Edmonton Catholic Schools
Edmonton Catholic Schools provide parents with a window into the classroom with Microsoft Server Software
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Company Overview
The Edmonton, Alberta-based Edmonton Catholic School District (ECSD) oversees the education of more than 31,000 students, throughout its 83 elementary, junior and senior high schools as well as its alternative/life long learning facility. The ECSD has been committed to providing students with the highest levels of education and guidance for close to 118 years, opening the first Catholic high school in Edmonton in 1888. Today, the organization has grown to employ nearly 3,000 staff whose main focus is providing a faith-based learning experience for their students.
The ECSD ranks among Canada’s best education organizations. In a 2003 study compiled by The Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education, ECSD was found to be the only metro school district in the province of Alberta where students consistently did better on provincial achievement tests over a five-year period.
Business Challenge
Integrating technology into the curriculum and providing teachers access to leading teaching aides such as Web-based learning resources is a focus for the organization, leading the ECSD to develop a coaching program for its staff. Through the program, three designated teachers deliver training and guidance on working with technology in the classroom to other educators throughout the organization. While a beneficial professional development tool, the program also helps the ECSD maintain consistency of technology use throughout its schools.
Since the ECSD places a high value on fostering a learning community environment throughout its schools -- with teachers, parents and students all playing a key role in the learning process --the organization was looking for a way to provide parents with improved access to their children's educational process. In 2001, the ECSD began searching for a technology solution that would allow its students to create an online repository of homework and class assignments, an online portfolio. With this online portfolio, homework assignments and projects would be available to parents for review online.
"Parents are an integral part of their children's education and we were determined to offer them new ways of getting involved. With a quick and easy way to access their child’s learning information online, parents would be able to keep up to date on their children’s progress. They would be able to view their children's assignments, see what the teacher asked for, what the deadline was, whether the assignment was completed on time and what grade it received," says Karen Shipka, Technology Consultant, Edmonton Catholic School District.
However, finding a solution that was cost-effective, secure and easy-to-use proved to be a challenge for the organization. The school had looked into posting student work to the Web using Microsoft FrontPage® Web site creation and management tool. However, the organization felt that without a formal Web-content management system in place, student information would be too vulnerable to post on the Internet. The student online portfolios were kept on the school's internal network so they could only be accessed within the school.
“Technology costs are often an issue for many education organizations and it was also a stumbling block for us,” says Shipka. "But we were determined to make this system available through a more secure technology."
According to Shipka, the organization also needed to ensure that the technology it selected would be easy for teachers to use.
“The online environment we would create would have to have an intuitive interface since many of our teachers are just beginning to feel comfortable with new technology,” says Shipka. “We also placed premium importance on the solution being easy–to-use since all of our staff are far too time crunched to be able to go through a lengthy training process.”
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Solution
In 2003, the ECSD decided to upgrade its server infrastructure to provide students and staff with new learning and information- sharing tools. The organization worked with Microsoft Consulting Services on the planning, deployment and integration of its new solution, choosing Windows Server 2003 as its standard operating system and Microsoft Class Server 3.0 as its learning management platform. ECSD’s IT staff felt that the ease of integration of the two server products would minimize any disruption to internal networks. The familiar user interfaces of Microsoft software would make the transition easier for staff, cutting down on training requirements. The ECSD chose Windows Server 2003 for its ease of deployment, management and use. The organization decided to complement that deployment with the introduction of the Microsoft Class Server 3.0. The implementation would provide the ECSD schools with a powerful platform for delivering assessments and lessons over the Web. It also enabling the school district to track and improve student achievement against provincial curriculum standards.
A More Secure Environment
The security features of Windows Server 2003 help the school district to safeguard business and student information residing on its network. Features such as authentication and access control, centrally managed security policy, auditing, data and network protection tools help to ensure that information residing on the ECS network remains more secure. Simplified security management processes help the organization reduce support costs. Security management is further simplified through single sign-on authentication tools, which make it possible for a user to log on to the domain once, using a single password or a smart-card, and authenticated to any computer in the domain.
Schools within the district wanting to provide their staff and students with wireless Internet access also benefit from the security within the IEEE 802.1X protocol used by Windows Server 2003.
