Using Thin Clients In An Educational Setting: Page 2 of 4

William Myrhang, a Technical Marketing Engineer with National Semiconductor, oversaw the setup and deployment of the technology. He focused on feasibility and on making sure that his team could quickly deploy a working technology infrastructure. His recommendations for a model classroom included the following:

• Two application servers pre-configured by a system integrator specializing in K-12 education design.
• 20 thin clients with flat panel displays to provide plug-and-play access to servers, reduce equipment failure, require less energy, and occupy a minimum of desktop space.
• 4 workstations for high-end computing.
• 12 light-weight wireless thin clients for flexible, wireless access from work tables and pods.
• 6 integrated flat panel thin client displays for viewing multimedia.
• A combination wired and wireless network.
• A common router firewall.

The setup included 24 individual tables grouped into six pods, six trapezoid tables grouped into three rounds, a long work table, cabinets for servers, a teacher station, and appropriate seating.

We knew that we were on to something important by the first afternoon. Word had spread throughout the conference and teachers were bringing administrators to the afternoon sessions to show them what the classroom looked like, how the technology worked, and the instructional style modeled by Mrs. Wille.

For educational IT directors, the Model Classroom proves that they can set up an effective learning environment with low-cost equipment quickly. The Director of Technology and the Director of Instruction both get what they need in the Model Classroom: technology that is easy to use, easy to deploy, and worry free. Because the servers handle all of the application processing and data storage, students or teachers can plug-in the desktop devices without local configuration. The IT department manages software and upgrades memory and processor speed on the servers as needed.

EQUIPMENT