Findings:
Primary Research:
After the designing and preparation of the Questionnaire, we conducted it on 10 students to gain knowledge on the system they prefer and would like to see being implemented in the British school. The results have been shown in the form of Bar charts.
We had interviewed 2 teachers that are involved in the teaching of computer studies Mrs Moaga and Mrs Geetanjali Dewan. As thought, we achieved a more detailed response from them and their responses are summarised here:
Mrs Moaga’s Response:
She was comfortable with using Windows and believed that the school should stay with Windows as a system. One of the reasons she stated for her response was that windows allowed compatibility with the most available software. She also thought the school could implement frequent It updates and inclusion of new technological products to improve the quality/performance in the school.
Mrs Dewan’s Response:
She also was comfortable with using Windows and believed that the school should stay with Windows as a system. The reason she stated for her response was that Mac does not offer adaptive maintenance for networks and great for stand alone purposes but maintenance is online for networks and may cause problems. Also some of her suggestions to improve the performance in the school:
- Better content management system instead of cyberoam so as to have improved firewalls.
- Asset management- Bar codes for all laptops to detect assets.
- Frequent anti-viruses should be installed. Mac doesn’t get viruses; Windows does but better anti-viruses to be installed.
We even conducted a Telephone interview with one of the Mac representatives and inquired them about their products cost and why they Mac should be used in an IT Lab and its educational purposes.
Why should an IT lab have Mac?
- Mac is highly secure from the ground up. Features like sandboxed applications and home directory encryption are accessible and easy to use.
- All mac desktop computers have the Energy-star rating for energy efficiency. And built in power-management features like Energy Saver can save British school even more money.
- Mac can run both Windows and Mac 0SX; you can have two operating systems on a single computer. Mac also comes with many innovative learning services built in to help students chat, blog and podcast. This will allow British school to manage costs and spend less on Add-ons.
- Virtually Immune to Pc viruses and malware.
- Will work with any network or directory Service
- Mac will fit right in wit your existing infrastructure. Integrating Any Mac platform with IP based networks and assets are relatively simple.
- It will simplify everyday management’s tasks for the British school. You’ll spend less time helping students deal with crashes and Mac OS X can even automate daily tasks like backup and software updates.
Educational purposes for Apple:
If some of these applications can be installed not only would it help with enhancing students projects but also encourage creativity from many of The Britsh school students.
iLIFE brings students projects to life
Every Mac comes with iLIFE, a suite of software that lets you do amazing things with photos, movies, music, and more. With iPHOTO, you can create multimedia slideshows or put together a field trip photobook, complete with text and Maps. GarageBand turns the MAC into a full-fledged studio for recording podcasts, songs and other audio.And with iMOVIE students can make their own documentaries and short fils and edit them like a pro. Whatever students can imagine, iLife can help them express it.
iWork makes productivity more fun.
Keynote lets you transform reports and essays into dynamic, animated presentations featuring photos, movies, even music. Use the stunning graphics in Numbers to take charts and spreadsheets to a new level. With Pages, you can start with a beautiful Apple-designed template, add your own text, then add photos from iPhoto to create professional-looking term papers and newsletters. It’s all part of iWork, a suite of productivity applications designed for the Mac.
Secondary Research:
A lot of our secondary research was Internet-Based. We looked deeply into Apple’s website and tried to extract to certain information/documents which highlighted their rationale into choosing Apple for educational purposes.
From Apples Website:
Even People with Disabilities can exploit Mac to its Best uses. Some of the features on the Mac which help people with certain disabilities:
Vision
People with vision disabilities will benefit from VoiceOver — the world’s first gesture-based screen reader, built into every Mac.
Hearing
The Mac makes it easier for the deaf and hard-of-hearing by including support for playing back open- and closed-captioned content.
Physical and Motor Skills
The Mac has built-in technologies to help people with difficulties using the keyboard, mouse, and trackpad.
