2022 Survey: A Look at How Student Device Downtime Impacts Learning
Results from a November 2022 Survey of US Educators.
In November of 2022, LocknCharge conducted a survey to educators from across the United States. The survey results of 171 responses gave us insight into device usage in the classroom and the disruptions to learning caused by device downtime.
A snapshot of device usage statistics in US classrooms, as reported by teachers:
59% of teachers require the use of a device during class 3-5 times per week on average.
55% of teachers require the use of a device at home at least once per week on average.
57% of teachers are assisting students with replacement or loaner devices at least one time per week on average.
Teacher-reported consequences if a student is without a working mobile device in class:
of teachers cite lost learning time
of teachers cite lost teaching time
of teachers cite classmate disruption
of teachers cite a negative impact on students’ grades
Conclusion
Mobile device technology in the classroom is meant to improve student outcomes and engagement – but when a student or teacher doesn’t have a working device in hand, it can unintentionally prohibit learning.
Because devices have become critical to providing a cutting-edge education, addressing the effects of device downtime is no longer optional.
Progressive schools are using smart charging lockers to automate manual device exchanges – which is reducing device downtime and getting students back to learning faster. Empowering students to self-serve a replacement device from a Smart Locker 24/7/365 is taking a considerable burden off stressed IT and staff members and is affording them more time to focus on impactful strategic projects.
Learn how your resource-strapped technology department can exchange a broken device for a loaner in minutes, ensuring every student has equitable access to a working device.
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Complete survey data available upon request.
Elizabeth Gregory Home and LocknCharge Team Up to Provide Security to Women Facing Hardship
LocknCharge Saves the Day, Every Day
Written by Ally Baehr - Executive Director, Elizabeth Gregory Home
Ally Baehr - Executive Director
Imagine, if you will, that you are a woman living outside, only able to keep what you can comfortably carry, being very susceptible to having your belongings stolen and your body violated. Sleeping outside is nearly impossible when your safety is consistently being threatened. Your cell phone or other device is your lifeline. It is how you can connect to resources, family and friends, a flashlight, a way to get emergency help, a place to keep important information, how potential employers can reach you, etc. Yet, when you’re experiencing homelessness, your options for charging your device are slim, and you certainly can’t plug it in and fall asleep, because your device will be gone when you wake up, even in shelter.
Elizabeth Gregory Home is a Day Center in north Seattle that provides a welcoming and respectful refuge where women who are experiencing homelessness, hardship and trauma have access to compassionate care. In our Day Center, we provide a variety of services to help make things a little bit easier. We have safe spaces to sleep, take showers, do laundry, get a hot breakfast and lunch, food to take, bus passes, hygiene supplies, clothing, use lockers, and get case management.
But even providing this safe space to do all these things, trust is still hard to gain. After all these women have been through, they are not going to leave their devices plugged into the wall while they sleep or shower. Unfortunately, we can’t completely prevent theft in our space, and that is where LocknCharge comes in and saves the day.
We did a preliminary search for options to meet this need, but were quickly discouraged by the cost as a small nonprofit organisation. I hesitantly reached out the LocknCharge to see if there was anything they could do to reduce the cost. Not only did they respond quickly and with enthusiasm, they said they had a unit that had recently been returned and that we could have it, free of charge. We were ecstatic and so incredibly grateful!
LocknCharge has given us the best option to meet the needs of the women we serve. Women can safely lock their devices in our secure LocknCharge Charging Locker and finally get some good rest, be able to step away from their device and take a shower – and not worry about it getting stolen. They can pick their own code, the locker resets after each user, and women are able to fully charge their devices before they leave for the night, giving them just a little extra boost of safety and security.
LocknCharge’s solution has allowed us to add another service to our Day Center, and anything we can do to help these women get through the most difficult time of their lives is essential for us to invest in. These women deserve that investment as we do our work with Respect, Inclusion, Community, and Empathy, the values we instill in our team and our work. Thank you to the LocknCharge team for your support and this brilliant solution.
