"It's changing the way we teach."
That’s an actual quote from a teacher in Dublin, California about the NComputing solution. He was talking about having 14 computer stations in his classroom, instead of 4. He was talking about how more time-on-task has engaged young minds. And how half of his class can now be immersed in computer curriculum while he works hands-on with the other half on remedial skills. He also told us that this level of educational effectiveness is only possible when the cost of computing access is as low as NComputing makes it. His classroom is not unique.
Educators are in the middle of a seemingly unsolvable equation: while parents want their kids to have more computer access, taxpayers want to pay less. At the same time, PC prices have levelled off. The only way out is through a technological breakthrough. Fortunately, NComputing has delivered just that. And it’s based on one of the first lessons we learned in kindergarten: sharing is good.
Today's PCs are so powerful that the vast majority of applications only use a small fraction of the computer's capacity. NComputing taps this unused capacity so that it can be simultaneously shared by multiple students. Each student’s monitor, keyboard, and mouse connect to the shared PC through a small and very durable NComputing access device. Kids call them NComputers. You’ll call them rugged, durable, and easy to deploy and maintain because the device itself has no CPU, memory or moving parts like a PC.
K-12 educators and IT professionals all voice the same problems:
- Budget cuts
- Outdated PCs
- Limited IT support staff
- Crowded computer labs
- Growing student populations
- Limited PC access time for students
- Electricity and air conditioning challenges
Now you can solve them all, easily, with NComputing's economical and ecological award-winning virtual desktops. Because our solution is so affordable, you can install four times as many workstations with no increase in your budget, so more students and more teachers get more access to PCs. No wonder more than 4,000 schools have already discovered the benefits of NComputing's virtual desktops, including:
- PC acquisition costs cut by 60%
- IT complexity dramatically reduced
- Electrical consumption lowered by 90%
- Risk of theft minimized
- Increased security from viruses and malware
- 30% more students accommodated in the same PC lab
How does it work?
Up to seven students can simultaneously use the excess power of a basic PC with the NComputing X300. Each student has their own keyboard, screen, settings, applications, and data files—just as if they were working at an independent machine. That means that a 35-seat PC lab can be created using only 5 shared PCs and 30 NComputing X300 virtual PCs.
Each X300 kit includes:
- Virtualization software
- A PCI card with three ports
- Three access devices
All you need to supply is the PC, software, and keyboards, mice and monitors.
Installation is simple, and takes just minutes: Install the software. Put the card into an open slot. Plug one end of each cable into the PCI card and the other end into an NComputing access device. Connect the keyboards, monitors and mice to the access devices and you have four users sharing one computer (three connected to access devices and one on the shared PC). With another X300 kit, you can install a second PCI card and connect three more users. Now the shared PC supports seven students, running standard PC applications with rich performance at an incredible price. Give yourself an A for solving a seemingly intractable problem: more access with less money.
Getting started
Our customers have established a predictable and repeatable formula for success that you can follow, too. Get hold of an X300 kit and set it up in your lab, because seeing is believing. And we’ll bet it won’t take more than a couple days of testing to make you a believer. Next step, pick a few classrooms and/or computer labs for your initial installation. When it comes time to evaluate your first rollout, be sure to talk to everyone involved.
Do the kids say that the new system is faster than those old clunker PCs? Has your support staff’s time been saved by not having to drive all over the district fixing PCs? Are the teachers seeing ways to change how they teach? Does the administration like the idea of more access without spending more money? We think you’ll find it isn’t a matter of whether or not to expand your population of NComputing virtual desktops, but when. Then talk to your NComputing representative or reseller about budget cycles, installation windows, and other details. The parents, teachers, taxpayers, and most of all the kids, will be glad that you did.
Next steps