Education Blog

Today is World Autism Awareness Day: Supporting every child’s desire and ability to learn

DELL-Kelli H — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:47:00 GMT

Looking back when I started my career as a teacher working with individuals with disabilities, I never imagined I would someday be working at Dell. As a teacher, I would spend countless hours trying to find technologies that would empower my students to be as independent as possible and have great quality of life.

Today as a member of Dell's Education Team, we have a new Assistive Technology Service that is going to have a huge impact for students with disabilities in K12 and Higher Education. You can see a few more details in this video. Through this service we will provide access, implementation and support to schools, districts and universities to ensure that individuals get the technology needed to open their world to being able to communicate, read the document that they couldn’t before,and engage in the world around them.

As I reflect today on Autism Awareness Day and wear blue to promote awareness, I feel proud of Dell’s solutions that open the world to students across the globe through Assistive Technology and all other work that we’re doing to support every child’s ability and desire to learn.

Dell Helps Lowell Observatory's Discovery Channel Telescope Reach for the Stars

Leigh Ann Browning — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:58:00 GMT

Over 80 years after the discovery of Pluto by one of its astronomers, Lowell Observatory is setting its sights on celestial objects even farther away with their new $53 million telescope powered by Dell Poweredge servers and Precision workstations.

Lowell Observatory, a private, non-profit research institution operates a number of telescopes in Arizona in partnership with universities including Boston University and Georgia State University. Lowell also offers programs for K-12 students as well as telescope viewing for the public. In partnership with Discovery Communications, Lowell began building the Discovery Channel Telescope about seven years ago. The telescope will be the 5th largest telescope in the continental U.S. and will be among the most technically sophisticated of its size, advancing Lowell’s research of the universe, from solar system objects such as Kuiper Belt objects, to dwarf galaxies, and more.

Over the holidays, I was lucky enough to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the telescope and its technology station from the DCT Project Manager, Bill DeGroff (who also happens to be my father.) I took a few pictures to show the size and complexity of both the outer dome and internal parts that make up the telescope. I’ve never seen a mirror so large—it is 4.3 meters wide!

Lowell chose Dell to power the telescope’s dome and instrument controls as well as its networking and communications. The telescope and dome controls, which control the movement of the upper rotating viewing area, are comprised of five rack-mounted Dell Precision workstations. These workstations host the software necessary to control the shutter motion, dome position and alignment and shape of the telescope mirrors as it rotates on 360 degree tracks, as well as gather and process weather data. The instrument controls require two Dell Poweredge servers which control small digital cameras that guide the telescope to literally follow the stars.

High on a hill in the Coconino National Forest 45 miles southeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, the telescope is on the verge of completion and scheduled for “first light” this summer. Check out Discovery Channel’s special airing on June 17th and read more at Lowell.edu.

SXSWedu is March 6-8 ... see you there!

Kari Sherrodd — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 08:34:00 GMT

Thousands of teachers and others passionate about education and learning will be in Austin, TX at SXSWedu March 6-8. We’re excited to help welcome them to our hometown, as well as join in for the activities.

Along with my Dell Education teammates, I’ll be at SXSWedu where we’ll host two conversations. Students from Round Rock Independent School District will talk with us about new ways of learning during “Are students leaving us in the digital dust?” on Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 pm.

We’ll learn straight from students as they express how they are experiencing learning today and their ideas of how to approach learning for their needs – including the reality that we’re in the midst of a shift from print to digital in the way they are learning.

At Dell we believe that every child can learn and we’ll bring ideas of how to support this during the “Think Out of the Box Assistive Technologies” panel on Wednesday from 2-3 pm CST. Along with industry leaders from TeachTown, WeAreTeachers and Microsoft we’ll share practical and easy to implement ideas to reach students with special needs -- for teachers, parents and the full learning community.

