Why Surface SE laptops are gaining new attention at K-12 schools

As K-12 school systems technology directors recover from the surge of supporting remote learning and teaching, many are now exploring how best to establish a more resilient and secure hybrid instruction environment.

One area getting a closer look are the laptops and software schools are using both for students and teachers, says Kali Alford, U.S. education Surface solutions specialist at Microsoft.

“School districts have a very limited full-time employee IT staff. And then overnight with the pandemic, they had their [laptop] fleet grow maybe five to 10 times as large as they typically would have to manage,” he says in a new EdScoop podcast. “So not only does that create a [much higher] workload in terms of the number of devices they have to manage, but it also created a huge security risk, because their amount of end users” on their district’s systems.

Part of what’s driving that interest is the continuing escalation of cybersecurity threats, and the value of being able to manage and update laptops centrally, adds David Comer, U.S. education Surface solutions director at Microsoft, which sponsored the podcast. 

Schools are discovering that while Chrome devices have offered great economy, older devices cannot receive updates indefinitely; and many lack some of the built-in security and centrally managed features available on Microsoft’s Surface SE laptops designed expressly for education, notes Comer. 

And with a new, lighter-weight operating system in Windows 11, that gives students online and offline access to Microsoft’s suite of Office 365 applications —all at a $249 price point — schools are discovering the Surface SE laptops not only provide a more robust user experience, are competitively priced, but also offer greater long-term IT administration value, he says.

Listen to the full podcast conversation on supporting hybrid learning with more reliable and secure laptops from Microsoft on EdScoop.com. And hear more of our latest IT coverage by subscribing to EdScoop’s podcast channels wherever you get your podcasts. 

This podcast was produced by Scoop News Group for EdScoop and underwritten by Microsoft.