Executive Summary

One of the leading schools in Canberra, Radford College, uses PC Locs laptop trolleys as an integral part of their ICT program, both to facilitate mobile computing and to prevent laptop theft.

Background 

Radford College in Canberra was established in 1984. The College is an Anglican coeducational day school and currently has 1255 enrolments across Years 5 - 12 and the Early Learning Centre. There are equal numbers of boys and girls.

The school nurtures both the spiritual and academic potential of its students, and provides a learning environment which is purposeful, imaginative and enjoyable. Radford College explicitly aims to embed information and communication technologies and other new technologies across the curriculum. 

The ICT Program at Radford College 

Radford College aims to make ICT an integral part of the teaching environment. In its middle school, each classroom is equipped with five computers and one multi-media projector. Several of the classrooms have smartboards, and the school is looking to expand its use of smartboards in the future. 

In the rest of the school, multi-media projectors are installed in many classrooms; the English department is equipped with 16 iMacs; and all science classrooms are equipped with two PCs at the back of the room. 

The Role of PC Locs Laptop Trolleys and other Physical Security Products

Access to computer labs and the mobility of computer labs is very important in order to facilitate the desired teaching outcomes at Radford College, especially in its science department. Both the science and the maths lab use PC Locs iRoller laptop trolleys to transport up to 20 laptops between classrooms. PC Locs laptop trolleys are also used in Radford College’s middle school.

The PC Locs iRoller notebook trolleys not only enable teachers to easily transport computer labs between classrooms, or even conduct lessons outside within the range of the wireless network, they also ensure that the laptops are safely stored between lessons and overnight and allow for the laptops to be recharged easily. 

Radford College also uses PC Locs laptop leashes for staff laptops and PC Locs lockdown products to secure desktop computers. 

Burglary and Theft – A Major Concern for Radford College 

Burglary and theft used to be a fact of life for Radford College, and valuable IT equipment has been a prime target for thieves. During one burglary, the thieves even used a sledgehammer to try and ‘crack’ the iRoller laptop trolley. Despite the use of heavy tools and a considerable amount of force, the thieves were not able to break into the iRoller laptop trolley. No laptops were stolen, even though the iRoller (and one laptop) sustained some damage during the attempted theft. 

In a second, unfortunately more sustained attack, thieves targeted a Super Calf laptop trolley. Due to an unusually long security response time the thieves attacked the Super Calf trolley for over 20 minutes, and managed to break through one of the security bars. This allowed them to steal six of the 12 laptops. Even in this situation, the Super Calf proved to be very resistant to burglary attempts, with its security features only being compromised after a serious and sustained attack.  

Why Radford College Chose PC Locs Laptop Trolleys 

Laptop trolleys from PC Locs have been in use at Radford College since 2002. 

Glenn Demery, the Head of IT Services at Radford College, relies on PC Locs products due to their solid and sturdy construction and the fact that they are extremely well suited for the usage in an educational setting. Beyond that, superior customer service from PC Locs and the company’s responsiveness and approach to improving their products based on customer feedback is what makes PC Locs stand out.  

“I found PC Locs’ service to be excellent whenever I have had dealings with them. Their customer service, two way communication and the good quality and good looks of the laptop trolleys are a big plus points for us. The open design of the PC Locs is great to ensure laptops don’t overheat during charging, and it also offers an easy way for teaching staff to visually check that all laptops are back in the laptop trolleys. But for theft prevention, one thing I would like to see is some way of visually hiding laptops, too.” 

Glenn Demery added, “The laptop trolleys, especially the iRoller, have definitely helped in implementing the IT program in the educational setting at Radford College. These trolleys are great for the transport and easy access to laptops in all classrooms.” 

The Future of ICT at Radford College 

For Glenn Demery and Radford College, the increased use of multi-media is a major focus of their ICT program. All teachers are now being provided with their own personal laptop. The school is currently not considering giving each student their own laptop, but will instead be relying on easy access to laptop labs and multiple desktops per classroom. PC Locs is looking forward to supporting Radford College’s ICT program into the future.