Along with Dell Small Office, we’re also happy to participate in LAUNCHedu happening at SXSWedu. Based upon successful Accelerator programs at SXSW Interactive and SXSW Music, LAUNCHedu provides an exciting opportunity for promising entrepreneurs to pitch and receive support for their start-up education business concepts and products. The winners will be announced on Wednesday.

We’re expecting to listen and learn a lot from this crowd! I hope you will join us -- even from afar -- by using #sxswedu and our #domoreedu on Twitter. Our team will be keeping you updated on all of the activity via @DellEdu ... see you there!

Rise of Digital Content, Devices & Solutions in Schools [INFOGRAPHIC]

Kari Sherrodd — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:00:00 GMT

This Saturday we are bringing together a group of educators, administrators, and community leaders for an Education Think Tank at the BETT Show in London to discuss how technology has the potential to transform teaching and learning inside and outside of the classroom. This group is part of our globally connected group of Education leaders that has grown since our first Education Think Tank in New York last Fall. This is just the beginning of a great dialogue as we continue to broaden this conversation to include educators, administrators, community leaders and students all around the globe.

One of the reoccurring themes during the first Think Tank and that I expect will pop up in this Saturday's conversation is around what the next generation of learning could look like and especially as we anticipate seeing a rise of digital content in schools.

The below infographic outlines how in the midst of shifting learning environments technology continue to affect the way we work, collaborate , communicate and even succeed as teachers, learners and workers.

We hope you will join us at the Education Think Tank via online or as a viewers on-site at BETT taking place at the Dell sponsored cafe and lounge on the second floor. Please use the #DoMoreEDU hashtag on Twitter to follow the conversations and to share your thoughts about the infographic.

At BETT Show: New Education Cloud Solutions and Services to Improve Learning Outcomes for Students

Kari Sherrodd — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:13:00 GMT

We’re in London this week meeting with teachers, school IT leaders and students during the BETT Show and we’re very happy to be sharing the news that we launched our new education cloud solutions and services. This means that we are more prepared than ever to help each and every student around the world reach their full potential at a time when the traditional school environment is going through monumental changes.

We’re bringing together resources used in a classroom; ebooks, tools for chat, more digital content and pulling them together to create one, simplified and easy-to-use Next Generation Learning Platform. It now allows educators to use all the resources at their disposal to create a lesson customized for each student. The Dell Next Generation Learning Platform accesses information from data management and student information systems to create streamlined and customized interfaces for teachers, students and parents.

Collections of content delivered through private, public and blended education clouds can be organized and accessed on a platform where students can find and share content from open education resources. Education Data Management records a child’s performance data which makes it easier to assess development and monitor progress. The data can be leveraged on its own or as part of Dell’s Next Generation Learning Platform.

In addition to this, I’m so happy to share that Dell has expanded technology support for students with special learning requirements. Text-to-speech software, magnifying screens and touch-screen monitors enable students with special needs to communicate with others and participate in classroom activities. Dell’s technology support and management for schools and universities now goes beyond core laptop, tablet and whiteboard tools to include assistive technology solutions that support students with special learning requirements.

In my opinion, these developments mark the end of the disconnected school. They also mark the beginning of a simplified classroom in which each lesson is personalized for each student and progress can be monitored with ease. We’re looking forward to talking more with you about our new education solutions and services over the coming weeks. If you are at BETT please stop by our stand (B20) and/or our Social Media Command Center in the café on the second floor.

Chat with us on Nov. 17 about virtualizing your learning environment

Kari Sherrodd — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:21:00 GMT

Learning from school leaders at Educause we found out there is a keen interest to hear more about the possibilities with virtualizing learning environments. We’re seeing that schools are taking advantage of this to effectively manage many different devices, maximize the use of labs on campus and as a way to put more software in the hands of students. At Educause we brought together five IT leaders in schools and universities to talk about why they decided to virtualize their systems. Now, we’re continuing this conversation to learn from experts and to find out if or how virtualization could be right for your school.

