Good affordable laptop in Thailand

[Marc26]

 

 

 

My wife and I collected donations for her old school 

 

It's a small school that doesn't get much help at all

 

She went there yesterday and got info on what's needed

One thing they need is another computer for the kids to learn on

I see decent Acer and Asus for around 15k

But anyone have recommendations for a computer in the 12-20k range

 

Doesn't need to have a ton of specs they said

 

But they will be all using it at times

 

So 2 computers for 40 kids

 

Thanks for any help

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pinetree]

My last one was 11K from Power Buy.  They often have deals on the less attractive products for, say, gamers.  They may even be open to a discount for a school.   You could also make an appeal on FB for firms that are upgrading,  to donate their older stock to you.  I obtained 4 computers for a Thai village school some years ago by doing this.

[KaptainRob]

Something like this is ideal for a school > https://www.powerbuy.co.th/en/product/acer-computer-acer-c229621008g1t21mgit001-256267

SSD option (extra cost) essential IMO but more serviceable than a laptop if used by multiple students - ie: keyboard and mouse easily swapped out, large screen, and it's more difficult to damage or pilfer the whole thing.

Good gear.

[Shade_Wilder]

Hi Mark

First, good on you and your wife. Back in the day (WAY back in the day), I was a teacher trainer in SE Asia and despaired at the lack of support given to some schools; I taught at places where kids were even sharing chairs.

I don't have a specific computer to recommend, but will suggest going to BananaIT if there is one near you. 

It isn't a company that I would normally recommend, but a pal of mine saw a computer for me on sale there, and it was a great buy with a 6,000 Baht discount. I went into the shop, took it to the counter, and was flabbergasted by another, unadvertised, 5,000 Baht off as it was a 2022 model. Yes, I bought it on the spot.

I can't promise that you'll find the same, but I think it is worth sticking your head in and asking; if they are still getting rid of 2022 models, you might find something (or even somethings) appropriate and affordable.

Good luck!

[Marc26]

5 hours ago, KaptainRob said:

Something like this is ideal for a school > https://www.powerbuy.co.th/en/product/acer-computer-acer-c229621008g1t21mgit001-256267

SSD option (extra cost) essential IMO but more serviceable than a laptop if used by multiple students - ie: keyboard and mouse easily swapped out, large screen, and it's more difficult to damage or pilfer the whole thing.

Good gear.

I was thinking the same thing KR, that something like this is better suited for a bunch of kids using it and less likely to get pilfered

 

Thanks

[Marc26]

6 hours ago, Pinetree said:

My last one was 11K from Power Buy.  They often have deals on the less attractive products for, say, gamers.  They may even be open to a discount for a school.   You could also make an appeal on FB for firms that are upgrading,  to donate their older stock to you.  I obtained 4 computers for a Thai village school some years ago by doing this.

Great idea, but I don't know how I would do that and now we are going soon

 

But we can buy this one and then try your good idea in future

 

Thanks

[Marc26]

5 hours ago, Shade_Wilder said:

Hi Mark

First, good on you and your wife. Back in the day (WAY back in the day), I was a teacher trainer in SE Asia and despaired at the lack of support given to some schools; I taught at places where kids were even sharing chairs.

I don't have a specific computer to recommend, but will suggest going to BananaIT if there is one near you. 

It isn't a company that I would normally recommend, but a pal of mine saw a computer for me on sale there, and it was a great buy with a 6,000 Baht discount. I went into the shop, took it to the counter, and was flabbergasted by another, unadvertised, 5,000 Baht off as it was a 2022 model. Yes, I bought it on the spot.

I can't promise that you'll find the same, but I think it is worth sticking your head in and asking; if they are still getting rid of 2022 models, you might find something (or even somethings) appropriate and affordable.

Good luck!

There is an BananIT right across the river at IconSiam I will check it out on Friday, thanks!

[Marc26]

5 hours ago, Shade_Wilder said:

Hi Mark

First, good on you and your wife. Back in the day (WAY back in the day), I was a teacher trainer in SE Asia and despaired at the lack of support given to some schools; I taught at places where kids were even sharing chairs.

I don't have a specific computer to recommend, but will suggest going to BananaIT if there is one near you. 

It isn't a company that I would normally recommend, but a pal of mine saw a computer for me on sale there, and it was a great buy with a 6,000 Baht discount. I went into the shop, took it to the counter, and was flabbergasted by another, unadvertised, 5,000 Baht off as it was a 2022 model. Yes, I bought it on the spot.

