(For those new to the column, Forward Migration is our term for companies moving from Wintel machines to Macs — or at least adding or increasing the number of Macs they use. A Forward Migration Kit is an overview of Mac OS products for a particular occupation, such as photography, optometry, etc.)
William Muir Ferrier, History Department Chair at Greene County High School, in Greensboro, GA, found an Apple solution to be a lifesaver in promoting the school and giving the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) an overview when they dropped by to renew GCHS’s accreditation.
“I have three iMacs at home and I had never used iMovie, so I thought that I would see about getting a DV camera and try doing a video about the school,” Ferrier told MacCentral. “The school system is PC, so I had to use my own iMac to do this.”
A sales rep at the CompUSA in Augusta, GA, loaned the teacher a DV camera for the project. Ferrier got his principal’s blessing and enlisted students to help with the filming. Ferrier brought his iMac to school and his team put together the video.
“Everyone loved it,” he said. “The video was shown to the SACS Team, and they thought it was just great. Several of them asked the principal, Dr. Jimmy Stokes, how we did it. The video has been shown to several groups that support the high school’s vocational program, and I was asked to present it to the Board of Education.”
Since then, the Greene County High School Media Center has bought a Power Mac G4/733 system and Ferrier has been teaching students how to use and care for a Mac. The Student Tech Team has been so enthralled with the technology that all of them now want Macs.
“The school system is considering buying more Macs, and I have suggested they set up a multimedia lab,” Ferrier said. “The principal even asked me about getting an iMac for himself.”
Their next projects include a video about the whole county and films about each school, which can be used as recruiting tools for teachers. And since one good turn deservers another, the salesman at CompUSA has a copy of the original video. He uses it to show customers what can be done using iMovie and Macs.
Meanwhile, Apple’s wireless AirPort technology, coupled with iMacs, saved Douglas County School District, Colorado, some serious money.
When looking at a costly networking challenge, Gary Murphy, director of information and technology services, estimated that the Saddle Ranch School would require 84 wired drops at US$100 each. Thanks to AirPort technology, he had to install only 20 wired drops. You do the math.
The school system took advantage of Apple’s iMac Wireless Classroom, which includes five iMac computers and an iBook for the teacher. And it comes with the Apple Learning Series kits, which are based on the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) research study. The included teacher productivity software helps instructors with curriculum development and classroom administrative tasks. The kits also contain curriculum software to promote greater skill development in reading, math, science, and social studies. You can learn more at Apple’s ” iMac Wireless Classroom and Lab ” Web site.
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