We’re kicking this off with a live chat hosted by one of our specialists. She’ll be encouraging participants to share with one another during the discussion and will be able to give details on how some of your colleagues have taken advantage of Dell’s Virtual Labs 3.0.

If you do join, please let me know what you think of the live chat!

Coming together to bridge the digital divide [Infographic] #DoMoreEDU

Kari Sherrodd — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:00:00 GMT

Last weekend we brought together a group of educators, administrators, and community leaders to discuss how technology can serve to transform teaching and learning inside and outside of the classroom. Our vibrant group discussed everything from how social media can be used in the classroom to how do we personalize learning to how can administrators can help support innovation. You can find a summary of the discussion on Storify or add your ideas via this Google Doc. This is just the beginning of a great dialogue as we continue to broaden this conversation to include educators, administrators, community leaders and students all across the globe.

One of the reoccurring themes during our day of discussion was the issue of access to technology, a topic that is near and dear to our hearts here at Dell. We’ve taken steps to address this issue through programs such as the Dell YouthConnect Program, but there is so much more to do. The below infographic outlines some of the challenges we face and looks at potential solutions to this critical issue. We hope you will join this discussion using the #DoMoreEDU hashtag on Twitter and we look forward to your perspectives on how to bridge the digital divide.

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Experts share virtualized learning advice

Kari Sherrodd — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:32:00 GMT

The best way to learn about emerging education technologies is to talk to those who have tried them. During the Educause Annual Conference last week, our team had the opportunity to host an interactive conversation about virtualized learning environments with a group of IT visionaries who have first-hand experience. The discussion, moderated by Vice President of Dell Higher Education John Mullen, centered on specific goals of virtualization as well as the challenges and obstacles the panelists have overcome. Below are some of the highlights from our lively discussion:

For California State University Stanislaus, the goal isn’t to take away devices, but to ensure that we’re managing all devices in an effective way, said Carl Whitman, AVP Info Tech/Chief Info Officer.

Dr. Robert Owen, CIO for Western Kentucky University, chose virtualization as a way to maximize the use of labs on campus.

According to Alisa Berger, Principal of NYC iSchool (K12), her school’s early experiences with 1:1 learning was expensive and difficult to manage. With Dell’s virtualized desktop solution, they are able to tackle challenges head on.

Michael Carlin, Deputy CIO University of Maryland Baltimore County, talked about dealing with licensing issues. We need more leadership in this space, but slowly we’re finding out solutions, he explained.

At the University of Kentucky, said CIO Vince Kellen, virtualization has helped put more software in the hands of students.

The panelists also openly shared their advice and best practices for those who are considering virtualization:

The most important thing is to think ahead, said Berger. Another key element was building trust that students’ work was safe and secure.

Students expect on-campus technology to operate at the speed and level of their normal mobile life, noted Kellen. If solutions aren’t simple and easy to use, they’re not going to be up to snuff.

Make sure you talk to reference sites and have a good relationship with your vendor, especially if you’re wandering down this aisle for the first time, advised Owen.

Set expectations for the finance office and beyond, said Whitman. And don’t forget to look at remote access and the security aspect ahead of time.

If your organization is ready to explore virtualization, Dell can help. For more information about our unique adoption process and how to get started, click here.

Dell to expand Virtual Lab Solution to greater impact student learning at higher education institutions & beyond

Kari Sherrodd — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Dell is committed to lowering the barriers preventing schools from using the best technology, and we’re happy to announce we’ve expanded the services for the Dell Virtual Labs with version 3.0. We work with key industry partners to make the process easier for IT staff and are excited to announce that the Virtual Lab Solution is now the first-ever VMWare Ready Certified solution for education.

Virtualization can solve many of the problems universities and colleges face today, and will continue to tackle including the consumerization of IT and the need for access to information whenever and wherever faculty, staff and students need it. Often, however, there are significant barriers. With 3.0, we’ve eliminated some of the major headaches and made the process as seamless as possible.

