it? There will be aid available based on the same criteria as the tuition financial
aid. No family will have to make the decision to not attend St. Ursula because
they can’t afford the Tablet PC fee. Any family requesting financial aid for
the laptop program must submit the financial aid application which is available
on–line at: http://www.saintursula.org/admissions/SUAFinancialAidForm.pdf.
What
is included? A
Tablet PC, external battery, case that fits into a backpack, 4 year warranty,
and 4 year accident insurance. The student will also have access to licensing
for Sophos Virus Protection, DyKnow® (a student
teaching enhancement and monitoring program), on-line testing, electronic resources through the library, and textbooks
on-line or on CD as they become available. For the Tablet PC, an external CD
reader is not included, but external ones are available as loaners from the
technology department.
What
software is included? Microsoft Windows XP Professional Operating System®, and Microsoft
Office 2003 Professional®, will be preinstalled on all Tablet PCs. Other
preinstalled programs include Internet Explorer, PDF Annotator, and class
specific software, as needed.
Why
should my daughter use the Tablet PC through SUA when I might find a less
expensive machine through another source (a bricks-and-mortar or Internet
retail store, for example)?
We
are requiring that families obtain the Tablet PC through the school's Tablet PC
program. Classroom instruction using technology is more effective when all
students work with the same tools; consistency and compatibility reduce the
possibility of confusion and wasted class time. While it may seem that a
comparable Tablet PC could be purchased at a lower price on the outside,
families should remember that Tablet PCs obtained through SUA come with
features and services that are not always included in the Tablet PC packages
offered at retail stores. Purchasing these items separately almost always
results in a higher total cost. The SUA Tablet PCs are bundled with software
needed to operate in the SUA environment, at a savings not available through
retail outlets. The customized configuration that is loaded on each Tablet PC
makes the transition from the shipping box to the classroom almost seamless.
Additionally, we provide significant value-added services in the area of
maintenance and support with the goal of minimizing down time should a problem
arise; a loaner Tablet PC is always available to students who obtain their
Tablet PC through SUA.
What
happens if the Tablet PC does not work or is accidentally damaged?
Tablet PCs obtained through the SUA Tablet PC program come with a four-year manufacturer's warranty which covers any hardware-related problems due to manufacturer’s defect. The SUA Technology Department handles hardware repairs in-house. Loaner Tablet PCs will be made available while the machine is unavailable. The Technology Help Desk will be open before, during, and after school, during the school year as well as during the summer.
Student and Parent(s) shall bear the risk of loss for a lost, stolen, or damaged Tablet PC due to neglect or negligence from the date Student receives delivery of the Tablet PC until the return of the Tablet PC to SUA, and shall be liable to SUA for the replacement cost and other damages caused by such loss, theft, or damage due to neglect or negligence as set forth in Exhibit B herein not covered by manufacturer’s warranty or the accidental damage coverage as specified in Exhibit B and as further described on the SUA Tablet PC Program Website: http://www.saintursula.org/technology/TabletPC/Liability.asp. SUA requires Parent/s personally insure the Tablet PC on their own personal homeowners policy as a rider to cover these costs.
Repair of a Tablet PC that is accidentally damaged - dropped, spilled on, zapped by an electrical surge, etc. (what is referred to as "end user damage") - will not be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, but by accident insurance. There is no deductible for the first instance of an accident per item per year. After the first instance per item per year the deductibles for this accidental damage is:
§ LCD Screen Replacement $250.00, second occurrence, $500.00, any further occurrences
§ Keyboard Replacement $150.00, second occurrence, $350.00, any further occurrences
§ System Board Replacement $250.00, second occurrence. $500.00, any further occurrences
§ The costs to replace miscellaneous parts that are lost or stolen:
o AC Power Adapter $ 75
o Pen $ 49
o Case $ 50
The cost to restore the Tablet PC to its original configuration and condition (including labor and materials) due to any alterations, additions, or improvements (collectively and individually, "Modifications") to the Tablet PC without the prior written consent of SUA IT is $100.
Prohibited Modifications include, but are not limited to, additional memory and Input/Output (I/O) devices, unapproved software, personal music and /or video files. Should Modifications be made to the Tablet PC, such Modifications will become the property of SUA. Should SUA elect to remove these Modifications, SUA may charge Parent/s a fee for the cost of restoring the Tablet PC to its original configuration and condition (including labor and materials), which Parent/s shall pay within ten days of notice.
SUA has the right to restore the computer to its original
state whenever we feel it is appropriate and necessary. Anything that is
loaded on the local drive will be deleted. Student files backed up
appropriately on the network drive will be preserved. If the Tablet must
be reimaged because of Spyware acquired by inappropriate web usage, there will
be a charge of $100 to reimage the Tablet PC. Students are responsible
for making back-ups of all files to the network directories at SUA and to a USB
flash/jump drive on a daily basis.
What
if the Tablet PC is stolen or destroyed?
Neither
the warranty nor the accident insurance covers theft or total destruction of
the tablet due to accident or neglect. Parents are required to add the tablet
as a rider on their own homeowner’s policy to cover this. The student is
responsible for the Tablet PC while it is in her possession.
Who
will own the Tablet PC?
SUA
will own the Tablet PC. The student will have complete use of the Tablet PC
during the 4 years at SUA. At the end of the 4 years, if the full fee has been
paid, the Tablet PC will be available for a very nominal fee.