“The security features of Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Class Server were a key factor in our decision to deploy this technology,” says Shipka. “We wanted to open our learning environment to parents, but we needed to do it in a more secure way. The security features of Microsoft server software made us confident that curriculum and student performance information available on the Web would be accessed only by users we wanted to grant access to.”
Streamlining Management to Reduce Support Requirements
One of the key considerations for the ECSD when choosing a server system was the integration of the Active Directory® directory service. The organization moved forward with the implementation of Windows Server 2003 because the IT department saw that Active Directory would help simplify user and computer management within the ECSD while providing superior access to networked resources. A central component of the Microsoft Windows-based platform, Active Directory provides the ECSD with a way to easily and effectively manage user access and identities throughout its network.
“With one IT department supporting a growing group of users throughout 83 schools, having access to tools which can simplify our network management is a key priority,” says Dan Durand, Educational Technology Services Manager, Edmonton Catholic School District. “Through Active Directory, we’ve been able to simplify information and resource access processes without having to sacrifice the integrity of our security infrastructure.”
Tailored Teaching for Top Achievement
With the help of Microsoft Class Server 3.0, the ECSD is able to not only deliver its planned online student portfolio to parents and students but also provide school staff with access to online teaching aids, and learning resources. ECSD staff can help ensure their schools remain Alberta’s top academic performers by tailoring offered curriculum based on real-time student achievement results measured according to the Alberta provincial education standards.
With Class Server 3.0, ECSD IT administrators can load an XML file with Alberta’s learning standards directly into Class Server. With an editing tool provided in the server, curriculum directors can then edit these standards to be specific to their needs. Each learning resource and assignment can then be tagged with the applicable curriculum standard using a series of drop-down menus. Teachers can then grade student results against these standards at marking time. The resulting information can then be used by the organization for further analysis and reporting.
In addition, Class Server is based on the .NET Framework, making integration with other systems on the ECSD network much easier. This makes it possible for partners and integrators the organization works with as well as internal staff to use XML Web services to integrate Class Server with other applications in a scalable and more secure manner.
“Although these software products are still fairly new to us, we’re already seeing the benefits of introducing Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Class Server 3.0 to our schools,” says Shipka. “Because Microsoft server products allow our teachers to work with familiar user interfaces, we’ve been able to reduce the learning curve for our staff and have been able to move forward with integrating Web-based learning resources into class work throughout our schools. This is providing added teaching support to our educators and enriching the learning experience for our students.”
New Resources Available through Familiar Tools
Microsoft Class Server 3.0 Web-based environment allows ECSD staff to deliver lessons and assessments over the Web, as well as giving teachers access to real-time student performance results. The server also makes it possible to create a Web-based portal that enables students and parents to access information on academic achievement.
“The implementation of Microsoft Class Server 3.0 has allowed me to introduce a mobile component to my student’s learning, giving them the ability to interact with learning materials in a new way,” says Paul Pelchat, a teacher at Father Michael Troy Junior High School. “The students have responded enthusiastically to the introduction of Class Server, which allows them to access reading materials, homework assignments, or links to online tests, from virtually anywhere, giving them a greater sense of control over their learning and a greater sense of accomplishment when they excel.”
Business Benefits
Since starting the implementation of Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Class Server 3.0, the ECSD has reduced in network support time thanks to a streamlined and easier to manage infrastructure. The Web-based environment has also made it possible for schools within the ECSD to make student performance information available to parents, helping to increase parent involvement in their children’s education. It has also paved the way to the planned development of a learning portal.
Reducing Support Time
The introduction of Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory have helped to create a more reliable and more secure environment throughout the ECSD, cutting the time the organization’s IT staff spend resolving technical issues and managing the network.
With Remote Installation Services within Windows Server 2003, ECSD central IT staff has been able to reduce the amount of travel time required when introducing new services to a school. The organization has been able to further reduce network management time through new wizards within the server. This simplifies the setup of specific server roles and routine server management tasks so that even servers without a dedicated administrator are easy to manage.
Making Education a Family Affair
The introduction of the new server infrastructure has made a marked difference in the way the ECSD is able to work with parents throughout its schools. While most schools within the ECSD are moving toward creating a Web-based environment where parents and students can access learning information online, one of the district’s schools, Father Michael Troy Junior High School, has already licensed its entire student body to the new system, creating the online portfolio the ECSD was working towards.