Here’s how it’s helping: Gainesville State College in Gainesville, Georgia which provides 9,600 students and faculty with access to their data and online courses. “Our original driver for desktop virtualization was to provide 24x7 student access to technical labs from anywhere in the world,” says Brandon Haag, Chief Information Officer at Gainesville State College. “Then we started finding ways to innovate new uses at no or minimal cost. It’s easy to set up and replicate a Dell and VMware View virtual lab. As a result, we can bring 21st-century technologies into middle schools and help children get a leg up on careers of the future.”

With 3.0 we’ve added services that will help universities become even more efficient and effective through virtualization, resulting in saving time and lowering costs:

We’ve worked with VMware to jointly certify the Virtual Labs solution – the first solution for Education ever certified by VMware.
Validation testing on additional leading applications used on campuses including: Adobe Premiere Pr CS3, AutoCad 2DLT, Wolfram Mathmatica 7, Mathworks MatLab, SAS and IBM SPSS.
We’ve created a Virtualized Licensing Best Practices Guide, to help institutions navigate toward the best licensing packages for virtualized environments.
Increased security - we’ve added security protocols so IT admin can centralize sensitive data and set up granule rules for multiple levels of access
IT management time – with a consolidated dashboard, IT can easily identify and respond to issues from 100+ labs from one point, eliminating the need to run around campus and physically visit each lab to assess and address issues

You can find out more information on Dell Virtual Labs here and if you have ideas on how virtualization will impact higher education, we’d love to read them in the comment section.

Dell and USM implement virtualization solution to help bridge the gap, provides Maryland students access to key educational learning tools

Kari Sherrodd — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:00:00 GMT

When it comes to virtualization, the University System of Maryland (USM) strives to stay ahead of the curve, providing their facilities, faculty and students with the latest cutting-edge technology. That’s why, when they wanted to explore a new method for linking multiple campuses, they turned to Dell for breakthrough thinking and solutions. The new partnership is enabling USM and Dell to jointly explore an effective virtualized computing model, called the Dell Virtual Labs Solution environment.

With over 170,000 undergraduate and graduate students worldwide, over 7,000 full-time faculty and 100 locations in Maryland, the program allows USM’s widespread community access to campus resources from anywhere, at any time and from any device. The program enables users and IT management from USM’s universities to connect to a centralized hub and access to specialized software, bridging the gap between remote locations.

Additional benefits of the program include exposing students to class materials and applications at lower costs; providing a common infrastructure for tutors and virtual interaction; improving data security; and eliminating wasted licensing costs.

USM will also save considerable money, IT management time and campus resources through this initiative. Large campuses can have 100 computer labs onsite, each of which needs regular maintenance and upgrades. With Dell’s virtualized solution, IT managers can handle maintenance from the central data center, resulting in huge cost savings. Furthermore, consolidating computer labs means more space on campus for classrooms, faculty offices and research labs.

Ultimately, the vision is to enable access not just to USM campuses, but to extend access to the larger Maryland community, including K12 schools. This component of the solution is currently in its pilot phase, with testing being done with a small group of universities. The solution has been created ready to scale. Maryland Research and Education Network (MDREN), hosted by USM, will be the organization coordinating the new offerings. MDREN will be facilitating access of this new service to all levels of education in Maryland including K-12, community colleges and private institutions. USM will be unveiling details over the coming months.

Taking a large leap forward, USM’s vision is to lead the charge on preparing students and equipping them with 21^st Century skills across the P-20 spectrum. By enabling access to key software, curriculum and technology tools, students – whether a 8^th grader, senior in high school or a graduate student – will be able to access the information they need with ease and security. Imagine the possibilities!

A major factor in selecting Dell for this program is our complete offering of end-to-end solutions. USM didn’t want to use multiple vendors to achieve their goals, which would add complexity and inconvenience. “By having single integrated vendor, we know we have a partner that we can work with and that we’re going to find a solution,” says John Seuss, VP for Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The goal of the Dell-USM partnership is to ultimately create something that will work not just for local campuses, but broadly for the higher education market. To learn more about the pilot program, check out this video featuring USM’s IT professionals. To find out how Dell’s virtualized solutions could work for you, go to www.dell.com/virtuallabs.

