There's no doubt that the education technology conversation begins with money and budgets. As such, here's how IT directors can maximize purchases with federal funds.
To shed more light on ways to save money in any education buying season, we talked with Mike Logan, SVP of Enterprise Sales at Bluum.
Question: What's ed-tech products are currently trending?
Mike: Educators are always looking for infrastructure upgrades. Here are a few items that are heavily in demand:
Question: What are the top things IT directors should consider when purchasing technology?
Mike: To save money, think about the following when purchasing technology:
Mike: A massive amount of technology is being integrated into school districts and IT directors should consider clear planning. Bluum can improve the ed-tech purchasing experience by relieving budget concerns with flexible leasing options, especially when IT directors need to upgrade or replace aging equipment but can't afford to pay with cash. With our White Glove Services, we can enroll all new devices and get an image of those devices before deployment, provide asset tagging to protect the devices, and include accidental damage protection and warranties for devices. In addition, to help drive greater adoption and user confidence, we provide customized professional development services. All these services allow IT directors to have complete peace of mind knowing that their technology investments will be optimized for a maximum number of years without the need for frequent replacement.
Question: How about technology beyond a device purchase? What are IT directors looking for in tech?
Mike: Beyond the purchase of laptops, IT directors should consider other types of hardware. A Chromebook has microphones and speakers built into it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's most effective using the built-in hardware. Extra accessories like headphones can help drown out the background noise in a remote learner and provide a much clearer audio pick-up than the built-in microphone. Keyboards and laptop cases are great additions. In addition, not all laptops are going to be used from home. Some laptops will be kept in an existing school system and IT directors should consider charging carts and cabinets where cables, adapters and chargers are neatly placed in one area and laptops securely placed and protected by locking them up in charging carts. Large casters also enable mobility which is key in supporting hybrid learning.
Mike: School IT departments continue to look for ways to manage their growing device fleets, including saving time and increasing efficiency. Picture this: IT departments are still the same size in school districts – probably with three to five people – trying to enroll thousands of laptops into a school. Employing asset management software will allow IT directors to stay accountable and remotely update all the laptops simultaneously, send updates and manage the software. IT directors can take it a step further and add content filtering to the laptops. Filtering solutions can alert administrators when students access websites with inappropriate material and also pick up bullying. Lastly, IT directors have several options for bundling up their services, hardware and software. Any vendor can sell a laptop, but Bluum's differentiator is working with IT directors to get the right solution that is most effective in the school district.