Treutlern County Schools is in the process of streamlining data center operations to improve IT responsiveness to rapidly changing business demands with the Cisco Unified Computing System. This Cisco next-generation data center platform accelerates the delivery of new services simply, reliably, and securely through end-to-end provisioning and migration support. The Cisco Unified Computing System:

• Streamlines data center resources to reduce total cost of ownership
• Scales service delivery to increase business agility
• Radically reduces the number of devices requiring setup, management, power, cooling, and cabling

 

According to Cisco the selected Cisco data center virtualization has created a market transition where IT organizations are trying to reduce costs and increase flexibility. Cnstantly working against inflexible existing hardware platforms, however, data center administrators must spend significant time on manual procedures for basic tasks instead of focusing on more strategic initiatives.

The Cisco Unified Computing System is a next-generation data center platform that:

• Unites computing, networking, storage access, and virtualization into a cohesive system
• Integrates a low-latency, lossless 10 Gb Ethernet unified network fabric with enterprise-class, x86-architecture servers

This approach decouples scale from complexity. Whether the system has 1 server or 320 servers with thousands of virtual machines, all resources participate in a unified management domain designed to:

• Reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) at the platform, site, and organizational levels
• Increase IT staff productivity and business agility through just-in-time provisioning and mobility support

The system incorporates:

• A standards-based unified network fabric supported by a partner ecosystem of industry leaders
• Cisco VN-Link virtualization support
• Cisco Extended Memory Technology

It supports an incremental deployment model and protects customer investments with a future migration path to unified computing.
Source: www.cisco.com

 

According to Cisco/Tanberg video conferencing is being taken to the ultimate level. Tanbergs says that it's not just video conferencing rather HD video conferencing is now consists of immersive telepresence systems that redefine the meeting experience. From the feeling when entering the room to the sensation of being at the same table, and simplicity of starting a meeting, the focus is solely on the experience. Treutlen County Schools is in the process of preparing to accomodate classrooms to use the immersive telepresence systems to expand educational opportunities for teachers adn students.

Source: www.tanberg.com

Treutlen Coutny Schools is in the process of redefining the way students, teachers, and leaders work with Cisco Cius. Cisco CIUS will help Treutlen's students, teachers and leaders stay connected to their work, increase productivity, and reduce costs. The innovative Cisco Cius is an ultra-portable, mobile collaboration enterprise tablet that offers access to essential business applications and technologies.

Source: www.cisco.com/CIUS

Treutlen County Schools has a long and successful history of implementing innovative large scale technology projects. An approximately 1.2 million dollar grant project encompassing a 1 to 1 school wide wireless notebook computer project with a complete online curriculum was implemented at Treutlen Middle School from 2001 through 2004 entitled NetSchools. An approximately $500,000.00 eMath grant project was implemented in Grades 3 through 5 at Treutlen Elementary School from 2005 through 2009 of which included Smart Boards, Spreadsheets, Formative Assessment and Authentic Learning. A large Federal grant in cooperation with FSU was implemented in Treutlen Elementary School And Treutlen Middle School from 2008 through 2010 that included Sony PlayStations, Plato software for Sony PlayStations, Digital Video/Still Cameras, Scanners, extensive Professional Development, Formative Assessment and Authentic Learning. Treutlen County is implementing a large grant referred to as the Reading First project which includes the implementation of a remote data server, a web based data repository and Palm Handheld technology to assess reading needs and progress. Treutlen County Schools continues to forge forward this year as it implements a new grant project entitled "Engaging AP Students Through Mobile Handheld Computing" in 2010 through 2011.

Treutlen County Schools also leverages Federal E-Rate funds and has received more than 3 million dollars in E-Rate funding over the past five years. E-Rate funding has been and is used to provide computer network infrastructure for student and teacher technology needs of which are a direct result of learning and teaching needs. In fact, when it comes to instructional and information technology, Treutlen County Schools is one of the more progressive school systems in the country. Treutlen has an interactive white board in every classroom, 2 to 1 student computer ratio, a state of the art unified communication system and several data driven system wide software packages. Needless to say, the students, faculty and administration of Treutlen County Schools are very proud of the aforementioned technology and they truly appreciate the positive impact it has had on teaching and learning.

The primary goal of the advanced placement grant is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology by "Engaging AP Students Through Mobile Handheld Computing" specifically addressing three identified areas of need:

1. To improve the quality of Advanced Placement (AP) programs as measured by AP exam scores;

2. To increase enrollments in AP classes statewide, thereby providing a broader spectrum of learners with access to college-level courses in the supportive atmosphere of a high school classroom;

3. To increase the diversity of students who choose to enroll in AP courses to more accurately reflect the demographics of the school as a whole.

The AP grant initiative includes Macbook Computers, An Apple Podcast Server, A Classroom Interactive White Board, iPods for all AP students and teachers, iWork, iMovie, iTunes, Garage Band, MS Word for Mac, as well as Student Response Software for formative assessment and frequent progress monitoring in order to promote data driven differentiated instruction.

The AP grant at Treutlen High School provides:

1. A mechanism by which students and teachers are provided regular use of digital learning resources inside and/or outside the classroom that is aligned to authorized AP course syllabi;

2. Provides face-to-face, blended, and online job-embedded professional learning tailored to ensure successful implementation in each AP grant classroom supporting extensive use and evaluation of online academic resources relevant to each AP course.

Teachers participate in job-embedded professional learning and support for implementation of the grant outcomes, which includes periodic formative evaluation, classroom observations, instructional and technical support for the grantee's classrooms.

Thanks to a healthy fund earmarked of school improvement, at the direction of David Avery and Scott Heaton, TMHS Principal and Treutlen’s Director of Technology, every teacher at Treutlen Middle High School gets a new notebook computer and networked color laser printer to use in their classroom. The new technology will be used to launch the integration of the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System, Microsoft Word and Excel 2010 as well as networked scanning and printing. What this means to students is that they will get to see and use Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Word and Excel 2010 and use network scanning to convert paper documents to electronic documents. This technology is a great addition which supports and expands the Authentic learning taking place at TMHS. The technology project is a welcomed opportunity by all involved and TMHS is proud to have an opportunity to help its students learn to solve real-world problems using current technology and software.