Tech Team at Brasher Falls Spends 80% Less Time Managing Student Device Issues by Utilising a Smart Locker by LocknCharge

Introduction: Brasher Falls Central School District

The Technology Department at Brasher Falls Central School District faced an all-too-common challenge in managing student Chromebooks. Students frequently forgot to bring or to charge their devices. This led to a substantial time investment from the school's technology team, which quickly prompted the need for a more efficient solution.

Customer Challenge: Uncharged, Missing, Forgotten Student Chromebooks

The Director of Data and Technology, Kevin Welsh, highlighted the daily struggle of managing uncharged, missing, or forgotten Chromebooks in the middle school and high school. The two technicians in his office were spending 2 to 2.5 hours daily addressing these issues, requiring constant attention to loan out and to track the return of student Chromebooks.

  • Tech team challenges included:

    • Constant interruptions to tech team
    • No way to know who is taking what device
    • Significant time of IT staff wasted dealing with student device issues

Solution: FUYL Tower Smart Locker System by LocknCharge

To alleviate the stress on the technology team and enhance device student accountability, Brasher Falls Central School District adopted FUYL Tower Smart Lockers by LocknCharge.

Kevin expressed his motivation for investing in these Smart Lockers, emphasizing the need for a solution that would reduce the time spent managing student device issues and provide a better inventory and tracking system for loaner devices.

  • Tech team benefits included:

    • Reduction of daily interruptions to tech staff
    • Ability to quickly see which students have not returned their loaner devices
    • Decreased the number of lost and stolen Chromebooks

Results and Impact: 80% reduction in time spent managing student device issues

Implementing LocknCharge Smart Lockers proved to be a game-changer for Brasher Falls Central School District. The technology department reported a significant reduction in the number of instances where students required assistance due to uncharged or forgotten Chromebooks; therefor, decreasing the number of daily interruptions to the IT technicians and other staff. The technology team's daily commitment to handling these issues decreased from 2 to 2.5 hours to about 30 minutes per day.

Recommendation and Overall Satisfaction:

Brasher Falls Central School District's Tech Department enthusiastically recommended LocknCharge Smart Lockers to other school districts.

  • Key reasons for the District's recommendation:

    • Time-saving benefits
    • Improved inventory management
    • Enhanced accountability
    • Overall ease of use of the system

The Lockers not only streamlined the process of managing student devices but also contributed to a more efficient and stress-free environment for the IT Technicians.

Conclusion: Improved Efficiency and Accountability

The LocknCharge Smart Locker Solution at Brasher Falls Central School District emerged as a success story, showcasing a remarkable 80% reduction in time spent managing student device issues. The implementation of Smart Lockers not only addressed the immediate challenges faced by the technology team but also provided a foundation for improved efficiency and accountability in the school's technology management process.

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4 Ways Smart Lockers Make Life Easier for Tech Managers, Teachers and Students in Schools

As most educators, technology teams or administrators know first-hand, when a student’s device goes missing or breaks, that student can quickly fall behind in classwork. What’s worse, learning for an entire class can come to a screeching halt if a teacher’s device isn’t functioning properly.

Getting a working device in the hands of students and teachers faster means everyone can get back to learning with minimal disruption.

We also know that tech teams are already stressed with more work than they’re able to handle. So, here are the top ways Smart Lockers will make life easier for tech teams, librarians, teachers and even students.

1. It is one less thing that IT staff and tech managers have to spend time on.

Smart Lockers allow students to access a device on their own whenever a replacement or a loaner is needed.

By automating this, IT staff, librarians or teachers are able to do the jobs that they actually want to be doing because they're no longer solving problems caused by lost, stolen, broken, forgotten, or uncharged devices.

2. Smart Lockers allow students and teachers who are experiencing IT problems to get back to teaching and learning faster.

By populating Smart Lockers in strategic locations around your campus, students are empowered to check out or exchange a device if they need a loaner for the day. Because students can access the loaners without assistance, they can get straight back to learning as quick as possible.

The goal of many schools is get as close to zero downtime as possible, but considerable time is lost through this process when it's not automated.

Utilising a Smart Locker is one way schools are working toward achieving that goal.

