Computers
All boys at Eton need to have a computer with which they can connect to our network to read e-mails and other files and to access the internet. The minimum requirements are set out below, but choosing a computer can be a tricky task. Whilst many people have strong opinions on what technology is best, we offer here some basic information. This is intended as an aid to any decision you take with regards to a purchase and not as a recommendation for any particular product.
Eton has a strong computing provision; the entire campus is connected to a high speed network, with increasing wireless access across the site. Every boy has an internet socket in his room. Internet access is filtered to limit access to unsuitable material, and turned off after bedtime. Computing forms an integral part of the curriculum for boys in F Block. School events are advertised via email and a boy will use his computer daily for work and administration.
Our principal curricular interest is to ensure that every boy is computer literate and able to use technology to enhance his learning across the school curriculum. Computing lessons take place during the first year and the main objective is to equip boys with an initial grounding in 21st century skills relating to the effective use of key online tools and cloud services as well as the development of online research and organisational skills. The course also focuses on social networking, privacy control and online copyright issues.
Broadly there are two approaches which can be taken to providing a computer for your son – the “cheap and cheerful” minimum specification machine purchased without a warranty, or perhaps one you already own, provided on the basis of “when it breaks I’ll buy a new one” or a more expensive machine purchased with a warranty. Warranty arrangements for the repair of a computer that has mechanically failed can save a lot of time and money, unfortunately most standard warranty repair arrangements are "Collect and Return" and only last a year, which means that if the machine does mechanically fail it will need to go away for repair instead of having an engineer with the part come to your son’s computer. You may wish to consider purchasing an enhanced warranty for your son’s machine especially if you live far from Eton and cannot easily replace your son’s computer should it fail whilst he is at school. You may also wish to consider accidental damage insurance, which covers everything that mechanical failure warranties do not. This is not included in standard warranty contracts. Cracked screens, damage to the machine because it was dropped, or spills of water or sticky drinks are not covered under standard warranties and can cause the machine to become "beyond economical repair".
The latest technology is always changing, but there are review groups online which can guide you through which technology is best and which is better value even if it isn't the latest, fastest gadget. www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews is one place you might start to see what is currently on the market. Eton College uses Dell machines (with an extended warranty) for most of its teaching and administration functions, but also has suites of Apple Macintosh computers for teaching Music Technology, Art and Design.
The only essential item of hardware which your son’s computer must have is an ethernet network socket. Please note that at present wireless internet access is not available in most boarding houses, so a machine which offers only wireless connectivity, such as an iPad or a MacBook Air, is not suitable as your son’s sole means of internet access. Space in most boys’ rooms is quite limited; a large desktop computer is usually not the best option either. There is no need to provide your son with a printer – documents can be printed in School Library and other locations around the school.
There are no restrictions on which operating system should be installed on the computer, but we do recommend that if choosing a Windows computer you avoid Windows 7 Starter Edition which is missing some key features which we don't believe boys should be without, the biggest limitation being that this very basic version of Windows can only run three applications at a time.
Eton College uses Microsoft Office products as standard and the common file formats are Word (.doc or .docx), Excel (.xls or .xlsx) and PowerPoint (.ppt or .pptx). Boys need to be able to read files created in these formats and, to ensure that work they create can be read by masters, it is also important to be able save work in at least the first of these formats.
Commonly used packages include Microsoft Office Student edition, which retails for approximately £80 from online outlets like Amazon, and free Open Source products such as Open Office which can be downloaded from the internet – the free products lack some of the sophisticated tools of the Microsoft equivalents, but are adequate for most purposes.
We highly recommend the installation of an Anti-Virus product which should be kept up to date by your son. All operating systems on every type of computer are vulnerable to software viruses and other malicious software. Microsoft offer a free Anti-Virus product for Windows computers called Microsoft Security Essentials and there are a wide range of products available for Apple computers, which although less susceptible than PCs have been subject to worrying attacks in recent years.
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