Aiken County Public schools begin using Windows 10, Surface tablets, Xbox Ones, and Microsoft Bands

3 min. read

Published onJune 2, 2016

published onJune 2, 2016

Share this article

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

The director of technology at Aiken County Public School District, Andrew Cox,has shed some light on his experience transitioning his schoolsto not only the Windows 10 operating but also on how they’ve managed to incorporate Windows phones, Microsoft Bands, and Xbox One into the day-to-day activities of his educators and students.

“Our district choseWindows 10so we can deliver multimedia to the classroom, increase opportunities for research, enable greater collaboration between students, and generally allow students and teachers access to materials and methodologies that would have been considered magic just a generation ago,” he says about the motivation for making the switch to Windows 10. “Aiken County Public Schools selected Windows because of its flexibility, professional ecosystem, consistent user experience, and overall responsiveness.”

One of the concerns he and his peers had about changing operating systems was the expenses that would be involved but they actually found Windows 10 to be more than financially viable and very convenient to implement. “Windows, as a platform, has long been one of the easiest to deploy and manage,” he admits. “Group Policy and Active Directory make it relatively simple to make changes across the district with just a few clicks. We don’t have to plug in our tablets to a laptop to deploy apps and we don’t have a disaster on our hands if our network has a problem and the cloud is unavailable.”

In just three months and using only six individuals in networking and 15 individuals in the field, they managed to install 2,400 laptops and desktops in the district. While this saved them thousands by not using the usual contractors, Cox jokes that Microsoft wasn’t always so affordable. “We estimate we spent approximately $85,000 on outside contractors when we upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7 and have spent $0 upgrading to Windows 10,” he admits.

Teachers in Aiken County Public Schools now useSurface tabletsin classrooms and, with the use of compatible wireless video adapters, have improved their presentations as well. Surprisingly, some schools are even usingMicrosoft’s Xbox Onein their physical therapy classes thanks to the console’s Kinect camera and the video game, Minecraft, is also used on occasion. All district administrators and principals also use Windows phones to access their Office and OneDrive files and the network and system administrators useMicrosoft Bandsto get system and network alerts. The district has really gone all-in with Microsoft products.

In summing up the transition to the Microsoft range of products and services, Cox exclaims, “We have fully embraced a platform that embraces us back—with Microsoft and Windows 10, we know we’re equipping our students, faculty, and staff with the very finest in professional tools!”

Do you use Microsoft products like a Microsoft Band or Windows phone at your workplace? Which ones do you use the most? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

User forum

0 messages

Sort by:LatestOldestMost Votes

Comment*

Name*

Email*

Commenting as.Not you?

Save information for future comments

Comment

Radu Tyrsina

With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low#

Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app#

Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities#

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now Xbox X|S at a huge discount#

Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier#

Aiken County Public schools begin using Windows 10, Surface tablets, Xbox Ones, and Microsoft Bands#

With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low

Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app

Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now Xbox X|S at a huge discount

Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier

Aiken County Public schools begin using Windows 10, Surface tablets, Xbox Ones, and Microsoft Bands