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Smart Charging Lockers Solving Device Management for Mondovi School District
November 2022 | Mondovi, WI, USA
Background: School District of Mondovi
The School District of Mondovi is home to about 950 students in grades K-12, all on one shared campus. Within this small western Wisconsin town, community members and school district staff work together to provide students with individual attention, contemporary technology and limitless opportunity. With forward and pragmatic thinking, and a lean team of professionals, they are able to problem-solve quickly and efficiently to best serve the needs of their students.
Challenge: Managing 1:1 Device Program
Mondovi offers 1:1 devices - namely Chromebooks - for all of their grade levels. These used to be kept in the classrooms, but ever since COVID sent everyone home to learn, they’ve transitioned to a take-home device program for their middle and high school students. With that transition came some growing pains. They lacked a solid communication strategy for tracking the location and status of devices that needed repair. Many Chromebooks were lost, along with hours of learning time.
So, when IT Director Brad Elkins was replacing the district’s entire fleet with brand new Chromebooks this school year, he knew the break/fix process also needed an upgrade.
Solution: Smart Charging Lockers
Elkins first heard about FUYL Tower™ Smart Lockers by LocknCharge through one of his IT contacts working in another school district. They were utilising a FUYL Tower in their school cafeteria as a public charging station. This was intriguing, and after researching the FUYL Towers himself, Elkins saw even greater potential for the smart lockers at Mondovi. As the sole IT staff member at Mondovi, he presented a plan to the district admins for a self-serve automated exchange of broken or forgotten devices. They saw value in the technology enough to move forward.
Results: Streamlined Device Management
It worked out. After a seamless implementation of a FUYL Tower 5 demo unit, Elkins saw all of his ROI calculations materialise. He also saw learning loss eliminated while students with broken or forgotten devices were immediately equipped with a fully charged and ready loaner. The technology built into the cloud platform gave him incredible freedom to customise their workflow - he used a webhook to send an email every time a device was checked out, detailing the time, bay number and user.
Now with immediate notifications, and an automatic and detailed log of device loans and returns, Mondovi’s IT department of one isn’t surprised by a pile of Chromebooks to diagnose at the end of his work day. The ease of the new system has been embraced by everyone. In fact, the only regret is not having purchased the FUYL Tower with 15 bays instead of 5.
What’s Next for Technology?
Elkins has plans to expand their self-serve locker capacity so that some bays might be reserved for other functionalities - right now all five bays are filled with spare Chromebooks. He’s already dabbled with check outs for parents and paraprofessionals to offer a secure and convenient hand-off that doesn’t have to be scheduled face-to-face.
As the district works on its strategic plan for the next five years, they’ll likely be finding more ways to improve and refresh technology.
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PD Charging 101 – Everything You Need to Know About PD Charging
Commonly Asked Power Delivery (PD) Questions
Mobile device charging technology has come a long way in the past few years. The PD Charging standard and the Type C connector were developed in tandem with the aim of being as universal as possible, making mobile device charging fast and more efficient. As the experts in physical device management, we've answered some of the most commonly asked questions about PD (Power Delivery) charging to help you better understand what it is, how it works and how it may benefit your organisation.
Power Delivery (PD) Charging is the latest mobile device charging standard. It lets us quickly charge larger capacity batteries than we were able to in the past. Phones, tablets and laptops can all use PD Charging.
A USB-C PD Charger can detect the device it's connected to. If that device supports PD protocol, it will negotiate/communicate between the charger and device, and it will send the right amount of power to provide the fastest charge possible.
Together, PD Charging standard and Type C connector are the dream team! The PD Charging standard and the Type C connector were developed in tandem with the aim being as universal as possible.
Lightning devices like the iPhone 12, iPhone X and various iPads have been PD compatible for some time. Using a PD charger in conjunction with an MFI-certified Type-C to Lightning cable allows for higher current draw and faster charging.
