Presentation Girls’ Primary School wanted to modernise its computing facilities, while minimising its environmental impact and reducing costs. The School worked with HP to deploy an HP MultiSeat solution that allows it to almost double the number of PC seats in the computer lab with minimal expenditure.

1. PRESENTATION GIRLS’ PRIMARY SCHOOL
Presentation Girls’ Primary School reaps benefits of new HP ms6000
MultiSeat solution
“The HP MultiSeat solution has solved our IT challenges and provided a robust,
low-cost and easily managed technology platform that allows us to bring
learning to life.”
Ann Kelly, IT administrator, Presentation Girls’ Primary School
HP CUSTOMER
CASE STUDY:
OBJECTIVE:
Presentation Girls’
Presentation Girls’ Primary School wanted
Primary School deploys
to modernise its computing facilities, while
HP MultiSeat solution
minimising its environmental impact and
to provide interactive
reducing costs.
learning for pupils
APPROACH:
INDUSTRY:
The School worked with HP to deploy
Education
an HP MultiSeat solution that allows
it to almost double the number of PC
seats in the computer lab with minimal
expenditure.
IT IMPROVEMENTS:
• Four HP MultiSeat units make
administration, management and
support much easier.
• Less cabling results in a safer learning Presentation Girls’ Primary School in Maynooth,
environment for pupils. Co. Kildare, Ireland is a Catholic primary school
• 19 power hungry PCs have now been catering for girls from ages four to thirteen, as well
reduced to four easily administered HP as running pre-school classes for children with
MultiSeats. Autism. It seeks to provide a broad and balanced
education in an atmosphere of mutual respect with
BUSINESS BENEFITS: an appreciation of the individual needs of pupils,
• The computer room can now cater for staff, parents and the wider community. At present,
even the largest class, ensuring all pupils the School caters for 465 pupils. The teaching
get a dedicated terminal. staff consists of an administrative principal, 17
• The reduction in energy use will save the mainstream teachers, five resource teachers and
school an estimated €8.00 per day. two language support teachers. The School has a
• With much less heat generated, the pleasant, happy working atmosphere and its motto
learning environment is more pleasant, is “Aoibhinn Beatha an Scolaire” which means
less cluttered and now much more School Days are Happy Days.
conducive to teaching.

2. “The room is much less cluttered with more
space for pupils and because there are only
four PCs, the heat emission is reduced and
with it the energy costs.”
—Ann Kelly, IT administrator,
Presentation Girls’ Primary School
OUTDATED COMPUTER FACILITIES Following a recent extension to the School, it
HAMPER LEARNING was provided with a small budget to provide IT
Presentation School had a dedicated computer equipment for the newly built classrooms, as well
room as well as a number of PCs in classrooms, as a new, larger room to serve as the computer
but it was clear that the computing resources lab. However, this room was only equipped
were not being used to their full potential and with four Local Area Network ports, making
that a number of issues surrounded the set up of connectivity a major issue. This provided the
the computer room, which housed 19 PCs – the impetus to rethink its approach to IT.
maximum number that could fit in the small space.
“We had the larger room but there was no way
This posed a number of problems for the School, we could use it to connect the number of PCs we
most significantly for class sizes ranging from needed,” adds Mrs.Kelly. “We were seriously
28 to 35, meaning that some pupils would have considering shutting down the computing facilities
to share a computer. Not only did this result in for a term and moving back to the smaller, less
crowded teaching conditions, but the combined comfortable room in the new school year,” says
heat generated by the PCs in the confined space Mrs.Kelly.
made the room stuffy and unpleasant. In addition
to this, the power often tripped due to the drain A NEW APPROACH TO
on the electricity feed, so it became clear to IT COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS
administrator and Year Five teacher, Ann Kelly, HP Project Manager and parent of one of
that the room in its current state was not fit for Presentation Girls’ Primary School’s pupils,
teaching purposes. Tyrone Williams, was familiar with the HP
MultiSeat solution and came up with a novel
“Teachers had become reluctant to use the
solution for the School. The PC sharing solution
computer room because it couldn’t cater for every
extends the student computing environment by
pupil, and the fact that the PCs were running all
delivering the familiar, reliable experience of a
day in an enclosed environment made it very
dedicated PC to multiple users for maximum cost
warm. In addition, the vast amount of cabling
savings, management and power efficiency.
presented a health and safety risk,” explains
Mrs.Kelly. “Plus, PCs were out of date with some Presentation Girls’ Primary School opted for
of the network PC’s running Microsoft Windows four HP ms6000 MultiSeat units, installed by HP
2000. It became clear that we needed to revamp partner Net Communications, each supporting
the facilities in order to provide a welcoming up to eight users on widescreen HP LE1851w
learning space.” monitors.

3. By retaining three of the existing PCs, the The HP MultiSeats run a number of applications,
School could meet its goal of catering for the including Microsoft Office and a range of
largest class which is made up of 35 pupils. educational tools.
The remaining PCs were either decommissioned
Presentation Girls’ Primary School is also
or distributed among the new classrooms,
a Green Flag school, which means that
meaning all classrooms are now prepared for the
environmental considerations play a key role in
interactive whiteboard technology that the School
decision-making. The new solution has helped the
hopes to roll out next year.
school reduce its energy consumption and save
money. It is estimated that, courtesy of the new
REAPING THE REWARDS OF
solution, the school saves €8.00 every day it is
MULTISEAT COMPUTING
open – over the course of a year that adds up to
Now, instead of having 19 power-hungry PCs
considerable savings.
to manage in the computer room, there are four
easily administered HP MultiSeats; the benefits Hardware performance has also not been an
were immediate and significant. issue for the School. “Even with eight pupils
streaming live video from eight different websites,
“Most importantly, the largest class can now
there is no appreciable deterioration in service,”
ensure that every pupil will have access to
concludes Mrs.Kelly. “As far as the pupil is
their own screen. But there are numerous other
concerned, the experience is identical to using
advantages,” continues Mrs.Kelly. “The room is
a dedicated PC. It has also helped our children
much less cluttered with more space for pupils
learn about networking and gain a broader
and because there are only four PCs, the heat
knowledge of how computers work. Given we
emission is reduced and with it the energy costs.
don’t actually teach IT as a subject, this is an
Administration is also easier because applications
invaluable bonus.”
need only be installed in each MultiSeat.”
As a result of the success of the deployment
Presentation Girl’s Primary School’s sister
establishment, Maynooth Boys’ Primary School
CUSTOMER SOLUTION AT A GLANCE will also be rolling out a HP MultiSeat platform to
PRIMARY APPLICATIONS PRIMARY HARDWARE support its computer room.
• Microsoft Office • 4 x HP ms6000
• 32 x HP LE1851w Monitors

4. To learn more, visit www.hp.com
© 2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties
for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be
construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
4AA3-0938EEW, Created August 2010