We're about to begin a 1000-unit 1:1 Laptop program (August 2010) for
our 4th - 12th graders. We'll be using Casper (which I'm still
learning). I can tell you already that this software is going to save
my sanity. It's the complete package: imaging, management, inventory,
updating, policies, tracking...and so on. With our limited Tech staff,
Casper is going to be a godsend. This is the best purchase we've made,
and we're not even fully using it yet!

I am using ARD for "remote assistance" rather than the Casper VNC tool
as it provides a smother session and allows for things like Desktop to
Desktop copying and chat windows.

But the rest of the tools--especially Self Service--are going to
greatly increase the chances for success in this technology
initiative. The ability to allow end-users to install or update
software on their own machines means they can take greater
responsibility for keeping their machines up-to-date and optimized.
Users can, for instance, simply launch "Self Service" and choose to
install (or reinstall) a printer from a list. Printers can also be
managed with policies, of course. I can build installers for all the
many useful utilities our teachers use from day to day and they can
choose (almost a la carte) which ones they want to install and try:
Jing, Google Earth, SketchUp, Skitch, Highlight, etc, etc....all done
from a simple point and click application. The JSS server will tell me
which teachers/students have installed what and when which could be
useful data for my teachers to see. It will keep me from having to
install all softwares on every machine--the machines can have just a
Base OS and I can build out installers for each software suite or tool
and just layer them on top of each other, based on Department, User
Level (student vs. teacher vs. office staff), or Purpose. A total
life-saver.

We were considering hiring another tech support person to help with
the tremendous task in front of us, but I'm starting to see that
Casper's tools will allow us to easily do many of the tasks that that
person would have been doing. Casper is not inexpensive, but it's less
money than another full-time salaried employee who would've been an
"imaging, deployment, and management" grunt. We may still hire another
person, but if we do, it'll be to help man our Help Desk, not to
reinstall the OS or update Adobe CS3 on 1000 computers.

Damien Barrett
System Technician
Montclair Kimberley Academy
Montclair, NJ 07042
973-842-2812

We use it for about 380 student laptops, and couldn't run the program On Dec 3, 2009, at 10:56 AM, Nelson Miller wrote:
without it. I using Casper to install/unistall and correct imaging errors I made. It works very soomthly, and highly recommend it for any schools doing a 1:1. I use workgroup manager to mange and control the security on the laptops, and have never looking into the MX stuff of Casper.

Karl H. Hehr
Technology/Curriculum Director
South Hamilton CSD
www.s-hamilton.k12.ia.us
515.827.5418 (W)
515.209.9767 (C)
515.827.5368 (F)

Luddite by Degrees
1) Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2) Anything that's invented between when you're 15 and 35 is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3) Anything invented after you're 35 is again the natural order of things --- Douglas Adams

Oh yes. We are using Casper in a 1:1 with 6,000 macbooks. Can't tell you how much of a needed product Casper is in this type of environment. If you want to take this off list you can feel free to shoot me any questions you got. We are on year 3 of our 1:1, been using Casper since day 1. Have never looked back either.

-Tom

We use Casper for our 1-1 program of about 700 iBooks. We use it for everything from image, updates, management, inventory. We've tried using MCX but our setup is pretty complex and we've run into some hang-ups. We use MCX in several other places though.

John
--
John Wetter
Technology Support Administrator
Educational Technology, Media & Information Services
Hopkins Public Schools
952-988-5373

To add a non casper tid bit in here, that is so very useful in a 1:1 is an app called Passenger. I use it to create all my user accounts and import them into Open Directory. I do a review and quick tutorial on my site found here:

http://tlarkin.com/tech/passenger-v379-review

I have destroyed and rebuilt LDAP from scratch before in 1 single day's work thanks to Passenger making it easy to build import files based off our enrollment system.