Hardware & Infrastructure

Computer systems, major hardware & school/district facilities news


Connecticut School To Save $800,000 with Fuel Cell

Hamden High School in Connecticut is installing a 400-kilowatt fuel cell to provide 90 percent of its electricity needs.

Maryland School To Save $1.4 Million with Solar Energy

George Washington Carver Elementary School in Lexington Park, MD will formally activate a 2,100-panel solar energy system May 3.

Internet2 and Level 3 Team To Deliver 8.8 Terabit to Schools

Advanced networking consortium Internet2 will be working with Level 3 Communications, which develops fiber-based communications services, to deliver 8.8 terabit capacity to support institutions nationwide, including K-12 schools.

Ohio Districts Overhaul Infrastructure with Fiber WANs

Two K-12 districts in Ohio--Elyria City School District and Perrysburg Schools--are beefing up their bandwidth with new agreements to tap into high-speed fiber.

Berkshire School Goes Solar for Carbon Neutrality

The Berkshire School in Sheffield, MA has begun construction of a 2 megawatt solar installation.

California School District To Save $12 Million with Solar Power

The Mountain View Los Altos High School District in California has nearly completed construction of a 1.26 megawatt solar photovoltaic system.

Arizona School District Completes 2.66 MW Solar Installation

The Paradise Valley Unified School District in Arizona has completed construction of a 2.66 megawatts solar installation.

Arista Intros Energy-Efficient 10/40 GbE Switch for Clusters, Virtualization

Arista Networks has rolled out its new 10/40 gigabit Ethernet data center switch, the Arista 7050 series. Delivering 1.28 terabits of switching performance at less than 2 watts per 10 GbE interface, the 7050 series is, according to the company, the most power-efficient 10/40 GbE switch on the market. It is optimized for Hadoop Clusters, VMware virtual machine farms, and other broad-ranging enterprise deployments.

Lodi Unified School District Will Raise $5 Million with Solar Installation

The Lodi Unified School District in California has begun construction of a 2 megawatt solar photovoltaic system that will generate $200,000 annually.

Arizona Schools Offset Energy Use with Solar Arrays

Copper Ridge School in Scottsdale, AZ and Cholla Elementary in Casa Grande have completed the installation of solar electric systems with a combined power output of 764 kilowatts.

Featured Mobility Articles

Masters of Learning

I had the delightful privilege of moderating the FETC Virtual Conference this past May. One of the events was a Q&A with Elliot Soloway, of the University of Michigan, and Cathleen Norris, of the University of North Texas, regarding their mobile learning research initiatives. Their strong contention is that students will bring their mobile phones to school to learn — and it will happen a lot sooner than we think. It's inevitable, they say, and educators need to get with the picture. By Therese Mageau.

Principals Call for Mobile and Social Technologies in Schools

The National Association of Secondary School Principals is looking to change the conversation about mobile computing and social media in schools.

The ABCs of BYOL

A bring-your-own-laptop pilot program puts an Ohio district closer to its goal of getting a computer into the hands of each of its students.

New York Educators Get Cross-Platform Tablet Training

NYSCATE, the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education, will be training teachers on Android- and Windows-based tablets this summer.

Classroom Walkthrough Comes to Android

Teacher professional development provider Teachscape has brought Classroom Walkthrough to the Android platform.

Using iPods To Increase Reading Comprehension

As a middle school reading specialist in Oregon's Eugene School District 4j, Marilyn Williams found that many of her middle school students weren't finishing their reading or remembering what they read. So she decided to tackle the problem with the help of iPod touch devices.

Student Engagement on the Go

Assistant Principal Patrick McGee explains that whatever the other advantages of adopting iPads and iPods in the classroom, the key is student engagement.

Drill Down: Mobile Devices in Education

As educators continue to weigh the many considerations attached to allowing student-owned handheld devices on campus, Speak Up asked parents what good they think the use of mobile technologies would have on their children's education.

