Mac OS X Server (sold separately) is the perfect solution for allowing schoolwide networks of users to share files, manage schedules, video conference, host chat rooms, provide security, and collaborate worldwide. Along with iLife and iWork (sold separately), Mac OS X Server is an indispensable tool for managing the new media-driven, mobile, engaging style of education that captures the attention of today’s students.
There have never been so many ways to collaborate.
Mac OS X Server also makes learning more collaborative. Its easy connectivity lets students work together on a project whether they’re three chairs or three continents apart. You and your students can video chat online while working on an onscreen project, conference in experts from around the world, and work together on wikis, blogs, and websites. This collaboration prepares students for a job market that increasingly relies on technology to share and distribute information.
Same project, different screens.
You and your students are all working on different computers. Yet you can work together on the same project. While students are at their computers, you can monitor their projects and use audio or text chats to guide them, without leaving your desk. An application called Apple Remote Desktop (sold separately) gives you even more ways to supervise student work. You can pause all of their screens, give them new instructions, and start them up again when you’re ready.
iChat. Be there for your students. Without being there.
iChat, part of Mac OS X, is changing the way you and your students collaborate.* With iChat Theater, you can play a slideshow, click through a Keynote presentation, or show a movie — in full screen, accompanied by a video feed — while students look on at their computers. With a Mac, exchanging information, video conferencing, and working together online is effortless. Guest speakers are easier to recruit, too — just video conference them into your classroom or lecture hall, and feed the presentation to a larger display or projector. Or save it for a later podcast. For study sessions, up to four people can meet remotely in a virtual iChat conference room. iChat is also a great way for classes to include homebound students.
Collaborate the wiki way.
Wikis allow you and your students to remotely create and edit a series of web pages. They’re great for any kind of collaboration, whether it’s a class, a study group, or a research team. Wikis become a forum for sharing information, where participants can upload shared files, check group calendars, and exchange ideas. You can even control who can view and edit the wiki. And with Apple-designed templates, wikis are easy for users to create.
Class blogs.
Want to set up a class blog? You don’t have to ask IT. Just choose and customize an Apple blog template and manage it yourself. You can use blogs as a forum for ongoing discussions about subjects and assignments. Participants can share news about team projects. K-12 parents can check in for information about upcoming class events and activities for their students' class. (Requires a MobileMe subscription.)
Accessibility for all students.
Mac OS X includes accessibility features that make it easy for any student to take part in and enjoy learning. These features accommodate people with physical impairments, visual and hearing challenges, and different learning styles. It’s all built into Mac OS X, so there’s no need for the extra expense of specialized third-party software.
Campuswide collaboration. For worldwide use.
With Mac OS X Server (sold separately) running your network, collaboration gets a substantial upgrade. Your institution can create standardized desktop configurations, set preferences, establish password policies, and control access to hardware, software, and network resources. Portable computers can be managed to make sure settings, configurations, and policies are maintained even when users are disconnected from the network. All exchanges can be hosted behind the firewall, so collaboration is safe for K-12 learners. And all communication is automatically encrypted, so students can chat or share files and URLs without risk. Mac OS X Server cuts down on IT time as well, because IT staff can instantly access any computer in the school to provide technical support.
iCal. An easy schedule.
Sometimes scheduling a meeting can be more time consuming than the meeting itself. With iCal Server — part of Mac OS X Server — colleagues, faculty, staff, and students can check participants’ schedules. So they can immediately see everyone’s availability and avoid scheduling conflicts. They can use iCal to propose and set up meetings, book conference rooms, and more.
Content controls.
Mac OS X comes with parental controls, so K-12 schools can prevent students from accessing inappropriate Internet sites. Schools can track which sites students have visited, see who they’ve chatted with, and set timed access. Watch video
The OS X Toolbox
Spotlight helps students and researchers quickly search for files and applications, not just on their own Mac, but across the entire network. That helps make fast work of group projects.
Time Machine, part of Mac OS X, is Apple’s breakthrough backup feature. It keeps an up-to-date copy of everything on your Mac, automatically and wirelessly. If you lose or accidently delete something, you can easily go back in time to recover it.
Dashboard, part of Mac OS X, gives you access to a world of information with a single click. When Dashboard opens, you see your widgets — mini-applications that let you perform common tasks and get quick access to your favourite tools and websites. For example, you can use Dashboard to put graphing calculators, dictionaries, and language translators at your fingertips. Several of the most popular widgets are included as part of Mac OS X, and hundreds of others are available to download — many of them free.
*Broadband Internet access required. Fees may apply.
