The Whitfield County Technology Department supports the 21st-century learning needs of our students by maintaining:

• 12,707 Google Chrome devices (Chromebook and Chromebox)
• 686 Windows desktop computers,
• 105 Apple Macintosh computers
• 1407 Windows laptops,
• 402 tablets,
• 6 Virtual servers,
• 7 Physical Servers

Fast Network

Bandwidth in 771 classrooms upgraded. Our current student-computer ratio is 0.88:1 with 84% of the devices being 5 years old or newer. During FY17, students, teachers, and staff added 6.8 million files to Google Drive increasing the usage by 250%. Google Drive allows our students anytime and anywhere access to their files from any Internet-connected device.

Our wireless capacity has also increased to meet the demands of learning, teaching, and assessment. The design of our network enables more students to use wireless devices to do everything from accessing tailor-made, media-rich learning experiences through Compass Learning to interacting with physics simulations. The old wireless network could support 5-6 devices per classroom. The new wireless network can support ~70 devices per classroom. Our new network is faster, too. For example, downloading a 30-minute video on the old wireless would have taken 120 seconds.

On the new wireless, it takes six seconds. The reliability of our network and higher speed access enable us to conduct statewide assessments using wireless devices. We continuously seek greater efficiency of systems, equipment, and resources. Our statewide online testing required the purchase of additional servers. Instead of installing multiple physical servers at every site, we installed a single physical server at almost every school.

Virtual Servers

By virtualizing the physical servers we purchased, we were able to maximize the use of each one at a great cost savings to our district. Our virtual server solution cost approximately $12,500 per school whereas the alternative would have cost anywhere from $16,000 for a small school like Tunnel Hill Elementary up to $42,000 for a large school like North Whitfield Middle School.