I can't promise that you'll find the same, but I think it is worth sticking your head in and asking; if they are still getting rid of 2022 models, you might find something (or even somethings) appropriate and affordable.

Good luck!

This is somewhat "remote" 

My wife went there yesterday to check out what's needed and one of the things she came away with was socks

She said all the kids socks were old with holes in them

 

And fix the roof, so there is plenty to do

[Marc26]

Just read there is a good shop in Fortune Tower that sells refurbished computers

 

Will check that place out because maybe we can buy 2 then

[Shade_Wilder]

8 hours ago, Marc26 said:

This is somewhat "remote" 

My wife went there yesterday to check out what's needed and one of the things she came away with was socks

She said all the kids socks were old with holes in them

And fix the roof, so there is plenty to do

 

HI Mark

I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but I am just back from a morning cycle, full of endorphins, and I saw your wife's comments with which I wholeheartedly agree.

Let me begin my reiterating what I said above; you are doing a good thing, and anything/everything that you do to help a remote, rural school is a Good Thing. 

However, I have a strong feeling that your wife originally asked the Principal or some other high Muckety-Muck what the school needed, and that is where the idea of computers came from. And, based on being a teacher-trainer in SE Asia in the late 80s/early 90s, I suspect the aforementioned computers would be stored at the Principal's house "For Safe Keeping".

Two quick tales; I was at a remote, rural school in Eastern Indonesia and the Science teacher proudly showed me a set of magnifying glasses, tweezers and other related paraphernalia that had been donated by a German tourist years before. I said "Cool! How do you use them?" She just stared at me and said "I don't. If I hand them out in class, the students will steal them." So I said "Okay, what good are they?" and she just stared at me. I would wager a great deal that they are STILL there, unused. Another time, I was doing practical applications of lesson plans to teachers just outside of Hanoi, and I asked them what they needed more than anything. They said "Dictionaries". They weren't too expensive (for me), so I bought ten of them and introduced them in my class. At the end of the first day, I called for the dictionaries to be handed back in. Deafening silence. It was immediately clear that, short of strip-searching them, I wasn't getting any of my dictionaries back. "Whoa!" I said to myself.

I dislike those that criticize, even constructively, without offering alternatives, so what could you do instead? Some ideas...

• Pick a class, buy uniforms for the entire class, hold a public 'event' where they are handed out with the caveat that you'll be back next year to see them handed down again.
• New chalk board(s) and a gross of chalk, including multi-coloured chalk. This might not sound like much, but is actually a HUGE thing. I did a lot of work in remote, rural schools that didn't have resources, and so I designed all my lessons to be delivered ONLY with chalk and a board.
• A pre-paid, year-long Internet connection for the school, if applicable/possible. No, it won't be used daily by the students, but it'll be used by students, staff and community alike on a very regular basis. And, you'll be amazed at how many Smartphones are already there if/when there is free Internet.
• Bulk supplies of stuff that doesn't have much of a re-sale value. Multi-coloured construction paper, kid scissors, glue, paper, etc.
• If there is someone that you trust to deliver, a large bag of rice or two every month, along with a supply of veggies. Yes, the school gets money for lunch programs, but that can be added to quite easily. The difficulty is not allowing your contribution to replace what is on offer, but rather to supplement it.

I don't know if any of the above is relevant to you and your Missus, but I thought that I'd offer up an idea or two. Please feel free to ignore this clump of anonymous electrons.

Cheers

SW

PS sorry Mods, off-topic, but... it's a good cause.

 

[Marc26]

3 hours ago, Shade_Wilder said:

HI Mark

I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but I am just back from a morning cycle, full of endorphins, and I saw your wife's comments with which I wholeheartedly agree.

Let me begin my reiterating what I said above; you are doing a good thing, and anything/everything that you do to help a remote, rural school is a Good Thing. 

However, I have a strong feeling that your wife originally asked the Principal or some other high Muckety-Muck what the school needed, and that is where the idea of computers came from. And, based on being a teacher-trainer in SE Asia in the late 80s/early 90s, I suspect the aforementioned computers would be stored at the Principal's house "For Safe Keeping".

