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Bradford Central School District Implements Clientless RDP Solution for Chromebooks

• By Leila Meyer
• 04/03/13

Bradford Central School District in New York has implemented a clientless remote desktop protocol (RDP) solution that lets teachers and students access Windows applications on their school-owned Chromebooks and other devices.

Students in the district use Chromebooks, but some of the computer programs they previously used in the classroom, such as Typing Master, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Photoshop, are Windows-based and can't be installed on the Chrome operating system (OS), according to Jeff Tham, technology coordinator for the district.

The district began searching for an RDP solution that would let students and teachers run the Windows-based programs on their Chromebooks. They briefly considered a Citrix solution, said Tham, but ended up going with Ericom's AccessNow.

"AccessNow definitely met all our requirements because of its ability to do cross-platform," said Tham in a prepared statement. "Just because we're doing it primarily for Chromebooks doesn’t mean that down the road we wouldn't come in from tablets or smartphones."

The district selected AccessNow for its ease of use, cross-platform flexibility, and cost effectiveness, according to a news release from the company. "I really wanted a clientless solution that wouldn’t require a huge manual for kids to connect in. Plus Ericom's offering was certainly much more cost-effective," added Tham.

Ericom AccessNow provides students with browser-based access to hosted Windows applications from their Chromebooks. AccessNow runs entirely within any HTML5-compatible browser, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer, and it works on Chromebooks, iPads, iPhones, Android devices, Mac OS, Linux, and Windows. No software installation is required on the client device.

Ericom AccessNow has the same look and feel on all supported device types, making it easier to use, according to the company. It integrates with the Ericom Secure Gateway, which can be used with or instead of a VPN or SSL VPN connection. And it enables access to Windows programs, as well as Web-based applications requiring Java or ActiveX and therefore not supported by the Chrome OS, including ALEKS, and MAP TAA.

Further information about Ericom AccessNow can be found at ericom.com.