3. Smart Lockers allow you to scale your mobile device programs more efficiently and effectively.

We've heard stories of schools that purchased hotel safes and mounted them to carts as a way to enable individual access to individual devices.

As ingenious as this is – Smart Lockers allow that to happen at a far more scalable rate.

Once your Smart Locker is connected to the Cloud, you're able to see who is accessing devices on any campus, who is putting them back, or who is not putting them back.

This transparency allows tech managers to hold students accountable for devices being check out of the Locker. It also ensures multiple loaners are not being checked out by a student.

4. You can save time and create efficiencies by integrating a Smart Locker with the existing IT systems.

By utilising API and web hooks, Smart Lockers can be integrated into help desk platforms that you're using to manage your mobile devices today.

For example, the School District of Mondovi used Zapier to fire a webhook every time the Smart Locker was accessed.

Little Miami integrated Learn21's Tech Director Toolbox with their FUYL Tower Smart Lockers to streamline device distribution and collection – and to manage broken device exchanges. The pre-built integration offers an easy-to-use kiosk interface, making it simple for endusers to access devices inside the Smart Locker.

So, there you have it. The top four reasons that Tech Teams are utilising Smart Lockers in their schools to create efficiencies, save time and money and get students back to learning faster.

If you like this content, please check out more on YouTube or on our blog. LocknCharge is here to make life easier for you in the classroom.

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Streamlining Laptop Management at Hernando County School District with FUYL Tower Smart Lockers and Learn21

Hernando County School District Florida Logo

Background: Hernando County School District One-to-One Device Program

Hernando County School District, located in Florida, faced a common challenge. Their limited team of only 11 field technicians are responsible for managing technology resources across its 23 school sites.

The district recognised the need for a more efficient system to handle laptop issues for broken, lost, and forgotten devices, without causing disruptions to learning and classroom activities.

The Challenge: Overloaded IT Field Technicians

With technicians on campus only two days per week, there was a significant gap in providing immediate support for students in need of replacement laptops. The district sought a solution that would eliminate interruptions to learning, classroom time, and testing, while also reducing the workload on their already-stretched technical team.

The Solution: FUYL Towers Smart Lockers by LocknCharge + Learn21

Joseph Amato, the Director of Technology & Information Services at Hernando County School District, found the answer in the FUYL Tower Smart Locker System and Learn21 help desk platform. The FUYL Tower serves as a kiosk, enabling students to easily swap out laptops or receive loaner devices without waiting for a technician to be on-site. The system streamlined the process, ensuring that learning activities continued seamlessly.

Benefits: Students and Staff

  • Efficiency Gains: Before implementing FUYL Towers, technicians were dedicating 60-70% of their man hours to laptop swaps and one-to-one device issues for students. Post-implementation, this time was significantly reduced, allowing technicians to focus on other critical tasks.
  • Reduced Disruptions: The FUYL Tower eliminated interruptions to learning by providing an instant solution for students requiring laptop replacements. This quick and efficient process minimises downtime in classrooms and during testing periods.
  • Automated Tracking: The FUYL Tower not only provides immediate solutions but when integrated with the Learn21 platform, it also automates the tracking of laptops. This feature helps in monitoring and managing the district's technology resources more effectively.
  • Time and Resource Savings: The streamlined process resulted in saving hundreds of man-hours per week across the district. Technicians now spend more time ensuring that all technology in the school is operational, teachers have the necessary resources, and students have the tools they need for their education.
  • Ease of Implementation and Integration: The FUYL Tower system seamlessly integrates with the district's Student Information System (SIS) and is easy to implement. The Towers are reliable, easy to set up, and user friendly.
  • Responsive Support: Both Learn21 and LocknCharge are dedicated to world-class customer support. This responsiveness ensures that the district's needs are promptly addressed, contributing to an overall positive experience.

Recommendation: A great solution for schools of all shapes and sizes.

Joseph Amato highly recommends the FUYL Tower Smart Locker solution to other school districts, irrespective of their size. The ease of implementation, seamless integration, reliability, and time savings make it a valuable asset for any educational institution looking to optimise laptop management and help desk support services.

"It's made a major difference... it's saved hundreds of man-hours per week across the district."