Two quick tales; I was at a remote, rural school in Eastern Indonesia and the Science teacher proudly showed me a set of magnifying glasses, tweezers and other related paraphernalia that had been donated by a German tourist years before. I said "Cool! How do you use them?" She just stared at me and said "I don't. If I hand them out in class, the students will steal them." So I said "Okay, what good are they?" and she just stared at me. I would wager a great deal that they are STILL there, unused. Another time, I was doing practical applications of lesson plans to teachers just outside of Hanoi, and I asked them what they needed more than anything. They said "Dictionaries". They weren't too expensive (for me), so I bought ten of them and introduced them in my class. At the end of the first day, I called for the dictionaries to be handed back in. Deafening silence. It was immediately clear that, short of strip-searching them, I wasn't getting any of my dictionaries back. "Whoa!" I said to myself.

I dislike those that criticize, even constructively, without offering alternatives, so what could you do instead? Some ideas...

• Pick a class, buy uniforms for the entire class, hold a public 'event' where they are handed out with the caveat that you'll be back next year to see them handed down again.
• New chalk board(s) and a gross of chalk, including multi-coloured chalk. This might not sound like much, but is actually a HUGE thing. I did a lot of work in remote, rural schools that didn't have resources, and so I designed all my lessons to be delivered ONLY with chalk and a board.
• A pre-paid, year-long Internet connection for the school, if applicable/possible. No, it won't be used daily by the students, but it'll be used by students, staff and community alike on a very regular basis. And, you'll be amazed at how many Smartphones are already there if/when there is free Internet.
• Bulk supplies of stuff that doesn't have much of a re-sale value. Multi-coloured construction paper, kid scissors, glue, paper, etc.
• If there is someone that you trust to deliver, a large bag of rice or two every month, along with a supply of veggies. Yes, the school gets money for lunch programs, but that can be added to quite easily. The difficulty is not allowing your contribution to replace what is on offer, but rather to supplement it.

I don't know if any of the above is relevant to you and your Missus, but I thought that I'd offer up an idea or two. Please feel free to ignore this clump of anonymous electrons.

Cheers

SW

PS sorry Mods, off-topic, but... it's a good cause.

Thanks for the detailed sugegstions!

 

And don't worry, my wife is as cynical of all these Thailand as anyone, so she is very suspecting and has been adamant to not give any cash and buy everything direct and of any possible theft and misusage

 

We have already decided on a few of those things you mentioned

Uniforms...........the school has gotten the sizes for all 40 kids and my wife is buying them personally 

 

Sport Uniforms.........seems these are used by all the children and then handed down, so we are going to buy sport uniforms

 

Supplies. we are buying all that stuff, coloring books, etc...

 

Food........that was one of the things that the teachers mentioned. That they could use bags of rice and some other essentials. So we will set something up where an amount is delivered monthly

 

The roof............badly needs repairing and we paid her brother's friend to do the work

 

 

Now to the computers..........definitely understand your concern.

They were shown the one older computer.........so I do think they are needed

And my thoughts are I found a good shop in Bangkok that sells refurbished computers and my thought process is buy 2 of those instead of the 1 requested and let them know we bought them "2nd hand" computers

I think that would lessen the attractiveness of taking it home and still provides the kid's with much needed computers

 

EDIT.........my wife has spoken to the teacher and the teacher even suggested "2nd hand" is ok. My wife thinks it is all ok, and she has a good skeptical judgement so I will trust her instinct on that

 

EDIT.............My wife says there is no "boss" just the 4 teachers

Which to me, is a good thing

[Marc26]

Also, anyone that wants to offer suggestions and even critiques on what we have planned would be greatly welcomed!

 

Any info and experience and advice is definitely something we welcome

[Marc26]

On 2/14/2023 at 4:28 PM, KaptainRob said:

Something like this is ideal for a school > https://www.powerbuy.co.th/en/product/acer-computer-acer-c229621008g1t21mgit001-256267

SSD option (extra cost) essential IMO but more serviceable than a laptop if used by multiple students - ie: keyboard and mouse easily swapped out, large screen, and it's more difficult to damage or pilfer the whole thing.

Good gear.

We ended up buying 2 HP all-in-one at Banana IT

Total 31k

 

The guy was fantastic to deal with and set up all the programs he thought the kids would need on the desktop

 

He went above and beyond 

 

Great looking computer, by the way

Wouldn't mind it in my house

 

 

[Marc26]

Thanks for all the recommendation 

 

Appreciate it

[Raugh]

In academics there was an old adage that basically went:

"If you want to slow your competition down, buy them a computer."

[snail]

Landmark in Udon Thani has a floor dedicated to computers. Used and new.