Hi Peter,
Good question - I'm interested to see what others say.
This is just my own personal experience for my current situation -
every school and teacher (I suspect) will be different.
Without question: my own laptop.
The school I am in has a laptop in most classrooms - they are student
rooms, teachers do not have their own rooms. The laptops are only
sometimes used and hence:
- When you want to use them, usually there are windows updates that
need to be applied before/after start up/shut down. (I don't have time
for that in a bare 40 min class.)
- They may not be powered up if they weren't plugged in and left on.
(I don't have time for that in a bare 40 min class.) With my own
laptop on sleep, I can have files up open and ready for use before
class.
- I use particular software and particular versions of software (e.g.
geogebra). I do not have time to keep all laptops in all classrooms
updated with software (and versions) that I may or may not need on a
daily basis.
- I develop different resources daily on my own laptop. If I wanted on
the spur of the moment prompted by a class discussion or question to
show a class something really useful, I would have to keep and carry
an external hard drive with everything I have ever created on it. (But
then back to my first three points.)
- Sometimes the internet connections work, sometimes they don't. I can
plan for this with backup alternatives on my laptop - not 6 different
laptops in 6 different rooms.
- Finally, I mind my own laptop. I back-up regularly, have a good
anti-virus software on it. I am savy enough and careful enough not to
download suspect files etc (I hope!). I don't think someone who is not
as comfortable with computers would be as careful.
So I know my laptop will be working in the morning. This doesn't
always happen with the school laptops.
I think if I had my own room in a school and I had a dedicated laptop
in the room that mostly only I used, maybe I would use the school
laptops more.
Just my tuppence!
Jane.