Dell Education heading to Educause 2011 – see you there!

Kari Sherrodd — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:10:00 GMT

The Dell Education team is heading to the Educause Conference in Philadelphia next week, and we have lots of exciting activities planned. First and foremost, we are being joined by some very special guests – a group of IT visionaries from schools and organizations that partner with Dell for their education technology solutions: Vince Kellen, CIO, University of Kentucky; Dr. Robert Owen, CIO, Western Kentucky University; Dr. Michael Carlin, Deputy CIO University of Maryland Baltimore County; Carl Whitman, AVP Info Tech/Chief Info Officer, California State University Stanislaus; and Alisa Berger, Principal, NYC iSchool.

On Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 2:30-3:20 pm EST in Room 203B, our guests will sit down with John Mullen, Vice President of Dell Education, for a panel discussion on virtualized learning environments. If you are attending the event please join us as part of the official Educause program. This session will provide first-hand perspectives on enabling anywhere, anytime teaching and learning on any device. Find out how education institutions have worked with Dell to change the way their students access information, and hear tips, challenges and best practices from the experts.

In addition to this panel, our Dell team with strategic partners will be participating in various workshops throughout the event. Check out our schedule to see topics and times. All will be in Exhibit hall room 119A. We’ll also be sharing up-to-the-minute news and updates from our social media command center, which will be set up on the conference floor. Follow the conversation on our @DellEDU Twitter handle and feel free to join in - #delledu11, #edu11 or #educause11.

For those attending Educause, we can’t wait to see you! Make sure to stop by booth #1351 for demonstrations of our end-to-end solutions that deliver more efficient education and administration opportunities. And while you’re there, register to win a new Latitude XT3 laptop or $10,000 in Dell services for your campus. For those who will be attending the event vicariously through online channels, check back here for all the excitement and news! For more information about Dell’s involvement, go to www.dell.com/educause2011.

Digital Promise to open doors for teachers, students and technology

DELL-Kelli H — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:54:00 GMT

I recently had the opportunity to attend an event at the White House announcing the launch of “Digital Promise,” a bipartisan initiative created by Congress to help spur breakthrough technologies to transform teaching and learning. As an independent nonprofit, Digital Promise will seek to empower schools to revolutionize education through digital content.

The team behind Digital Promise has identified three primary goals for its research and development. It plans to identify breakthrough education technologies that personalize learning, do rapid evaluations of its work to learn which types of solutions are working and which are not, and transform the current market for learning technologies by bolstering the investment in educational technologies

It was an exciting day filled with inspiring stories and great information. During the launch event, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke about America lagging behind other countries in education. His challenge to participants was to redefine education to meet the needs of students in the digital age, thereby empowering young people to compete in the global society.

Duncan’s call to action made me think about the position I am in to personally contribute to the transformation of our nation’s schools. As a representative of Dell in the field, I want to speak out about our goals and strategies around assisting schools in moving to the next generation of learning. We have the tools to help prepare students for a competitive workforce. With the work we’re doing with our customers, I know we’re on the right track. "Digital Promise" will help further our collective cause by influencing policymakers and inspiring the private sector to invest more in educational technology, and more importantly commit to bringing the benefits of technology to life for our students and teachers.

I believe this initiative is the beginning of a necessary shift in our education system, and I am excited to see what’s next. Together we can change the way we teach and learn. What’s even more exciting is that this is just one of many conversations we’ll be a part of. I’ll keep you all updated as I attend forthcoming events and learn more! In the meantime, check out more information on "Digital Promise" at www.digitalpromise.org. To get started with technology solutions, Professional Learning Services and more, visit our K-12 education homepage.

