How IT leaders can take the lead in education transformation

Provided by MSI

When the primary goal of education is to prepare children for the future, IT leaders play a more important role than ever before. Technology is having a huge impact on jobs across all industries, opening up new possibilities in new fields, from STEM industries and AI to esports and other fields. It has also changed the way students engage in learning, skill development, and advanced problem solving and critical thinking.

Matt Hawley, esports program manager at MSI, said: “Exposing students to computer science and high-end technology not only benefits their future as they will inevitably use it in their careers, but it also changes their relationship with their school. ”. “When participants are more engaged, their attendance is better. They get better grades. They’re more prepared for college and the job market. Their enthusiasm is amazing. .”

School boards are leading these efforts, but they cannot do it alone. Delivering these learning experiences requires partnering with district IT leaders, education experts, and technology industry experts. The challenge is to ensure these programs are cost-effective and future-proof with the technology, expertise, and activities.

How technology is transforming the learning experience

Hardware and software selection is critical to supporting these efforts. Hawley pointed to an extracurricular club in San Diego’s Chula Vista charter school district that collaborated to help develop and equip new technology learning initiatives. Students there work on video design, broadcast, AI, and music creation using MSI’s Vector GP and Raider GE series laptops, which integrate graphics hardware from Nvidia and processing power from Intel. And this high-end gaming hardware and software now supports the Kern High School District Esports League, the largest high school-run esports program in the United States.

“I’ve worked with schools that are ready to level up their hardware to match their children’s engagement and learning, and I’ve helped school districts build programs from the ground up. We provide the right hardware to support students,” Hawley explains. “A lot of it is uncharted territory, but sometimes it gains momentum through word of mouth.”

The amazing benefits of esports

Educators share knowledge, raise awareness, and collaborate with colleagues to develop blueprints for curriculum standards and hardware and software specifications that can support those programs.

Many educators and leaders were initially surprised that esports could have such a big impact on children, especially those who often feel excluded from other sports, but esports programs The number of is increasing. Not only does esports have tremendous educational and social development benefits for the students who participate, but it also helps children who have never previously participated in extracurricular clubs, i.e. feel left out in science and math classes. It also attracts young girls and BIPOC students who deserve greater opportunities. Clubs increase confidence in their abilities, and these students often go on to study computer science or other related technology careers.

“There are no barriers to becoming a gamer, and this applies to computer science in general,” Hawley says. “You don’t even have to be a gamer to join these clubs. Esports is increasingly being incorporated into various technology clubs such as design, broadcasting, and journalism, and once disenfranchised kids are enjoying an unprecedented In a way, I have found my calling through these clubs.”

Building a learning experience from the root

Of course, there continue to be challenges for school districts developing these programs, many of which come down to significant budget constraints. There are also challenges in ensuring security, integrating new technology into existing networks, and moving environments from on-premises to the cloud. MSI works with educational institutions to ensure that not only do they meet the district’s hardware specifications, but that new hardware integrates seamlessly.

“As esports is increasingly integrated into schools, we worked with schools to meet their price point specifications and warranty needs. These warranties are typically longer than retail warranties. ” says Hawley. “We also wanted to make sure that these machines were something that students would be excited to play and that sophisticated esports titles were supported. We will begin to work closely with more schools. As we move forward, we’ve integrated our professional products to improve the student experience and give them access to more technology areas.”

Education IT leaders are pleased to know that adding a computer lab like this is now easier than ever. As computing advances, hardware continues to shrink in size, making student computers lighter and easier for IT teams to deploy. IT leaders should also look for hardware that is easy to integrate, especially from a security perspective. However, most school districts work in traditional hardware environments.

“When building a student technology center, you need to consider whether your existing hardware will work with the new hardware and whether it can be safely migrated to the cloud,” Hawley says. “But if you can integrate security standards like content filters, custom imaging, and Autopilot deployment, it becomes much easier to deploy at scale in almost any environment. We work directly with IT departments across the district. So they can tell us what they need and what their roadmap looks like, so that on the manufacturer side, we can all do that for the next few years. can be played cooperatively.”

Another important consideration is the incredibly short product lifecycle in the consumer world. IT leaders need to work with partners that offer education-specific hardware with long enough lifecycles to fit the fairly long bidding and purchasing timelines of educational purchases.

And of course, as cloud computing becomes the norm, it’s important to stay up to date with hardware and software changes and evolving risk scenarios. This means researching, testing, and working with suppliers to stay informed about the latest hardware and software advances and when it’s time to upgrade. It also means choosing hardware that is easy to upgrade and expand.

Hardware selection made much easier

To support your technology education, MSI offers: Cubi NUC and DP21supports Intel vPro and Windows Autopilot to simplify management, enhance security, and streamline the deployment process. Thunderbolt 4 technology and power delivery provide fast connectivity and charging. It also scales easily and provides real-time data processing for AI and machine learning. The compact size allows for flexible installation, excellent performance-to-footprint ratio, and even more flexible configurations.

The company also offers STEM, gaming, and content creation computers such as the DP180. creator pro, Vector GP and Raider GE series laptops It features dedicated graphics hardware to accelerate graphics-intensive applications, and offers easy upgrades with expandable memory and storage options to ensure longevity.

Veteran resellers and manufacturers work with decision-makers to ensure schools get the best hardware and software their money can buy, while keeping an eye on what’s coming next and helping students We will keep your IT team informed on how to ensure they have every opportunity to learn with the latest technology. Possible.

“We are paving the way for the future for these students, and it is important that we prepare them for everything that is to come,” Hawley said. “As gaming and other high-tech hardware become integral parts of plans, IT leaders are encouraged to be creative when designing technology resources and collaborate with collaborators in manufacturing and resale to drive initiatives forward. You must.”

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