Rehab Group improves student services with Citrix VDI-in-a-Box

The challenge: providing cost-effective, consistent, high-quality computing resources to students

Training and education centers are continuously under pressure to ensure that they can provide access to the best computing resources while also keeping costs low.  In late 2011, Rehab Group engaged with a number of companies to design and deliver a nationwide solution that would enhance its existing provision of Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) - accredited courses to the students of the NLN. Due to local bandwidth constraints, the proposed solution needed to be self-contained in each training center.

Citrix Gold solution advisor, Unity Technology Solutions, worked closely with Rehab Group and the NLN  to propose an innovative and elegant approach, which would address not only the business requirements for both organizations, but also would have a much more far-reaching effect on its constituents.

Citrix VDI-in-a-Box was chosen, due to its ease of use and affordability, enabling Rehab Group and National Learning Network to leverage all the benefits of desktop virtualization at a significantly lower cost.

Prior to deploying the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution, students and instructors had a variety of challenges, including:
• Slow and dated PCs, lacking the ability to run current software titles
• No portability between workstations – students’ course material was stored locally
• Significant downtime in the event of PC failure
• An inconsistent learning experience, with multiple versions of software packages being used across different training centers and even within individual classrooms
• Time consuming process to update, install or uninstall software locally

Rehab Group and the NLN wanted to provide the same quality in all their training centers, but the traditional practice of continuously investing in new PCs in order to run the latest software was expensive and the hardware would become obsolete within a couple of years.

The solution: implementing Citrix VDI-in-a-Box

Merrigan continued, “In the design process and the proof of concept, it was important to verify that the Citrix VDI solution could meet the needs of both the instructors and the students. It became apparent early on that Citrix VDI-in-a-Box met this requirement.  The feedback from the instructors who were involved in the design and proof-of-concept process reinforced this view.”

Citrix VDI-in-a-Box enables each of the NLN course instructors in the various training centers to provide customized desktops to students based on their individual needs, skills or progress on a course, and not by the constraints of their computer. Students choose from a software menu that is determined by instructors, who choose what is needed for the course.

The NLN also provides training through what it calls ‘blended learning’. This entails a mix of distance and in-classroom learning for students who find it difficult to attend training centers on a full-time basis. Blended learning students, who receive a significant amount of training in their own home, benefit from a classroom-like learning experience regardless of their location or the device they use.

The benefit: customized learning through the National Learning Network

NLN is continuously evolving its technology to meet the needs of these students, thus enabling people to fulfill their own potential, complete courses and progress to employment, as well as further their education and training. Flexible teaching and learning methods are used and tutoring is tailored to meet the needs of each student.

The Citrix VDI solution provides an agile environment that can be customized to suit the needs of individual students. The environment fully supports a range of accessibility options such as Zoomtext and JAWS screen reader - software packages to aid students with visual impairments. Users can save their own desktop preferences such as font size or color to be automatically available upon log in.

Citrix VDI-in-a-Box also enables the NLN to provide up-to-date software like Microsoft Office in the classroom, as well as specialist packages such as Autodesk and AutoCAD, which all work seamlessly within the Citrix environment.

Overall, the technology has proven to be extremely cost effective for Rehab Group and the NLN as there is no need for a significant capital investment in hardware. Centers can continue to use existing PCs without having to upgrade. The virtual computing environment provides Rehab Group and the NLN with a centralized means to quickly make updates or provision new software to reflect changes in the training curriculum. These curriculum updates reflect the market and employers’ expectations as well as students’ needs.

“National Learning Network has consistently positioned itself as the leading provider of education, training and vocational skills services to people who are disadvantaged. Our ability to respond to the needs of our students and the marketplace is paramount. We recognize that technology plays a central role in provisioning our services and Citrix VDI-in-a-Box has enabled us to future proof our position as a first-class training provider,” said Marie Kelly, Director of Training and Employment Services for Rehab Group.

Ultimately the ethos of NLN is to provide a unique and supportive environment built around the students’ needs. The implementation has been so successful that Rehab Group and the National Learning Network NLN plan to roll-out Citrix VDI-in-a-Box to all fifty National Learning Network centers. The project will ultimately benefit 5,000 students across the country.