Professional Development - Key to Enhancing Science Classes in Kentucky Schools

Ana Cantu — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:11:00 GMT

Though some critics have recently questioned the value of technology in schools, Sam Sanders, superintendent of LaRue County Public Schools in Kentucky, saw an opportunity to improve instruction.

Sanders said his district, which serves 2,500 students, started looking at One-to-One Computing back in 2008, and officials made four site visits to other schools in Kentucky to see how it was working.

“When we saw the student engagement and we saw what was happening in those other districts, we were ready at that point to move forward,” he said in a YouTube video.

But that wasn’t the only reason the district proceeded.

“The professional development piece IS the reason we chose Dell. Our staff has really taken that professional development and taken how they teach to be able to use the laptop as a tool to enhance learning,” Sanders said.

And officials and teachers don’t see laptops as a replacement for traditional teaching methods. The computers simply complement student learning.

“It’s incredibly important to have the laptops around,” Eric Cecil, a chemistry teacher at LaRue County High School, said. “It makes me much more effective as a teacher in that I can do many different types of things as far as the activities we do, the labs we do.”

The sophistication of the labs allows students to do more hands-on activities and give them a taste of what they’ll see at the college level or beyond.

As high school student Zachary Lee said, “We have lab equipment and sensors that actually hook up to the laptops and graph the data in real time. It helps us to analyze our data more quickly, and actually adjust the lab as we’re doing it to so that we can get better data throughout the lab.”

And working with the laptops evolves with the district’s education needs.

“We’re continuing, even as we’ve already rolled the laptops out, we’re still learning how to do new things with them,” Cecil said. “We’re getting feedback from the students as we find what works, what doesn’t work, what needs to work differently.”

“It’s much more fun than just standing around listening to teachers talk or writing down notes off the board,” Cecil said. “I really wish that I could’ve had the same opportunities that we’re giving these kids today.”

And word of LaRue County’s success is spreading. The district has been featured on the Kentucky Education Television (KET) series “Education Matters,” which aired in September.

Back to School Tips for IT Admins and District CIOs

Kari Sherrodd — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:31:00 GMT

As we head into the school year, administrators and school district CIOs have to ask themselves tough questions about how technology can better work for their classrooms and students. Here are some top tips from former CIO, Bob Moore of Dell Education to help you kick-off the school year!

Move into a digital learning environment. We all know that students are growing up in the digital age – whether they’re listening to music or researching projects online, it’s all about access to content. Enabling online learning opportunities for students is going to be the key moving forward. You don’t have to have all the answers now, but it’s important to start thinking about what platforms you would use and how.

It’s all about the data. As educators, data matters. Content and data has always been critical to any learning environment. When looking at big and small decisions about technology, student achievement and equipping students with 21^st Century Skills, the same applies. Ask yourself, how can we make data accessible to teachers and educators and enable them to make wiser decisions about the school year?

Online assessments are the next big thing. Assessments have always been an important factor, but as we start looking at the new requirements and potential changes in assessments, it is going to be even more critical to make sure schools are ready for online assessments. This will affect everything from infrastructure to the type of devices you’re deploying on campus. An overall holistic approach will need to be taken from the onset. So start preparing now!

The cloud is our friend. Simplifying your IT can often mean many different things. By moving to the cloud, teachers can securely work applications and files to create lesson plans or update assignments in real time. As you start the school year, start thinking about what you’re doing to move applications to the cloud. How are you leveraging these tools and reducing costs overall?

It’s not about cutting budgets, it’s about saving money. This might sound like a bit of a strange statement, but the fact is we’re always going to be asked to do more with less. It’s about efficiency and finding ways to use minimal resources, but increase our output. And, it’s about saving money and spending in smarter ways. Virtualization allows you to do just that. If you’re not virtualizing your desktops or servers today, it’s a technology you should consider.

Interactive classrooms sparking young minds

Nicole Smith — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:36:00 GMT

By what grade do you think the average child is versed in how to order films from Netflix via the TV in their living room, video chat on a smartphone or get homework help on the Internet? Middle school at the latest, I’d say. So, it’s not surprising that schools are looking for ways to make classrooms more interactive now that many kids are increasingly solving problems and finding resources with technology at home.

