CONNECTING STUDENTS WITH GAME-CHANGING TECHNOLOGY
See how Cardinal Gibbons High School builds a robust 1:1 computing program from the ground up
Raleigh, North Carolina’s Cardinal Gibbons High School has been preparing students for academic and civic excellence since 1909. The Catholic college preparatory school is driven by a deep passion for enabling students to become lifelong learners that are successful in today’s workplaces and communities.
The school takes the rewards and responsibilities of technology transformation seriously. That’s why they tapped local Raleigh tech executive Lesley Coe to lead ongoing efforts to elevate student outcomes with the right IT solutions.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE: KICKSTARTING 1:1 COMPUTING CORRECTLY
Cardinal Gibbons High School faced two challenges. As part of a major campus expansion, the school’s network infrastructure was being upgraded in order to fully realize the potential of seamless digital learning, driven by a new 1:1 device program. Students would finally get a personal device to be used in pursuit of their four-year studies and beyond.
At the same time, the opportunity also presented decision-makers with some intimidating questions:
- How could they build a robust network that could scale and was as future-proofed as possible?
- What type of devices could ultimately best serve high school learners on the go and withstand the expected bumps, scrapes, and drops?
- What kinds of technology experiences would best prepare students for success in tech-dependent colleges and workplaces?
THE LENOVO™ DIFFERENCE: MEANINGFUL INNOVATION
“Technology simply can’t be ‘separate’ in the Education environment ... Technology must be educationally driven, not just technology driven to make good on our pledge to students. It must do what’s right, not what’s easy.””
Lesley Coe
Director of Technology
Cardinal Gibbons College
Preparatory High School
Knowing the institution was at an important crossroads for properly serving students, Cardinal Gibbons ultimately tapped Raleigh tech expert Lesley Coe to become their official Director of Technology, beginning a multi-year odyssey to thoroughly modernize Cardinal Gibbons overall.
Coe is passionate about education and wanted to ensure that both teachers and learners maximized the benefits of meaningful technology solutions. She spent a year understanding educational use cases driven by technology, rather than focusing on hardware or software needs first. Once a plan was established, Coe cast a large net to uncover the best technology solutions for Cardinal Gibbons students, educators, and administrators in light of the campus expansion and resulting network addition.
After connecting, Lenovo representatives worked with Coe step-by-step to establish multiple layers of Lenovo products throughout their new and improved technology ecosystem that could better serve students and make real the promise of Cardinal Gibbons’ mission, including:
- Both standard ThinkPad® laptops and flexible ThinkPad Yoga™ devices, with advanced touch-screen capabilities, for student mobility and instructors’ daily computing needs
- ThinkStation® workstations for the power and performance necessary in certain STEM- and design-heavy coursework
- ThinkVision® monitors for general touchscreen display and campus signage
- ThinkServer® servers for the backbone of a powerful, robust campus network
With over 2,000 endpoints to ultimately manage, Coe says that Lenovo technology simply fit all Cardinal Gibbons’ design needs, from power and durability to flexibility and mobility. “Technology simply can’t be ‘separate’ in the Education environment,” she states. “Technology must be educationally driven, not just technology driven to make good on our pledge to students. It must do what’s right, not what’s easy.”
THE RESULTS: REMOVING LIMITS FROM LEARNING
THE ROAD AHEAD
Cardinal Gibbons decision-makers look forward to continuing to push the technology envelope. It’s critical to the team to make sure technology ultimately serves student interests, dreams, and learning goals—nothing else will do.
“A laptop is just a tool that allows you to do what you generally need to do like any other school supply. But what they’ve allowed us to do altogether in the 1:1 program is transformational.”
Lesley Coe
Director of Technology
Cardinal Gibbons College
Preparatory High School
After all construction and network expansion projects were complete, Cardinal Gibbons has been able to reap the rewards of its technology innovations. First and foremost, decision-makers have enjoyed watching students succeed along with the full implementation of a 1:1 device program.
- Easier personalization allows students to lean into their own learning strengths
- Student learning out of class drives richer in-class collaboration and exploration
- Greater family engagement with teaching and learning opportunities and outcomes
- Students become savvy digital citizens, setting them up for a life of successful tech use
Students are proud of their school-issued laptops and deeply engaged thanks to 24/7 access to powerful technologies such as G Suite and Microsoft Office. Students also enjoy no longer having to return to campus on weekends to complete certain projects, benefiting from mobile access to the servers they require—even for coursework involving graphics-intensive projects using such as Adobe Suite using processing power on the server.
Additionally, an advanced level of computer literacy and competence has emerged. As time has progressed, the IT help desk has been visited less and less as students have become comfortable troubleshooting the small snags they sometimes encounter solo and together. This is a trait Coe believes will give them an edge as they enter busy college and professional life.
- Access to real-world applications and experiences
- In-depth exposure to advanced, creative problem solving
- Solid digital citizenship and creativity skills
As she explains, “A laptop is just a tool that allows you to do what you generally need to do like any other school supply. But what they’ve allowed us to do altogether in the 1:1 program is transformational.” The 1:1 initiative has become part of the culture of the school and the kids are making.
Learn more about Lenovo K-12 solutions at www.lenovo.com/education
