Edensor Technology College (ETC) is a secondary school based in Staffordshire, UK, that provides technology-focused education to 1,100 boys and girls aged 11-16. Edensor High School officially became Edensor Technology College in September 2004, making it the first specialist technology college in the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Its aim is to prepare students for the technological expectations of modern industry and to promote achievement and the desire for higher education.

As a specialist school, ETC attracts significant government funding and seeks to invest this money in extra teachers, as well as technology and tools that won’t quickly become outdated.

The Challenge: Learning Lessons in IT

With the overall goal of improving school computing infrastructure to take advantage of new learning techniques, ETC began looking into new ways to provide IT resources to its pupils.

“When I joined the school in 2002 there were 100 desktop PCs running software locally, all based in computer rooms and in a varied state of repair,” deputy head teacher Richard Pickard said. “At the same time, it took almost a month for the IT support team to connect my laptop to the school network as there was so little flexibility built into the system. I knew things had to improve in order for us make IT a utility that was accessible and reliable for everyone.”

The school’s network was not set up to allow expansion of computer use. In fact, the network was already struggling to keep up with the number of users and different types of educational applications, such as those for design and technology classes. The slow speed of the network and lack of availability of computer hardware was such that use of computers was beginning to drop off.

At the same time, the school needed an approach that could reduce reliance on IT support to maintain service and quality. This was particularly critical if the school was going to look into providing home computers to families who couldn’t afford them –- the IT team would not be able to support every problem, and the cost of the rollout needed to be kept under control.

Doing Their Homework with Citrix

ETC worked with Novus, a Gold Citrix® Solution Advisor, on the design and implementation of the new IT infrastructure encompassing Citrix Presentation Server™ and Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003 to deliver educational resources to any desktop –- wherever it was. Novus chose to replace all desktop PCs on the school premises with Wyse thin clients. Applications delivered via Citrix Presentation Server include the Microsoft® Office suite of applications, and educational software such as Flowol flow chart software, Omnigraph for mathematics, The Geometer’s Sketchpad, a geometry tool, and the MSN Encarta® digital encyclopaedia.

Realising the value this brought to the school (with each device only needing to be replaced every six years, compared to the three-year replacement cycle of the desktop PCs), ETC also introduced a scheme to give thin clients to some students for use at home. So far, 300 students have been provided with a Wyse or HP thin-client computer for home use.

Today, there are 400 thin clients at the school for student use, and all teachers have a laptop for use throughout the day, including the morning registration process. Processes have been updated to include using electronic smart cards to pay for lunch in the canteen.

One additional –- and somewhat radical –- decision has been to close the school library. Following a study that found that each pupil borrowed 0.3 books on average every year, the school chose to concentrate on enabling pupils to use the Internet for fact-finding and research.

Virtual Learning Environment Gets Top Marks

The IT team at ETC developed a Microsoft® SharePoint®-based Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The intention is that eventually parents will be able to track their children’s grades, see the school timetable and contact the school as necessary. Also, using the VLE, students should be able to take tests that are automatically submitted to the teacher and graded in real time.

“The VLE will allow recorded lessons or syllabus material to be accessed and used for homework or study,” Pickard added. “One of the things that emerged from our research was pupils’ desire for a ‘replay’ button to repeat lesson content –- the VLE will effectively allow them to do that.”

In addition, ETC doesn’t always need to cover teachers in case of absence, as some lessons are prepared and saved onto the school network. If the teacher is unable to attend a lesson, “learning managers” can provide students with laptops and deliver the lesson through Citrix.

There have been a number of tangible benefits from the introduction of a Citrix Application Delivery Infrastructure solution. Aside from gaining the ability to deliver specific applications and data –- which can include sensitive information such as student and staff records — easily and securely across the school buildings, ETC has reduced IT support and hardware costs. But the main advantage has been enabling students to stay connected with their schoolwork, wherever they are.

Pickard noted: “We didn’t want the children to be bound by the school day, but not everyone has access to a PC at home. Secure access to the school network from a thin-client device and Presentation Server brings a wealth of opportunity for our pupils to learn.” On a single day towards the beginning of the rollout, 42 pupils accessed the school network from home, so the potential of a wider programme is evident.

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