In Dell terms, a Connected Classroom is “a comprehensive ecosystem of technology supporting the delivery of learning.” Taking a closer look at that concept and knowing that a robust school technology infrastructure and meaningful professional learning are in place is one way to see the breadth of the work from Dell in action.

Dell has helped turn more than 100,000 classrooms worldwide into interactive learning environments. More than 12,000 connected classrooms over an 18-month period were setup recently in just Australia.

You can also hear what students and educators have to say about their experiences in this video. At the video’s 2:19 mark, teacher Paula Thomas talks about how the technology has encouraged her students to become more engaged and proactive about their studies. The result for her is more time to work with kids who need extra attention because the bulk of the class is able to keep on task. I can’t think of a teacher who doesn’t wish he or she could squeeze more time.

The Dell Education site has more information on the resources available to make classrooms interactive. The Dell Connected Classroom FAQ video has more information on how Dell adapted warranties, support and even hardware can meet the specific needs of classrooms —from remote sites in the outback of Australia to metropolitan Sydney and beyond.

Trinity College in Dublin: Developing tomorrow’s business leaders today

Kari Sherrodd — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 04:29:00 GMT

Many developed countries are focusing on their “knowledge economies” as traditional industries, such as manufacturing, are replaced by services-based sectors. It’s why centres of learning such as Trinity College, Dublin, are so important – and why its work is so crucial to the success of Ireland.

Among Trinity College’s many faculties sits the School of Computer Science and Statistics, which nurtures some of the finest computer and engineering brains in the country, and is also recognised internationally for its research. But the school faced a number of IT issues, challenging its continued development. Top of the list was a need for a disaster recovery (DR) plan, closely followed by greater scalability.

The school today is protecting its data with Dell EqualLogic SAN technology and maximising the performance of its applications with Dell™ PowerEdge™ servers runningHyper-V™ technology from Microsoft.

According to everyone involved at the university it all went smoothly and the hardest bit was making changes to the network rather than deploying the Dell disaster recovery and virtualized server solution. As Gerry O’Brien, Systems Manager at Trinity College puts it: “The Dell solution was the easy part.”

What’s exciting to hear is that data can be restored in a matter of hours in case of an emergency – and a request for a new application or server can be met in minutes. But, above all, it’s great to know that the new IT infrastructure is helping develop the talents of individuals who could become Ireland’s future captains of industry.

Read more about the Trinity College, Dublin story.

Digital Artists winners . . . drum roll please

Kari Sherrodd — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 03:06:09 GMT

I’m happy to announce the winners of Dell’s Digital Artists competition! Thank you to everyone who submitted entries. Every single entry was inspiring making the judging very challenging. We received submissions from all ages and in a wide variety of formats from photos to movies. Finalists were selected by our teams and the work was displayed at an event at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

This work truly celebrates the convergence of art and technology and showcases the possibilities of bringing art into learning. Congratulations to everyone!

First Prize: “Faces of a Broken Heart” – 11^th grader

Second Prize: “Lego Animation” – 4^th grader

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Third Prize: “Fen at Rest” – 3^rd grader

Dell announces ‘Digital Artists’ art competition

Kari Sherrodd — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:59:02 GMT

Had the world’s most revered artists had access to technology, we may have been able to experience an animated “Guernica,” an illuminated “Starry Night,” or an interactive “Mona Lisa”. Today’s artists have more than just paintbrushes and pigments at their fingertips – they have a wealth of technological tools to create masterpieces that Picasso and his contemporaries could have only dreamed of. In celebration of the convergence of art and technology, Dell is launching the “Digital Artists” competition and inviting all students to submit artwork created with the help of Dell technology.