Logistics
Will
this make the back packs heavier?
Students
will have access to textbooks at school and at home--either as a digital copy
on the internet or by having a copy of the actual textbook in class or at
home, eliminating the need to carry the textbook to and from school.
Use of the Tablet PC as a notebook will help to eliminate many of the binders,
papers, books, and colored pens the students now carry in their backpacks.
Will
I need an internet connection? Yes. There are some free Internet Providers available for
families that do not currently have Internet access, such as NetZero and Juno.
The Tablet PCs will have a modem that will enable a dialup connection using one
of these services.
Will
textbooks be available online or on CDs? Many of the textbooks are available online and
accessible anywhere on the
Will the Tablet PCs be used in each
class every day? We do not
promote the use of technology for technology's sake. Research has demonstrated
that Tablet PCs in the classroom help to improve students' writing as well as
allow for spontaneous, student-directed learning through Internet research,
data collection and analysis, and multimedia presentations. Use of the Tablet
PC in class will depend on the content area and the appropriateness of
technology for the lesson being taught. It is expected that the type and
frequency of use will vary according to the curriculum. Many students will also
take advantage of the "Anywhere Anytime Learning" possibilities of
our program and will use their Tablet PCs outside of the classroom environment.
What
happens to my daughter’s files if something happens to the Tablet PC or hard
drive, for example? Students
are required to have a jump drive. In addition to backing up her files on her
home directory on the network servers while she is at school, she will be
responsible for backing up to a jump drive as well, most importantly when she
is working at home.
When
my daughter is a senior and her Tablet PC is 4 years old, will she still be
able to do what is required by her teachers? Yes. Nothing will be expected of students with older
equipment that cannot be accomplished on that Tablet PC.
How
will my daughter learn to use the Tablet PC? All incoming freshmen will come to 1 hour session
with a parent sometime in July to pick up her Tablet. This session is done in
small groups and there is a large range of times for parents to schedule
around. There is also a workshop scheduled in August, before school starts,
where she will learn how to log on to the SUA network, access her SUA e-mail
account, learn basic Microsoft Office Word, and set up her Turnitin.com®
(plagiarism), Edline® (grades, class materials) and
how to access textbooks on-line or on CD. In the one term computer class she
will have further instruction of Microsoft Office® applications and will also
learn while integrating course content from other subjects throughout the four
years she is at SUA. There are also advanced application and programming
classes available as electives when she is an upper classman. Formal
information literacy and research skills instruction occurs with every freshmen
in history (one 90 minute session), every sophomore in health (4 or 5 class
sessions), and every junior in English (one 90 minute session), and with
various classes with seniors. In addition, individual classes come to the
library for specific research instruction for an assignment or project. A
full time technology help desk is available for students before, during, and
after school.
Will
this eliminate the personal touch of teaching? Not at all! The Tablet PC program
at
Will
having Tablet PCs make the students isolated? Studies show that students involved
in one to one Tablet PC programs increase communication with teachers and other
students. They also increase their teamwork skills. The Tablet PCs also lend
themselves to enhancing projects done as a group.
Will
Tablet PCs in the classroom be distracting? Tablet PCs are a tool and must be managed, just like
pen and paper. The teacher is in control of the class and at any time can tell
students to put down their pens or screens in order to have their full
attention.
Will
this enable cheating or plagiarism? All Tablet PCs will have the DyKnow® software installed
that allows teacher monitoring of the Tablet PCs during class time. This
monitoring is a huge deterrent to misuse. Also, all English classes already
require students to submit any written work to Turnitin.com, an on-line plagiarism
service to which SUA subscribes, and this has nearly eliminated plagiarism
which was a weekly issue prior to using Turnitin.com®. Cheating and plagiarism
are always considered very serious offenses and are dealt with accordingly. The
statistics show that by using Tablet PCs and taking appropriate precautions,
these two problems actually decrease.
How
will the Tablet PC connect to the school’s wireless network? The Tablet that the
school chooses will have a built-in wireless networking card included
in the package price that will connect to St. Ursula’s school-wide secure
wireless network. This will also enable access to home wireless
networks.
How
will the Tablet PC connect to home networks? Tablet PCs will connect to standard 802.11b or
802.11g wireless networks at home without a problem. The same will be true with
other brands of computers using standard 802.11b or 802.11g wireless networking
cards. If families have wired networks at home, the Tablet PC will be able to
plug in without any additional hardware. Assistance is provided from the
technology department if there are problems.
What
about battery life? The
recommended Tablet PC has a primary battery that has a life of 4.5 hours and an
external "travel" battery with a recommended life of more than 8
hours. Students are required to plug in their Tablet PCs each night so that
they will have a full battery charge for the next school day. Students whose
computers run out of battery life during the school day will be able to come to
the help desk to switch out their battery with a charged one.
What
about printing? The
Tablet PC will be able to print to multiple networked printers at school
located on every floor in all sections of the campus. The Tablet PC will
probably have two USB ports and built-in wireless and wired Ethernet ports to
connect to printers and networks at home. As the trend toward digital documents
is realized more and more in the classroom, most documents are e-mailed between
students and teachers, thus eliminating the need for printing.
For
more information on how the Tablet PC will be used, please see the