Over the last ten months I have converted 3 different applications for different schools to the cloud.  Most of the apps software developers provide a hosted version and the organizations decided to move offsite.  I can't say I blame them :) This strange new technology in schools is changing faster than people notice.  Teaching today in the classroom no longer requires laptops for students. The Ipad or products coming out like it make sense in schools.  As schools go more towards hosted apps the need for local computing power drops.  After "playing around" with an ipad I realized that it worth it for an educator just change their way of using technology in school to work with this type of product. No more waiting 15 minutes for every kids computer to be on the same website.  Forget the IT guys having to rebuild laptops due to infections. In walks ClearOS...  The reality is that servers in a school are required less and less.  A strong firewall with bandwidth shaping and protocol filtration/web filtration is sometimes all that is needed... Check out the following CloudBased school applications.  Yes these used to be onsite: 1.  Powerschool (School Administration & Grading App) - Pearson Publishing2.  Destiny Library Software (Hosted Version) - Follett3.  Senior Systems (Hosted Version) - Finanical & Development App4.  Raisers Edge (Hosted Version) - Development App5.  Accelerated Reader (Hosted Version) - Renaissance Software If you are school or school district looking at the ClearOS there really is no better way to go.  Especially if your critical software apps have moved up into the clouds. -J

http://www.clearfoundation.com/docs/initiatives/compliance Should also add CIPAA there. Schools using E-Rate subsidized funds can be penalized and potentially lose their funding if they do not use a solution like ClearOS to have content filter on their E-Rate subsidized internet services.

I realized yesterday a policy that we implemented at a couple of schools may not be the best policy out there. We had configured the web filter to bypass teacher machines so they could go where they want to go and do what they want to do (at their request). The problem with that policy is that teachers have just a big a chance on clicking on a bad site or installing an app on their local systems as students do. So, it made me rethink what we have been doing. The better route, I believe, is to white list teacher requested sites so that all systems stay protected. What do you do and what are your thoughts?

I just spoke to a Charter School IT person, as my two daughters just started attending a new Charter School in Kaysville, Utah. These schools have a less structured system when installing systems, as they are outside of much of the district red tape with regards to setting up operations. Many of them start from scratch when setting up computer and IT systems, which usually get organized by a "brother-in-law" of the school founder. I think this market of new Charter Schools would be a great area for ClearOS to penetrate, as they are open-minded to new, cost-effective IT ideas.

Found a couple of posts on this but I am interested in your feedback. I worked with Moodle a couple of years ago when the bird flu epidemic planning swept through the school systems. I haven't touched it since. We recently started working with a school using Moodle extensively and with the Swine flu sweeping the nation principals and educators are beginning to worry once again. Looking for feedback on schools using Moodle on ClearFoundation. Thoughts?

We have found the following features the best fit for our school customers: Dynamic DNS Management, Email & Web Gateway Filtration, Peer to Peer Blocking, PPTP VPN, DHCP Server, & Network Storage Device for Backup. What features do you find the strongest?