Teacher discounts can be found in various places, ranging from
online book stores and office supply stores to
cell phone bills. One of the questions I get asked often as a Technology Integration Specialist is the availability of discounts on computers, so I thought I'd share a few resources and provide a quick summary of what is available. I'll continue to update this post as other opportunities arise, so feel free to leave a comment if you know of a particular program not mentioned here.
Apple Store for Education - Although you likely will not be getting a price break on that iPad 2, you will be in line for some savings on most Apple computers and laptops. The savings generally run between $50-100. Bring in your educator identification to the Apple Store and receive similar price breaks.
Dell - Member Purchase Program and University Store - When it comes to PCs, you have more options from various companies, though customer preference or previous experience with a particular brand may steer you more towards or farther away from a particular company. Dell offers discounted pricing through a member purchase program, and since we have a considerable number of Dell machines, we have a member ID to offer to our teachers. However, Dell still allows you to shop the store without an ID.
HP Academy (HPA) - Hewlett Packard runs a private store that requires you to sign up for access to special pricing on their products as well as a periodic newsletter. You'll see a special "HPA" logo on eligible products and discounts range from a few bucks on a low priced netbook to hundreds of dollars on a high performance laptop.
Although these are certainly not the only computer makers and distributors, many of the other companies including Lenovo (a possible 5% discount exists), Toshiba, Acer, and Asus don't seem to have a personal purchase program in place for teachers. They all have education initiatives, and if your school has a specific relationship or makes the bulk of its computer purchases with a particular brand, chances are you may have access to special pricing. Ask your IT department or Tech Coordinator for more details.
For more information on
how to choose a computer for a teacher, please read my posts here.
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Image by najeebkhan2009 via Flickr
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