RCM Technologies

Centralized Solution Improves Collaboration for K-12 and Higher-Education Schools

RCM Technologies helps education and other industries improve workflow and business processes. To streamline access to information, RCM designed the MOSS EDU QuickStart, a solution that integrates schools’ data sources with the Microsoft® Learning Gateway. Benefits include enhanced productivity for students and teachers, better management and control, and safer exposure to technology.

Business Needs

Based in Pennsauken, New Jersey, RCM Technologies provides business and technology solutions to a range of public and private-sector industries. Solutions provided include business intelligence, core infrastructure, collaboration, and custom application design. RCM Technologies is a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner and National Depth Systems Integrator with more than 1,500 employees.

The Microsoft Learning Gateway and MOSS EDU QuickStart are great tools for exposing kids to Web-based technology. It gives them skills they will use for all their years of learning.  Lionel Rouvillois Director of Education Solutions RCM Technologies

RCM has a dedicated team working with customers in the education sector, including K-12 and higher-education institutions. Its customers typically seek help from RCM to streamline access to information for students and teachers. For example, most schools manage multiple, separate data sources such as human resources and student information, policy documents, and course material. “The biggest challenge our customers face is that their users—whether administrative staff, faculty, or students—have difficulty finding information,” says Lionel Rouvillois, Director of Education Solutions at RCM Technologies. “This includes information that they need for day-to-day activities, such as agendas and material costs. A lot of institutions are struggling to provide central access to all that data.”

RCM customers are typically school districts or universities with 50,000 or more students and a relatively small IT team. They have little time and few resources available for new projects such as providing online learning or broader access to technology. As a result, individual departments or teachers sometimes set up and manage their own Web sites and online tools to communicate with students. According to Rouvillois, this lack of standardization adds more challenges. “They end up using different Web-page templates and different methods to communicate,” he says. “That creates a bigger problem, because schools then feel they don’t have control of content, processes, and workflow.”

To address these challenges, RCM wanted to offer a centralized solution that people could use to find information and collaborate more easily. It also wanted to help schools ease management.

Solution

RCM decided to base its solution on the Microsoft Learning Gateway, a Web-based collaboration, communications, and content delivery framework designed for educators. With a foundation of Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 running on the Windows Server® 2003 or Windows Server 2008 operating systems, RCM uses an integrated framework that includes Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 or SQL Server 2008 data management software, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, and the Active Directory® service.

The company chose Microsoft Learning Gateway because it builds on products that schools already use, and also because it balances the needs of teachers and administrators. Rouvillois says, “With Microsoft Learning Gateway, schools can offer their teachers the ability to create and manage Web sites themselves, but in a very controlled and consistent manner.”

RCM designed MOSS EDU QuickStart, a solution based on the Microsoft framework that integrates data sources such as student information systems and Active Directory with an intranet portal. The portal includes a variety of features and capabilities including role-based access to information, publishing tools, enterprise search, and collaboration sites. The company also created a site provisioning tool that automatically creates and maintains sites for multiple users. For example, a school district can deploy sites for each teacher, or it can deploy sites for each class or course it offers. RCM has also integrated EDU QuickStart with the Microsoft SharePoint Learning Kit (SLK), an e-learning tool designed to enhance Microsoft Learning Gateway. Teachers can use the SLK to create course plans and manage assignments.

RCM continually improves its solution with new features and capabilities. For example, it is creating more ways for students to distribute and revise files online, and it is investigating the possibility of providing EDU QuickStart as a software-as-a-service offering.

Benefits

RCM Technologies is building on the Microsoft Learning Gateway to help students and teachers become more productive and connected. Schools can implement custom solutions and introduce technology to students in a controlled environment.

• Improved productivity. Providing central access to information helps students stay focused and productive. “One of the main advantages of learning portals based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is that students aren’t distracted trying to find homework and other information,” says Rouvillois. The solution provides continuity between classroom and the home for teachers as well. He adds, “Teachers benefit because they have access to a central gateway where they can see announcements and manage information such as vacation requests. They can also work securely with their own class sites, including publishing announcements and documents and tracking homework assignments.”
• Better management and flexibility. Schools can tailor EDU QuickStart to meet their administrative requirements and the needs of students from K-12 through university. For instance, IT managers can maintain Active Directory and other core technologies and services while securely delegating management of sites to teachers. And educators can deploy and customize different templates for each grade, with features appropriate for students’ ages and abilities. “With EDU QuickStart and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, teachers can manage their own sites,” says Rouvillois. “They don’t need to call IT to add a library or a link, or to delete a document.” 
• Enhanced learning. Providing students access to Web-based information in a secure, controlled environment aids learning, Rouvillois says. “The Microsoft Learning Gateway and Intranet QuickStart portals are great tools for exposing kids to Web-based technology with a real purpose in a classroom context. It gives them skills that they will use for all their years of learning.”

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Document published January 2009