Virtualization

British School Turns to Management Suite for 500 Thin Clients

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 05/27/10

A British school that caters to students 11 to 18 years old has gone public with its use of a control system for managing classroom devices. Stoke Damerel Community College first licensed the software, AB Tutor Control, in 2008 to manage a thin client network installed four years earlier. AB Tutor Control from AB Consulting provides teachers, administrators, and IT personnel with PC remote desktop access, visibility, and control.

The software consists of two components, the Control program for teachers and the Client program for students. The student component is installed on the workstations to be monitored. The Control program is installed on the machines to be used by the teachers or administrators. The vendor said the application works with multiple thin client networks, including Microsoft's education-oriented multi-user platform, Windows Multipoint Server 2010.

Version 6 of the program, installed at the school in 2009, runs on 13 terminal servers that power 500 Windows-based thin clients, as well as computer labs and staff laptops.

The biggest fans of the utility are the teachers, who reportedly previously had problems keeping students on task. The tool allows them to restrict access to applications, block Internet access, and monitor keywords. They can also use a screen capture function to maintain a record of the student's computer activities.

"We have been working with AB Tutor Control for a couple of years now and have found it to be invaluable" said Gary Holder, IT manager. "It has far exceeded our expectations and the teachers love it as it helps them manage networked classrooms effectively and really focus on teaching."