Know your benefits
Computer discounts — plus tech support and training
Oct 18, 2007 4:27 PM
Teachers can buy reduced-price computers and software tailored to meet their needs through a program created by the New York State Teacher Centers that recognizes that students benefit when their teachers use computers and the latest software at home.
The Technology Placement Program (TPP), which is sponsored by the New York State Teacher Centers, the New York Institute of Technology, Intel, Microsoft, Adobe and Dell, not only offers deep discounts on computer hardware but provides continuing professional development and technical support. The computers come with advanced software. In addition, the program allows teachers who have specific hardware needs to customize the package.
All together, TPP discounts range up to 40 percent off of standard education pricing.
“This is a program developed by teachers for teachers,” says Professor Stan Silverman, director of the Technology Based Learning Systems at the New York Institute of Technology and chair of the New York State Teacher Centers. “It promises to transform the educational landscape by seamlessly integrating technology into the K-12 classroom. The program is one component in developing a teaching force that is prepared to teach 21st-century skills to our children.”
Right now, through TPP, Dell is offering business-class hardware, including one desktop model and two highly regarded Latitude model laptops.
Software included
Software is often more expensive than the hardware, and it can be difficult to decide what software you need. But computers purchased through TPP come bundled with an adequate selection of software. The Dell desktop model, priced at $914, comes bundled with Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. This edition includes templates for awards, classroom management, lesson materials and more.
The Dell laptops also include the Adobe Digital Classroom bundle, which includes Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 plus Premiere Elements 2.0, Acrobat 7 Professional, Adobe Captivate and Contribute 3.0. These are the education versions of the software, but unless you are a graphics professional or an art, video or photography instructor, you probably won’t need much more. With this software, you can inspire students to create, collaborate and communicate in new ways and you can maintain Web sites and blogs with course content, student work and class projects.
Price breaks
Many sites offer technology discounts for educators, but few offer the steep price cuts that are advertised on the NYTPP Web site. For example, if you buy the Dell Latitude D620 laptop on the Internet, you’ll pay from $1,300 to $2,500, depending on which bells and whistles you add. The Dell Latitude D620 with the Microsoft and Adobe software bundle available through TPP costs just $1,492. Once you purchase a Dell package through TPP, you simply need to contact your Teacher Center to obtain an additional 10-percent-off coupon for other Dell electronics and accessories (TVs, digital cameras and so on).
Tech support and training
The Teacher Center has long recognized that offering a discount on hardware isn’t enough. Teachers who buy their computers through TPP will also get free, next-business-day, onsite technical support for three years. If a system needs hardware replacement, Dell will dispatch a technician directly to your location.
What further distinguishes this program from most other technology discounts for educators is that the UFT Teacher Center offers professional development for all teachers who purchase their computers through TPP. Local Teacher Centers provide training in Verizon MarcoPolo (now Thinkfinity) on thousands of lessons as well as training on how to use the Microsoft and Adobe software to create materials and manage information.
To learn more about the array of technology discounts available to teachers through TPP. If you are interested in buying a computer and software through the program, send an e-mail to the UFT Teacher Center at nyctpp@ufttc.org.
