Apple - Education - Cartersville City Schools, Page 2

Profiles in Success: Cartersville City Schools

Mac Offers Complete Package

McDonald says the decision to go with the iMac computers made strong financial sense. With two operating systems on one slim computer, CCS essentially doubled its computing capacity with half of the hardware. Plus, the discovery that the computers included a variety of extras — such as the built-in iSight video cameras, and the iLife software that could be integrated with the curriculum — made the Apple purchase still more attractive.

“When I came in with this iMac that would boot back and forth to both platforms, that was it,” McDonald says. “Everyone decided we’d actually get twice the computers with the Mac, in the sense that we’d be able to use both platforms. Now we have the be-all, end-all package: We’re enjoying cost savings, space savings, and there’s no longer any argument over what platform someone wants to use.”

“Also, what our students are doing with the iLife applications is amazing!” adds McDonald. “With tools like iPhoto and iMovie, they’re creating presentations and doing projects that they never would have done before. Having such a ‘modern’ computer in the classroom has been a huge plus.”

Built-In Wireless Capabilities Offer Further Savings

In addition to the cost and space savings, CCS faculty and staff are enjoying the convenience of a wireless environment. With the built-in wireless capabilities of the iMac, teachers can place their computers anywhere desired.

“Our users don’t have to have their computers near the network drop anymore,” says McDonald. “They just plug in their power cord, and that’s it. We didn’t have to do any rewiring, which would have been another gigantic expenditure. Dr. Hinesley always talks about how our machines are ‘very futuristic.’ He loves the fact that we’ve gotten rid of the towers that take up so much room, and that the iMac computers don’t have all of the ‘spaghetti’ in the back.”

Schools May Like Parallels, Too

McDonald suggests that schools considering a purchase of Intel-based Macintosh computers may find Parallels Desktop for the Mac a good fit for their infrastructure. Taking advantage of Intel Core Duo Virtualization Technology, Parallels allows users to run Windows and its applications in a virtualized environment in Mac OS X, without requiring rebooting. Parallels can be run on any Intel-powered Mac.

Now we have the be-all, end-all package: We’re enjoying cost savings, space savings, and there’s no longer any argument over what platform someone wants to use.

— Sheryl McDonald

“Schools should first test out Parallels, to make sure it works in their environment,” McDonald advises. “Eventually we hope to put Parallels on every machine. Then, no matter what version of an application someone has, if they’re more comfortable on the other platform, they can just move right on over without having to restart their computer.”

The End of the Platform Wars

Now that CCS has deployed its full complement of iMac computers, McDonald and Hinesley say the “platform wars” are a thing of the past. Instead, teachers and staff are enjoying an unprecedented level of flexibility. In Hinesley’s opinion, this directly benefits every student in the district.

“Ultimately, we’re always looking at what’s best for our students,” says Hinesley. “Buying the iMac computers indirectly benefits our students, because when the teachers are happy, the kids are going to be even happier. The feedback I’ve gotten from both has been extremely positive. It’s all turned out really well, and those who used to be die-hard PC users have been very impressed.”

“It’s been a great experience,” McDonald agrees. “I haven’t had any complaints about the Mac. In fact, people who used to be so adamant about running Windows, and normally badmouthed the Mac, no longer have anything to say. Thanks to Boot Camp, now we’re able to use Macs in places that previously required a Windows machine.”