Summer at a Laptop/Tablet School - The Busy Season!

Many people don't know that a school technology department's "busy season" starts right after graduation and goes full bore right up until fall's first class.  Summer is when laptops, tablets or desktops arrive which have to be unpacked and imaged with the latest software, drivers, print queues, antivirus, operating system updates, etc.  Computers have to be staged, installed, and tested.  Supplies have to be replenished.  Carts, laptop/tablet cases, printers, switches, and other equipment and peripherals have to be tested and sometimes replaced.  Many of the deferred projects ("let's not do that until the summer") are tackled, which often bring up their own cascading logistical problems.  Add to that a school's databases which need updating; creating and inputting the school's schedule; updating email and other systems; and it's apparent why summer is the busy season.  At The Peck School our bulleted summer list was pages long and was often added to over the summer when one seemingly-simple update caused something else to go awry.  

Curt Lienick, director of technology at the University of Chicago Lab Schools has created videos of what happens over the summer to show teachers when they return - and it's a real eye-opener to see the level of activity.  Like many tech directors, he makes it look easy, but it's good sometimes to let everyone know what it really takes for school to start up in September, technology-wise.