Infographic: Doing the Math - The TCO of Tablets in Education

From the boardroom to the grocery store, people are using tablets for both work and pleasure — and schools are no exception. Teachers, students, administrators and IT staff are either already using tablets in education or are considering using them in the near future.

But before jumping into the tablet game, schools need to take a holistic look at what they’ll be paying. According to a recent online survey of 203 IT decision makers in education, the average total cost of ownership for a tablet can be $1,400 — three times as high as the average price of the tablet itself. That’s because it takes time — and money — for IT staff to set up, secure and maintain each tablet.

The survey also revealed that 53 percent of the queried schools — 108 of the 203 total respondents — use tablets as a standard part of their IT device offerings.

Within those schools that have adopted tablets, teachers ranked highest among users at 90 percent, with principals a close second at 85 percent and students next at 80 percent. And they’re putting those tablets to work in diverse areas, from classroom instruction to personalized learning to special education instruction.

Some of the survey participants’ concerns provide clues about what to look for when purchasing tablets for schools. The infographic below highlights some tips and other survey findings.

TCO of Tablets in Education

The Dell Latitude 10 is an affordable, efficient device that is easy for schools to set up, use and maintain. Dell also offers a robust set of educational technology solutions ideally suited to the K-12 learning environment.