Assessment Questions
The following questions, taken from the Educator's Guide to Assessing the Cost of Donated Computers by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) (http://www.siia.net/divisions/education), can be used as an aid in determining whether to accept or not accept computer that are offered to your school or institution as donations.
General
- Will the acceptance of this hardware preclude the purchase of more current technologies?
- Will the acceptance of this hardware send the right message to your students and community?
- Will the benefits to the donating institution or business outweigh the problems faced when the equipment is used in an instructional setting?
Software
- Will the computer run the software that you currently have?
- Does it come loaded with software?
- Has this software been transferred to the school per the specifications of the license agreement? (Although all license agreements vary, generally you should receive a copy of the license, original manual, and original diskettes.)
- If not, do you have legal copies of the manuals?
- If not, what is the cost of getting legal copies?
- Does the existing software meet your needs?
- Does it fit into your existing educational programme?
- Do your teachers and students need training to use it?
- What's the cost of developing a teaching programme that takes advantage of the software?
Hardware
- Is the donated computer a brand and model you already have?
- Does the donated computer work?
- If not, what will it cost to fix?
- If it would be cost prohibitive to repair, could some of the parts be used to upgrade equipment you already have?
- Does it have upgrades and peripherals you are using?
- If not, what will they cost to install?
- Is it a current model?
- What will maintenance cost?
- Are there parts still available for the hardware?
Instructional Needs
- Can the hardware run the software you use to support instruction today?
- If necessary, can the hardware be modified cost-effectively to run the software you use to support instruction today?
- Is the hardware useful for drill and practice, simulation, multimedia, or other everyday classroom tasks?
- Does the hardware (lack of) speed impact the use of instructional time and materials?
- Is the hardware able to be used without additional student instruction?
- Is the hardware "student-proof"?
- Does the hardware work with the peripherals and software to support students with special needs?
- Is the hardware the best instructional tool for use in your classroom?