Literacy and Learning
People with cognitive and learning disabilities can benefit from a simplified Finder, integrated information reference tools, spelling and grammar checking, and more.
It stated 10 reasons for choosing Mac as an operating system in educational institutions. Some of them were:
- A strong, enduring commitment to education.
- Technology that advances learning for a new generation
- Reliable Products that are easy to support
- A consistent focus on innovation
- The most compatible and interoperable technology platform
- A platform that provides high value.
To summarise the research we have implemented, we give a brief note on the Advantages and Disadvantages of both the systems:
Advantages of a Mac computer:
- No virus , malware or spyware can be encountered
- Good for Designing , Animation and Media
- Good for highly skilled work such as editing
- Latest software and features
- Inbuilt key features such as the networking , wireless connection
- Inbuilt voice recorder and camera
Disadvantages to a Mac computer:
- Maintenance costs incurred can be quite high
- Too expensive and hence not used in schools
- Online support available is not good
- Cannot be upgraded/customized
Advantages to a windows computer:
- All genuine Windows software are automatically updated as new additions, features and programs are launched into the market
- The windows team provides regular support for all users
-
they have three different types of maintenance: perfective , preventive and adaptive .
Disadvantages to a Windows computer:
- Windows does not have the latest applications as it is an old operating systems comparatively to the Macintosh Operating Systems
- Vulnerable to malicious adware , software , viruses as the majority of the people use the windows
- There are counterfeit and copied software that you can get instead of the genuine windows operating systems which could lead to loss of data , hacking of personal information , identity theft
Appendix 1: Swot analysis
Macintosh Computers
Windows Operating Systems
Analysis
This presentation might seem biased and clinging towards the Mac operating system as a better system but all our evaluations derive from the data we collected. Luckily, all three members of our group were familiar with both the operating systems and therefore there was no chance of any personal bias. Out of the 10 people questioned, the majority 8 wanted the British School to invest in Apple computers for the computer labs. 50% of the interviewees were comfortable using the Windows system while the other 50% were better on a Mac. Reasons for this varied from “windows being extremely user friendly” to simply “Macs are just way more ‘funner’ compared to windows”. Therefore, a tie in this particular question, 7 out of 10 thought the school computers are not up to the mark. This means no matter if the school decided to go with Apple or continue with Windows, they have to make a change in order to live up to its students expectations. There was unlimited secondary research to go through, with a lot or Windows-haters and a lot more Mac-haters. Majority of the Mac haters were turned off by the high prices charged by apple. Out of all the reasons, it was extremely hard to choose the ones that could be used appropriately to help the school decide. And what the British School is written in the “Recommendation” below.
Conclusion:
While Mac’s may not be cost friendly they tend to provide a number of features which are likely to enhance the school’s image and the students work. Windows on the other hand is a much more comfortable system to use and has is cost-effective. Choosing 1 particular system is a very tough choice. Both have Equal amounts of advantages and disadvantages to the school and the student body. However we picked an alternate solution towards such a problem in the recommendation below
Recommendation
Looking at all the data available and brainstorming within the group, we have concluded that the school does not need to replace all its computers as they have recently been upgraded with better hp monitors and CPUs. However, the school could invest in 4-5 iMac’s which could be set up on one side of either of the 2 labs or could have 2 in each lab. By this, the school won’t have to buy all new computers or get rid of all the existing ones. The ones being replaced could be used elsewhere in the school, sold or recycled. By buying Macs, the school will make it easy for Mac users who might even be able to work up to their whole potential as they would be more comfortable on their preferred system. By keeping the existing computers, current window users will not have to fear on working on a completely different system which they are not knowledgeable about. By doing the above, the British School will have the two most popular and used software’s running simultaneously together, making life much easier for its students plus also giving the school one of the best computer labs compared to any school in Delhi.
Business Mock IA Project
By Arjun Sharma, Anosh Habib and Kanav Ahuja
Research Question: Should the British school invest in Mac computers or Windows computers in the computer lab?
