Datacom rolls out HP Chromebooks at Mount Waverley Heights Primary School

Datacom has teamed up with HP Australia, Google for Education and BenQ to roll out a range of Google-powered devices to Melbourne's Mount Waverley Heights Primary School.

Called the Beacon School industry collaboration, the initiative will deploy some 100 HP Chromebooks, touchscreen devices, Chromebox' and mini desktop PCs to both students and teachers.

Beacon School is a multi-year initiative to deliver tech-based learning environments for schools, as well as access to programmes and opportunities for teachers and the wider school community.

“This project will help our school to a better place by delivering an innovative and cutting-edge learning environment for our students and teachers. We are excited by the new methods of teaching and collaborating that will now be available to us,” Mount Waverley Heights Primary School principal Sharon Reiss-Stone said.

“The technology will provide pathways, inspiration and career choices for our students and help them contribute to the development of the knowledge economy in Victoria.”

Students will start collecting the Chromebooks next week from HP’s Experience Centre in Melbourne, and will also get a tour of Google’s Melbourne office.

A Google for Education training provider will provide professional development for teachers, equipping them with G Suite for Education and teach them how to integrate the technology in the classroom.

Datacom upgraded the school’s network with new wireless access points to improve video streaming capabilities and file transfer speeds, as well as provided extended coverage and additional bandwidth.

The existing Windows domain was reconfigured to authenticate with G-Suite, enabling single-sign on to the existing school services and the new Google environment.

The company also increased server capacity so upgrades and maintenance of existing virtual machines could be performed with minimal impact on students and staff, and provided network optimisation advice.

“We are delighted to be able to place opportunities in the hands of students through the Beacon School industry project,” Datacom Australia managing director for commercial Bob Peebles said.

“By providing an end-to-end IT solution that supports student-teacher interaction, critical thinking and problem solving we are helping students to obtain the best opportunity for enhanced learning.”

He added that the solution is an example of what is possible when industry and education unite, and that the project can be easily replicated in other schools across Victoria.

“HP Australia recognises that our kids will live and work in a world vastly different from the one we know today. Learning is no longer a one-way channel from teacher to student,” HP Australia enterprise business manager Rachael Williams said.

“Today, it’s all about interactivity, constant collaboration and creative ways of bringing the real world into the classroom.

“We look forward to working side-by-side with Mount Waverley Heights Primary School’s teachers, students and parents to power the next generation of learning and help bring the full potential of HP Australia’s technology to life.”