Budget-Minded Students Work with CDW-G to Point School District Toward Affordable Computing Solution.

VERNON HILLS, Ill. -- Thin-client network project sharpens students' problem-solving skills and restores Internet access 

Teacher Mark La Porte discovered the educational power of the Internet in 1995. That's when his students at Temescal Canyon High School in Lake Elsinore, California used email and chat rooms to communicate with other students in Belgrade, Serbia. When the bombs began falling in that war-torn region, the tone of the online conversations changed dramatically.

"My students could feel the emotions of the situation - and they were dealing with real information," La Porte recalls. "It gave them a new take on the world-and added a third dimension to the sometimes flat stuff called history."

But there's a downside to creative teaching with technology--particularly during a budget crunch. "Once you know what can happen in education, it's really discouraging when the resources aren't there to do it," says La Porte, who wears two hats. He teaches world history and is the technology coordinator for the 2,700-student school.

In 2003, antiquated, out-of-warranty equipment prevented Temescal Canyon students and teachers from surfing the Net. "We had a roomful of seven and eight year old computers. The district office considered them nothing but junk," recalls Ishmeet Sodhi, now age 17 and a high school senior.

Challenged by La Porte to find an affordable answer to the school's dilemma, a cadre of 20-or-so computer-savvy students hatched a plan. Their solution was a thin-client network of end-user PCs that ran applications and processed data stored on high-powered backroom servers. Even Temescal Canyon's ancient PCs were up to the task.

"When you give students real-world management challenges and hold them responsible for the results, they come up with bright ideas. They learn the price of success and failure--and face the ongoing challenges of keeping the system up and running," says La Porte.

Critical Buying Decisions

La Porte relied on CDW Government (CDW-G) for assistance with purchasing and installing the right servers in the right configurations. "We wanted to make sure our limited funds were spent well--and we didn't want to overbuy," he says.

CDW-G helped LaPorte and his students choose new equipment that met the school's existing computer needs and allowed for future migration to 64-bit applications. Based on CDW-G's advice, the school purchased seven e325 IBM servers that were fast and well suited to a thin-client environment.

"You can pull your old, dusty PCs out of the closet and redeploy them in a thin-client network," explains Chris Rother, CDW-G vice president for education, state and local sales, "but don't scrimp on the servers. Take your savings from using the old PCs."

The school decided to use a special version of the Linux Open Source operating system known as k12LTSP, which is based on RedHat Linux and customized for use in education. Because it is Open Source, no licensing fee is required.

As a veteran teacher, La Porte was accustomed to a drawn-out approval process. "Usually you wait forever for the money and when you finally get it, the project has to be done yesterday," he says.

LaPorte credits CDW-G's timely delivery policy and responsive customer service with reducing his frustration level. "Once the resources were committed, I could time the deliveries," he says. "CDW-G kept me in the loop. I knew where things were, and I could easily answer fulfillment questions from the school's principal."

Valuable Learning Experience

For Sodhi, who wants to become a doctor or dentist, computers are a compelling hobby. But the thin-client project was also a lesson in growing up.

Challenged by LaPorte to solve a real-world problem, he researched Linux systems on the Internet. Sodhi and a group of technology-savvy buddies used a couple of old machines to set up a test server and build a prototype.

"We needed a test run before spending the money," LaPorte recalls. "We went through the full feasibility and development process before committing resources."

The high point for Sodhi was unveiling the prototype at the school-district level. "The officials were mesmerized. . .they loved it." he says.

He and his student technology team spent several days stripping out hard-disk, floppy and CD-ROM drives from old PCs and converting them into thin clients. That was the fun part. The students soon realized there was another aspect to successful project management; keeping the system up and running.

"For the students it was a growing-up process." LaPorte recalls. "Once the initial challenge is over, you still have to maintain the system. Graduating seniors have to train the juniors to take over the workload."

A team of about 80 to 100 students is currently responsible for network maintenance. The school is now in the process of deploying 150 IBM server-based thin clients. From a central location, the servers provide Internet access and run Windows applications, including Microsoft Word and Excel, and a Windows-based, district-wide testing program.

"The nice thing about all this," says La Porte, "is we have a model any school in the United States can emulate. Any school has a cadre of kids who could do the same thing."

About CDW-G

A wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (NASDAQ:CDWC), a FORTUNE 500 company, CDW Government (CDW-G) is a trusted technology advisor to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as to educational institutions at all levels. CDW-G offers best-in-class technology products and services from top-name brands such as APC, Cisco, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Symantec, Toshiba and ViewSonic. For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurement options, service and solutions call 1.800.863.4239, or visit the CDW-G Web site at CDWG.com.