An App for That ... and That ... and That

The mobile technology market is blooming with powerful applications that have the ability to transform education with the ease of a download to any number of handheld devices. To learn what apps educators are finding most valuable to teaching and learning, we asked presenters from this month's Florida Education Technology Conference (FETC) to share some of their favorites.

NEA Program To Award Smart Phone Grants

The NEA Foundation is expanding the focus of its Challenge to Innovate (C2i) grant program. In the latest phase, the foundation will award five grants to support innovative ideas for using smart phones in the classroom.

6 Technologies That Will Change Education

Over the next five years, six technologies will have a profound impact on teaching and learning--and some are already beginning to have an impact.

When Social Networking Goes 'Live'

An English teacher in Iowa talks about how she parlayed Twitter interactions into a class trip halfway around the world.

Philadelphia Elementary School Students Treated to a New iPad Lab

Students at Philadelphia’s Stephen Decatur Elementary school will have access to a new iPad lab when they return to class in the fall.

Accelerated Reader Student App Comes to iOS

Renaissance Learning has released a free iOS app that lets students take their Accelerated Reader quizzes on their iPads, iPhones, and iPods.

ActiveCloud for iOS Enables Seamless Management of Local and Cloud-Based Files

Mobile software company Pocket Watch has released its cloud storage management application, ActiveCloud 1.0, for iOS.

Mobility Webinar

  • How to Select a Tablet Webinar screen capture

    Learn 10 essential criteria that organizations should consider when choosing a tablet computer.

Mobility Podcast

About GovConnection

GovConnection, Inc. is a leading provider of IT products and services to the K–12 and higher education marketplace.

Backed by years of experience and extensive vendor partnerships, our Account Managers are focused on helping you connect with the latest, most effective technology to support education.

With more than 150,000 products, a nationwide network of service partners, and teams of certified technical experts, GovConnection has the resources to help you achieve your IT goals—on time and on budget.

From digital signage in the campus cafeteria to servers in the core of your data center, GovConnection is ready to design, build, and support IT solutions that meet your every need. If you’re looking for an IT provider with the tools to accelerate learning and enhance collaboration, GovConnection is here to put technology to work for you. More Information

Mobility Resources

  • Adobe® Acrobat® X Pro in K–12 education PDF Screenshot

    K-12 educators are using Acrobat to enhance workflows, to improve collaboration, to create e-Portfolios of classroom activities, and even provide documents that are accessible to people with disabilities. Download PDF

  • Laptop Lessons PDF Screenshot

    While you may hear more about iPad’s impact in schools in the news lately, The Peddie School in Hightstown, NJ demonstrates how having a program with netbooks and laptops have benefitted the students. Download PDF

  • Case Study: Archdiocese of Philadelphia PDF Screenshot

    The Archdiocese of Philadelphia needed high-performance devices that offered both great savings and strong warranty to serve over 68,000 students. Acer provided rugged, fast netbooks with large keyboards that could stand up to long-term student use. Download PDF

  • Case Study: Lorain City Schools, OH PDF Screenshot

    The Challenge: Lorain City Schools in Lorain, OH serves 19 different schools and programs with a diverse student population. The Solution: Find out how Acer helped a large school system on a tight budget build a bridge to the 21st century classroom. Download PDF

GovConnection K-12 Overview

  • GovConnection PDF: Experience the GovConnection Difference Today Experience the GovConnection Difference Today

    Download PDF

About GovConnection

GovConnection, Inc. is a leading provider of IT products and services to the K–12 and higher education marketplace.

Backed by years of experience and extensive vendor partnerships, our Account Managers are focused on helping you connect with the latest, most effective technology to support education.

With more than 150,000 products, a nationwide network of service partners, and teams of certified technical experts, GovConnection has the resources to help you achieve your IT goals—on time and on budget.

From digital signage in the campus cafeteria to servers in the core of your data center, GovConnection is ready to design, build, and support IT solutions that meet your every need. If you’re looking for an IT provider with the tools to accelerate learning and enhance collaboration, GovConnection is here to put technology to work for you. More Information