eSchool News

CASE STUDYSponsored by

LanSchool Offers

Cloud and Locally

Hosted Solutions

Jointly, Simplifying IT

Support and Improving

Teaching as You Scale

Today’s Innovations in Education

Streamlining IT Tasks

Improving Instruction

A True Partner

www.lanschool.com

Cloud and Locally Hosted Solutions: Simplifying ITSupport and Improving Teaching as You Scale

Sponsored by

www.lanschool.com

2

As Indiana’s Logansport Community School Corporation was looking to

expand their 1:1 program with Chromebooks to students in grades K-8,

district IT leaders wanted a classroom management platform to help

teachers lead high-impact instruction with the devices.

The school system was already using the locally hosted version of

Lenovo’s LanSchool software to manage students’ use of Windows

machines in its high school computer labs, and the program worked

extremely well. So when IT leaders learned they could use LanSchool’s latest

innovation, LanSchool Air, to help teachers manage instruction with Chromebooks, it seemed like a

natural fit for the district. They were excited about the seamless integration between Chromebooks and

LanSchool Air, including the benefits of moving their classroom management solution to the cloud.

Additionally, the ability to use both the locally hosted and cloud versions jointly offers them the freedom

to slowly upgrade their infrastructure as their future budget and resources allow.

“We were looking for a solution that was easy to use and deploy with Chromebooks,” says Cyle

Dibble, Logansport’s Director of Technology. “We reached out to LanSchool, and they introduced us

to their LanSchool Air solution. We decided to do a pilot project with a few teachers, and the feedback

we received was positive from the start.”

LanSchool Offers Cloud and Locally HostedSolutions Jointly, Simplifying IT Support and Improving Teaching as You ScaleLogansport’s use of this classroom management tool in their

mixed-device environment was a win for IT and teachers alike

“We were looking for a solution that was easy to use and deploy

with Chromebooks. We reached out to LanSchool, and they

introduced us to their LanSchool Air solution. We decided to do a

pilot project with a few teachers, and the feedback we received

was positive from the start.”

—Cyle Dibble, Logansport’s Director of Technology

Cloud and Locally Hosted Solutions: Simplifying ITSupport and Improving Teaching as You Scale

Sponsored by

www.lanschool.com

3

Using the same platform to manage instruction with multiple devices makes life easy for Logansport’s

IT staff. Teachers are happy as well, because they’re empowered to teach more effectively with

technology—resulting in better learning outcomes.

“LanSchool Air has been a welcome addition to our teachers’ classrooms,” Dibble says, “and it has

freed up IT resources to work on future projects. Having one solution to support and manage teaching

in a mixed-device environment is very important with a limited support staff. LanSchool has filled that

role for us very well.”

Streamlining IT Tasks

Adding LanSchool Air to manage instruction with Chromebooks has resulted in several benefits for

Logansport’s IT staff:

Easy deployment. Because LanSchool Air is cloud-based, enhancements are available

automatically. There is no hardware to maintain, and teachers always have the latest functionality.

Decreased workloads. Because the software gives teachers the ability to control what content their

students can access online, IT staff receive far fewer requests to block certain websites on the

district’s network. “This puts the power back in teachers’ hands and decreases our work on the IT

side,” says Jessica Whistler, a senior support specialist for the district.

Simplified support. Using the same platform to manage instruction with both Windows and Chrome

devices has also simplified IT employees’ workloads. “We have just one product we have to support,”

Whistler says. “That means we can become experts on one product instead of having to become familiar

with multiple platforms. And the same is true of our teachers. Using one solution makes training easier.”

Cloud and Locally Hosted Solutions: Simplifying ITSupport and Improving Teaching as You Scale

Sponsored by

www.lanschool.com

4

Improving Instruction

IT staff aren’t the only ones who have benefited from Logansport’s use of both LanSchool and

LanSchool Air; teachers and students are reaping the rewards as well. Using LanSchool Air has made

teaching with Chromebooks much more productive, just as the original version of LanSchool has

facilitated teaching with Windows devices.

Vicky Maroney, a fifth grade teacher at Fairview Elementary School, is using Chromebooks to help

personalize instruction for every child. LanSchool Air allows Maroney to safely and productively

utilize software like MobyMax, so students can be working at precisely their own ability.

LanSchool Air makes teaching with Chromebooks more efficient in her classroom. She can push out

web links and other resources to her students, which gets them on the same page faster—leaving

more time for learning. She can also view thumbnail images of her students’ screens to guide learning

as they work on their devices, and she can freeze their screens or redirect them if necessary to keep

them focused on the task at hand.

One of the features she appreciates most is the software’s messaging application, which allows her to

have private conversations with students to see if they need help.“Rather than asking them in front of

their peers, I can check in with them more discretely,” she explains. “Students don’t like to admit when

they’re struggling, but this makes it easier for them. It has been very beneficial.”

A True Partner

Not only are Logansport IT leaders happy with their classroom management solution; they’re also

delighted with the company behind it.

LanSchool “has been a great partner to work with,” Dibble says, “because they value our feedback

and make changes to the product based on that feedback.”

For example, Logansport wanted the software to integrate with Clever, the single sign-on solution that

the district uses to manage its network accounts.

“LanSchool allows teachers to manage their classroom more

effectively, which leads to better student engagement. It’s making

my life better, making our teachers’ lives better, and helping

students learn.”

—Jessica Whistler, Logansport Senior Support Specialist

Cloud and Locally Hosted Solutions: Simplifying ITSupport and Improving Teaching as You Scale

Sponsored by

www.lanschool.com

5

“We aren’t using Google Classroom, because we have another learning management system.

However, the ability to sync student rosters to LanSchool Air was important,” Dibble explains. “We

were already using Clever for many other third-party applications. LanSchool listened, and we were

able to sync through Clever at the start of this school year. That saves teachers and IT staff a lot of

time by not having to set up class rosters manually within LanSchool Air.”

It’s this attention to detail and level of customer care that Dibble appreciates most about LanSchool.

What Whistler values most is how the software makes everyone’s jobs easier.

“LanSchool allows teachers to manage their classroom more effectively, which leads to better

student engagement,” she says. “It’s making my life better, making our teachers’ lives better, and

helping students learn.”

With LanSchool, teachers and IT leaders have a flexible classroom management solution that can

evolve with their changing needs. Furthermore, LanSchool is committed to being a true partner in

education, helping schools leverage technology for instruction no matter where they are in their

journey toward cloud adoption.

This case study was produced by eSchool News, the online platform that delivers daily

technology news and information to K-12 education administrators, educators, and technology

professionals, which is dedicated to the advancement and wise use of technology to improve

teaching and learning for all.  eSchool News offers ed-tech decision makers a wide range of

informative content—including newsletters, webinars, case studies, white papers, websites, and

more—that provide in-depth coverage of the latest innovations, trends, and real-world solutions

impacting the education community. Explore more at www.eSchoolNews.com.