The competition is open to students in grades K-12 in the US. Submissions could range from original photos and montages to digital paintings – use your imagination! All entries will be presented and judged during a special event at this year’s ISTE conference, the largest global education technology event, in Philadelphia on June 27. The panel of judges will consist of members of the media, local curators, social media influencers and technology executives. Three student winners will be selected to have their work showcased at the conference in front of thousands of education leaders and will also win a Dell Inspiron duo or Streak 7. (no service plans included)

How to enter:

Create an original piece of artwork using Dell technology and any software or supplemental technology. The entry must be entirely original and may not include other works, logos, or content that violates any party’s copyrights or trademark rights.
Materials should be submitted by the students’ parent/guardian. Parent/guardians should email a PDF or image file of their child’s creation to Kari_Sherrodd@dell.com by Thursday, June 23 at noon CST.
Make sure to include the following:
- Parent/guardian’s full name and phone number
- Student’s Name
- Student’s Age/grade
- A title for the student’s entry
- Parent/guardian’s Email address
- Parent/guardian’s phone number
- Cross your fingers for the judging – if you are chosen as a finalist, we will contact you via phone or email no later than June 28!

The fine print
Open to US residents, 18 or older, who are parents of students in grades K-12 and own a Dell computer prior to the start date of the Contest. ORIGINAL ARTWORK MUST BE CREATED BY STUDENTS IN GRADES K-12. Ends June 23, 2011 at noon CST. Void where prohibited.

Your vote can make a difference (UK Competition)

Kerry Bridge — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:29:00 GMT

At the UK BETT Education show we launched the Connect Your Classroom Competition for primary and secondary schools in the UK. We had a fantastic response, with over 52 videos submitted. We now have our top 10 videos and we’d like you to vote for the winning school.

Vote now - The school with the most votes wins the prize!

It was a very difficult task for the Dell judges to select the top ten videos with so many great entries. Judging was based on the criteria in the Rules and their promotion score (likes and comments).

Cast your vote today and every day until Wednesday 4th May, 2011. Voters need to register and can vote once a day. By voting for your favourite video, you will automatically be entered into a prize draw for the opportunity to win a Latitude 2110 netbook.

Watch videos from each school:

St Josephs RC Primary School Wheelers Lane Technology College

Egerton Primary School Brighton Hill Community College

Old Mill Primary School West Dean C of E Primary School

St Cuthbert's CP School Westminster Primary School

Henry Tyndale Special School Mickle Trafford

For further information on the voting phase and/or the prize draw, please visit the Rules section on the competition site.

Thank you taking time to vote!

Keller ISD and Dell working together to meet tech needs of students and teachers

Kari Sherrodd — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:59:00 GMT

Access to technology is one key to offering anytime, anywhere learning and a stable and reliable technology infrastructure is what keeps it moving forward without interruption. We’re hearing that more and more schools are seeing the benefits of taking a closer look at how their enterprise infrastructure is working for or maybe even against them and how that relates to their students’ learning environment and outcomes. Today, Keller Independent School District in Keller, Texas and Dell announced a 10-year agreement to enhance the learning outcomes of the district’s 32,800 students by providing a stable and reliable technology infrastructure.

When our teams started working side-by-side with the teachers and students at Keller ISD we took a holistic view and were able to implement technologies, services and tools that address the school’s needs to bring them uninterrupted learning and access. Starting now, teachers and staff have access to 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-week help desk and desk-side support, as well as email support, ensuring that potential technology issues will not be a barrier to learning.

After talking with Joe Griffin, chief technology officer at Keller ISD, we understand that the newly implemented services will help address their reduced budgets by streamlining their infrastructure and support while still looking at a technology infrastructure that can be enhanced and well-used over time. Most of all, it can be well-used to meet student and teacher needs for years to come.

As you can tell, we’re very excited about how our work with Keller ISD is helping to meet critical student and teacher needs, as well as the potential it has to enhance learning outcomes of the 32,800 students in the district. We’ll look forward to updating you more as we continue to see more benefits from the work happening in Keller.