Type C is much more than just a cable connector or a device socket. There's a standard for the connector and socket, several standards for the charging method and yet more standards for the communication of data. Just because a device has a Type C socket does not necessarily mean it also supports PD or high-speed data.
Voltage is selected by negotiation/communication between the charger and the device.
iPhone 12, iPhone X, iPhone 8/ 8 Plus, iPad Pro, Google Pixel 5, Google Pixel 2, Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung S20 and Note are just some of the popular devices that use PD. When investing in new hardware it's important to know your new devices are fully compatible with the supporting hardware.
Varies on a product basis. Check your device for specifics.
This is a broader question than people realise. Your old charger can take a USB-A to Type C cable which can connect to a Type C port on a new device and in some cases, may work. So, if you already have the charger and the cable there's no harm in trying it out.
But most devices will not charge properly, and some will not charge at all. This is important to remember when investing in new hardware.
The Watt capacity (Wattage) of a charger is the amount of power a charger can supply to a device that requests it. Note it is the devices prerogative to request that charge.
The Wattage of a deceive is the amount of power a device can source from a suitable charger.
There is no danger to either device of charger if the relative wattages do not match.
It is ideal for the device (in terms of charge time) that the charger Wattage matches or exceeds the Wattage of the device.
If the attached device does not support the PD protocol, communication cannot be established. By default, a lower charge rate is used. The short of this being that it may just take longer to charge than normal.
Best Charging Stations with USB-C PD
iQ 10 Charging Station with USB-C PD
Best Smart Charging Lockers with USB-C PD
Short-Staffed Hospitals Gain Efficiency with Device Management
Short-Staffed Hospitals Can Ease the Burden on Nurses with Better Device Management.
There’s no question the vital role healthcare and aged care workers played in combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – and technology was essential in helping them do it. The rapid adoption of digital tech like tablets on an unprecedented scale allowed nurses and practitioners to provide care quickly, minimising health risks while maximising responsiveness.
While the World Health Organisation recently declared that the end of the pandemic is in sight, the healthcare sector is now facing another challenge: healthcare and nursing home facilities are struggling with widespread staffing shortages as burnout and turnover accelerate. With the digital transformation of healthcare, careful attention should be paid to optimising shared device management to continue to meet care standards while easing the burden on an already stressed workforce.
Digital Technology in Healthcare
The use of digital technology in the health sector isn’t new, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed it to new heights. As patient numbers surged in hospitals and healthcare facilities, portable tech quickly became an essential part of care. Tablets replaced clipboards and connected patients to their families, while management apps tracked crucial health data.
Healthcare services in Victoria, Australia which rapidly pivoted to using virtual care tools, saw positive increases in efficiency and patient experience according to one study, while in New South Wales, the Ministry of Health bought thousands of iPads to monitor patients remotely.
As facilities now look to refine their digital strategies for the post-pandemic age, they also have to contend with healthcare workers around the world experiencing a “pandemic-fueled burnout” severely impacting an ongoing skills shortage. The nursing workforce in England is projected to face a shortage of up to 40,000 nurses by 2023-24, putting the future of delivering quality healthcare at risk.
A Better Way to Manage Devices in Hospitals, Clinics and Nursing Homes
One way to ease the burden is to streamline the charging and deployment of portable tablets. Compatible with iPads and tablets, LocknCharge Charging Stations for healthcare are designed for fast-paced and shift worker environments.
LocknCharge's Putnam Charging Stations can charge, store, and secure iPad and Tablet devices. They come pre-wired with neatly-organised cables, allowing for easy device retrieval. Streamlining workflow reduces friction during shift rotations and the integrated combination lock gives the entire staffing team access to devices. Placed at nursing stations and check-in desks, the charging stations are ideal for shared devices that need to be charged and accessible at all times.
As technology continues to be critical to modern care, ensuring its ease of use in fatigued and short-staffed medical settings is essential to the future well-being of both staff and patients.