Hardware Scenarios

Bright Future Academy IT Report

CARLOS FUENTES-PIERUCCINI

After observe and analyze the technology your academy have I can suggest some hardware, programs and type of connections, with their specific details that can be functional and gave you an easy organization. The principal idea is to actualize all your systems.

The most important thing and that would be basic is your network infrastructure. Actually, you don´t really have a high speed network that can support that quantity of users and connections on your academy. I would recommend having more than one server and newer ones. This is because they can offer, a high bandwidth capacity, highly demanding software applications and a highly manageable network administration. And the coasts from ownership are minimum.

With a good network infrastructure organization everything will be easier, and talking about the adequate software for the school, I don´t think it will be seen formal that this kind of organizations don´t count with the original licenses from the specific programs, the coasts aren´t too high and will be a great investment for the next years to acquire this technology. The programs that the school uses must be educational and the administration need to be sure they would be secure. I insist in changing the Windows version and the Microsoft office to the newest ones (Windows 8 and Microsoft 2010), they dispose from excellent tools and a faster solving from tasks.

As I observe the computers you dispose are older and that means you may lose money repairing them after installing a program to newest, with which there is a possibility that cannot support its new features and technology. But the best solution would be to sell every computer you have, and then buy at least fifteen computers because you have 500 students in 45 classrooms, that means approximately 11 students per class, so with fifteen you have a margin talking about the classes with more students.

This computers must be laptops because they are easy to move around and can be shared between the classrooms at any moment; about their qualities I suggest the i5 core and at least 4 gb from RAM because they are going to be used by many students and almost at every moment, so the tasks are going to be solved faster and there would be more memory for that quantity of documents.

About the smartphones I would recommend to use and take advantage of them because they have a lot of functions, are very fast browsing on the web, and they can integrate the group by getting in accord through groups on social networks. Some problems with student´s distractions can exist but you must specify the rules in a contract and probably just available for the major students and include that they can used the smartphones only when the teachers ask for them in the classroom.

Interactive whiteboards consist in connecting the computer to a projector and the projector reflects the image to the whiteboard, and then control the computer with a kind of pen or other different accessories. This technology is great for presentations and basically teachers activities related with their explications to the students but if you have a limited budget, this won´t be a priority because it´s not totally necessary, students can see the presentations on their computers and teachers can give oral explications without the interactive whiteboards, I ensure in avoiding this technology because they are also too expensive.

Cloud computing applications are a great form to interconnect the personal from the academy, and may allow users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites, based on this information I suggest you to use them, they will complement your sharing information technology on the web.

I don’t think training the teachers for this kind of technologies will be necessary because it’s basic knowledge about technology and if you are thinking about hire special persons for technology and that have an extensive knowledge from the theme, hire the ones that have a college degree.

In conclusion you better sell your equipment or most of the part from it and buy some laptops for students with new licenses for the Microsoft office programs and the new version from Windows. The most important thing is your network, must be a high. Also take advantage of the web tools and every opportunity you can avail on the web. This project from renovation can lead your technology and organization to excellent conditions and to maintain all the personal connected with your servers.