Data Center

ISTE 2010: These Go To Eleven

The Buzz Blog shares the benefits of using shared computing solutions in the classroom.

Buzz Garwood, the technology teacher at Home Gardens Academy in Corona, Calif., blogs and produces videos for EdTech magazine. Follow him at @buzzgarwood and check out his blog.

Nigel Tufnel, from the band Spinal Tap, isn't the only person with a device that can go to 11. Although many schools know a one-to-one netbook program would be ideal, many of these same schools are cutting back their technology spending in light of the economic downturn; therefore, a one-to-one program may not be a feasible option for your school or district at this time. But wouldn't it be great if you could wave a magic wand, sprinkle some fairy dust, and drop waaaay less money on technology this year by converting a single classroom PC into...drum roll please...dramatic pause...one that can serve up to 11 students?-- "Did he say eleven students?" Yes, he did. Nigel Tufnel's amp went to 11, and now-- so can your PC.

In a white paper on NComputing's X-Series 11-user environment, a typical classroom scenario confirmed that even a basic host PC can power up to 11 users simultaneously executing productivity, office and multimedia applications with memory resources to spare.

Reality check: All users can't be running video production suites and process-labor intensive applications like Photoshop simultaneously, but the fact is, average individuals aren't doing that kind of work anyway. Average people utilize only a small fraction of the processing and memory performance provided in today's PCs, leaving available capacity that can be used for shared computing and virtual desktops. In addition, the NComputing solution provides on going management and power savings that is many times better than the traditional PC model. The bottom line is, if you have some spare monitors just laying around, and want to stretch your tech dollars in the short run while you ramp up for a future 1-to-1 roll out in the long run, for what you'd pay for two or three netbooks, you can serve up to 11 students.

Note: Microsoft does not provide any support for vSpace or for the Windows XP operating system in this configuration; you should seek support from NComputing for issues relating to vSpace and its use with the Windows XP Client operating system.

And Remember:

"It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. Where can you go from there? Where? What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do? Eleven. Exactly. One louder." -Nigel Tufnel (This Is Spinal Tap).

Follow Buzz on Twitter: @buzzgarwood