To preserve take-home gadgets in proper working order, discuss these easy tips with your pupils and their families.

After more than a decade of dealing with one-to-one device projects, I’ve encountered some intriguing device care stories. After a tablet was delivered with a few nasty teeth marks, one very 21st century spin on “the dog ate my homework” emerged!

Fortunately, IT professionals can share some basic suggestions with kids to help them safeguard their devices. Here are a handful of my personal favorites.

1. Locate a Home Network Filter

Aside from the danger of physical harm, it is critical to safeguard pupils and connections through material monitoring. Work with children, instructors, and households to verify that their house filters are adequate. A breach that begins in a student‘s home can later spread to K–12 networks. Consider using Cisco Umbrella from Cisco Systems. This free home solution offers basic content filtering and security against phishing and ransomware.

2. Take Preventative Measures to Find the Missing

Indispensible gadgets can finish up in the strangest unusual places. Many firms, including Google, offer services to help identify lost devices, but keep in mind that these capabilities must be activated well before the device goes missing. Location services should be enabled on all take-home gadgets before they leave the house. Additional option: Some services provide a Bluetooth-enabled microchip that can be fitted to frequently forgotten things.

3. Train Students on How to Properly Pack Devices

It may appear to be a simple task, but correctly loading and managing a backpack containing a gadget is not something that all students are familiar with. Devices are typically best stowed on top of or in front of heavy books, and a container apart from water bottles. Also, when packing up your tablet, unplug any earbuds or headphones to avoid headphone jacks falling off in the sound port.

4. Train Students on How to Properly Pack Devices

It may appear to be a simple task, but correctly loading and managing a backpack containing a gadget is not something that all students are familiar with. Devices are typically best stowed on top of or in front of heavy books, and a container apart from water bottles. Also, when packing up your tablet, unplug any earbuds or headphones to avoid headphone jacks falling off in the sound port.