Students at Father Michael Troy are now using a Web-based learning system for a range of activities including tracking tests and assignments, and saving class notes. Assignments are distributed online and can be accessed by the student in or outside of the classroom, allowing students who are absent from class to keep up with their school work — reducing the chance of falling behind. The introduction of a wireless network to the school has allowed the students to use mobile devices to do research and work on projects anywhere within the school. Integration with Windows Server 2003 allows the students to save any such projects onto the school server.
“Our students are really appreciating the level of empowerment this system has given them. With Windows Server 2003 and Class Server 3.0-based learning environment we’ve created, students can pick up their assignments anytime and anywhere,” says Shipka. “This has substantially bumped up the student’s accountability, especially since their parents can also check on whether the assignments were completed on time. However, students are responding well to being given more control over when and where they do their homework. They are also responding very well to being able to complete assignments online, since Web technology is now second nature to many of our students.”
Parents at the school can be more involved in their children’s education. They can now access lesson plans applicable to their child, such as any upcoming assignments or tests, as well as keeping track of their child’s academic accomplishments.
“Making this information available to parents is generating a tremendous level of positive feedback,” says Shipka. “Parents are appreciating being able to keep up with what their children are learning and how they’re performing in school, without their children feeling the stigma of receiving an update call from a teacher.”
Teachers at the ECSD are also pleased with a host of new teaching aids available to them through Microsoft Class Server. Resources developed by the Alberta government, delivered through the new server are allowing the schools to develop a richer curriculum. Templates, wizards and other teaching aids are making lesson planning easier for teachers, reducing the amount of time needed for lesson preparation.
“With this tool in place I know that if I prepare class assignments well, I can use and re-use them for as long as I wish, making class preparation much more efficient,” says Pelchat.
The easy access to the Province of Alberta curriculum content allows teachers to confidently expand their use of online tools, knowing the content they accessed with Class Server will be available to them as long as it’s needed. With Microsoft Class Server teachers can also move forward with integrating more online content into class work, while being confident that content delivered to students will help them meet provincial standards and overall academic success.
“Microsoft Class Server 3.0 is a great teaching aide because of its flexibility and availability. It’s tailor made for a teacher’s busy schedule,” says Pelchat. “The server is also helping me to reduce the amount of time required to mark tests. My students can complete a test online and I can access them through the server, marking them online as well. This has not only cut out the time it would previously take me to decipher the sometimes interesting handwriting of a 7th grader, but it also saves me time previously spent shuffling through papers looking for a needed piece of information.”
Through the online-system, parents and students can also access information on what requirements their children will be asked to meet in advance of any related assignments or tests. Information of this type would not have typically been available to them in the past.
“Our teachers are also benefiting from how easy the system is to use,” says Durand. “After only limited training time they are able to find resources on the Web and integrate them into their lesson plans. Because this technology uses interfaces of Microsoft Office our teachers work with every day, they are able to quickly familiarize themselves with the system and start using it to create a fuller learning experience for their students.”
The Next Assignment
With an information-sharing environment in place, the ECSD is now planning on delivering additional tools to its teachers through a learning portal. The organization plans to use the portal as a means of improving internal collaboration and drive new knowledge sharing initiatives among ECSD staff. The portal will integrate with the existing server infrastructure and provide teaching aides as well as other professional development resources through a new Web-based environment. The portal would provide the organization with access to a host of tools through one centralized location within a teacher’s desktop.
“We are thrilled with what we’ve been able to accomplish so far with Microsoft Server software and are finding that as our familiarity with the software grows we are finding new ways of using it,” says Shipka. “With Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Class Server 3.0, we have been able to find software which enables us to provide our students and staff with new services and create a learning environment where every student has the chance to succeed.”
Microsoft Windows Server System
Microsoft® Windows Server System is a comprehensive, integrated, and interoperable server infrastructure that helps reduce the complexity and costs of building, deploying, connecting, and operating agile business solutions. Windows Server System helps customers create new value for their business through the strategic use of their IT assets. With the Windows Server operating system as its foundation, Windows Server System delivers dependable infrastructure for data management and analysis; enterprise integration; customer, partner, and employee portals; business process automation; communications and collaboration; and core IT operations including security, deployment, and systems management.
For more information about Windows Server System, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem
For More Information
For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com
For more information about Edmonton Catholic School District products and services, call 1-888-441-6010 or visit the Web site at: www.ecsd.net