The successful collaboration between Hernando County School District, LocknCharge and Learn21 has led to a more efficient and effective technology support system, ultimately benefiting both staff and students.

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3 Best Charging Stations for Mobile Devices in Healthcare

If your healthcare facility owns mobile devices, such as iPad or Tablet devices for staff or shift workers to complete their work, then you need a simple, yet secure way to store, charge, and distribute the devices. A high-quality storage system like a charging station can solve this need.

Cords can get tangled, devices become lost or stolen, a limited number of outlets can lead to a counterintuitive technology plan and device management for broken devices is compounding. With 73% of businesses failing to find a proper charging station for their technology, these problems are more common than you think!

When it comes to productivity, an uncharged mobile device can have serious downstream consequences. Consider cost of the employee's downtime if staff are left searching for a working device or having to revert back to manual processes to get work done.

Choosing the right charging station for your healthcare facility or clinic depends on many factors, such as how many mobile devices you need to store and charge and what type of devices you have.

At LocknCharge, we design and make charging stations for healthcare to meet the needs of high-stress, high-stakes environments.

Top 3 Picks for the Best Charing Stations for Healthcare

1. Putnam Charging Stations

Designed to charge, store, and secure up to 8 or 16 iPad or Tablet devices, the Putnam Charging Stations are a wall-mounted or stackable charging locker that features color-coded LED displays so you know when your devices are charged and ready to use. Perfect for busy healthcare professionals.

The Putnam Charging Station comes equipped with 8 or 16 MFi-approved Lightning cables, supplying 2.4 amp charging at each port. The cables are the perfect length for quickly plugging in devices after use.

The iQ 10 Charging Station lets you charge, store, and secure up to 10 iPad or Tablet devices in a compact unit that can be mounted on a desk or wall.

A unique feature in this charging station is that devices are store in removable, portable baskets meaning you can grab and transport a set of devices to any location with ease. Device racks are also included if baskets do not work with your workflow.

CarryOn Charging Station with USB-C PD

Our most compact and portable charging station. The CarryOn is designed to charge, store, secure and transport up to 5 iPad or Tablet devices.

The CarryOn can store tablets with screen sizes up to 10 inches, with or without cases. Its aluminium outer shell makes it both lightweight and durable, protecting the devices inside. The transparent acrylic door lets you quickly see that all devices are there and ready to use.

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Webinar: Learn21’s Tech Director Toolbox (One2One Manager) & LocknCharge Smart Locker Integration

Learn how Little Miami School District implemented end-to-end asset management for student devices by integrating their Learn21 help desk ticketing system with smart charging lockers.

Webinar Overview:

In this 30-minute webinar, you will hear from Eric Troll at Little Miami School District. Together, Tech Director Toolbox (previously One2One Manger) by Learn21 and FUYL Tower Smart Lockers by LocknCharge provide Little Miami's Tech Team with seamless, end-to-end asset tracking and device management for broken device exchanges.

Eric shares how his district was able to switch from tracking devices on spreadsheets to automating their process with Tech Director Toolbox. This robust help desk ticketing platform is a student-centric, comprehensive 1:1 asset tracking system that enables tech teams to manage 1:1 deployments with ease.

Little Miami integrated their asset tracking system with LocknCharge FUYL Tower Smart Lockers. This allowed them to automate physical collection and distribution of student devices for broken device replacements.

All of this can be done remotely –  without the need for a person to be physically present to distribute or collect the device, freeing up a considerable amount of time for their technology department.

Tech Director Toolbox Capabilities:

  • Asset management and inventory for district's devices
  • Assign devices to student in the SIS
  • Bulk uploads to do mass assignments and movements at one time
  • Ticketing management and history tracking for device incidents
  • Reporting on assignments, devices and incidents
  • Parts management and history tracking
  • Workflows based on K12 best practices
  • Email notifications

FUYL Tower Smart Locker Capabilities:

  • Provides students with self service to loaner or replacement device
  • Lowers turn-around time to repair devices
  • Reduces time required for techs to be on-site
  • Returns repaired devices to students on their schedules
  • Supports short-staffed tech teams by providing remote physical asset management
Presenters:

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