The high cost of maintaining laptops and tablets has been a key driver for Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) adoption in schools. This was certainly evident at the ISTE conference and exhibition in the US earlier this month where educators from all over the globe converged to see the latest technology for schools.
From day one of the event, the team were immersed in an educational melting pot of ideas and technology. Thousands of brilliant educators and teachers gave rise to an electrifying scholastic atmosphere.
Once the convention was underway, the team were inundated with crowds stopping by our booth. We had a range of educators enthusiastically sharing their print infrastructure, ranging from those who had never heard of PaperCut to those who were installing the 40-day free trial, to customers who have used us at many schools over the years.
Why BYOD is growing in schools
BYOD was the most popular topic for educators who wanted staff and students to print from any platform of mobile devices including any brand of Chromebooks . Along with the initial cost savings when schools do not purchase or lease mobile devices, educators told us that redirecting device purchases to other technology areas benefited the curriculum and students. Another plus was extending learning opportunities for students by using the same device at school and home.
Cutting waste and cost savings
Saving already stretched budgets and resources was the overall theme from the discussions at our booth. Educators were interested in how PaperCut could save money by implementing print policies that would control student printing jobs by setting up restrictions on page quotas, enforcing mandatory black and white and duplex printing, and charging older students.
Along with BYOD teachers were incredibly interested in Find-Me Printing and Release Station Printing . Key takeouts were how they could both drastically reduce paper waste and ensure secure printing, especially when sharing printers with students.
Testing our theory on student printing
During our discussions about print policies and management we discovered a surprising realization. Initially our focus for print policies and management was geared to target unauthorised printing by students, however, nearly everyone we spoke with said that the students were not the real problem, that it was really the educators themselves who needed more controls on their own printing and copying.
My favorite interactions at the show were with educators and teachers that had never heard of PaperCut. Existing customers would jump in and take over the conversation, giving their story on how much they love our software and how we’ve changed their schools for the better. A few even started giving instructions on how they would set up at a new school and manage print policies. What better testimonials could we have, PaperCut customers showing educators how to get on board.
Pictured above left: Megan out and about at ISTE. Right: our koala friends on the booth[/caption]
At the end of a full week, all of our mini koalas (showing our Australian heritage) had found new homes and the team came back with a wealth of knowledge on printing in schools along with a whole bunch of new PaperCut champions.
Guest contributor: Megan Greenberg, Americas Pre-Sales Specialist
