Samueli Academy Virtualizes CAD Software for Student Chromebooks
Samueli Academy,
a public charter high school in California, has implemented virtual
desktop infrastructure (VDI) technology to let students access
computer-aided design (CAD) software from their Chromebooks.
The school is operated by the Orangewood Foundation,
an organization that provides services for youth in foster care, and
the school serves both foster and community youth. Samueli Academy has
a 1-to-1 technology initiative providing every student with a
Chromebook and an instructional philosophy that emphasizes
technology and project-based learning. The school also partners with
the University of California Irvine (UCI) to offer engineering and design pathways aligned with the school's curriculum.
In 2016, the school launched a course to teach students how to use SolidWorks 3D CAD design software. Since the software can't be installed on Chromebooks, the school partnered with Zumasys — a provider of cloud computing and application infrastructure — to
implement a Citrix-based VDI platform. The Orangewood Foundation has
had a four-year relationship with Zumasys through Zumasys' Happyness is a Choice corporate giving program, and the VDI implementation extends that relationship to the school's technology program.
The Citrix VDI platform runs on a cache-accelerated storage tier from Nimble Storage.
The SolidWorks 3D CAD design software runs on the server, and students
can access it remotely through their Chromebooks. "Students enjoy great
SolidWorks performance on their Chromebooks thanks to Nimble's
cache-accelerated storage tier," stated a news release from
Zumasys.
"Nimble Storage and Zumasys were able to understand our
requirements and build a solution to best meet our needs," said Philip Thai, director of IT for the Orangewood Foundation, in a
prepared statement. "For an environment of our size, there's nothing
like the performance that Nimble Storage provides in the same price
range."
Based on the success of the VDI implementation, the
school plans to extend its virtual desktop infrastructure to 100
students in its engineering, design and Photoshop classes.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].