The New Jersey School Boards Association has entered into an agreement with NJEDge.net to allow its members to join the consortium and take advantage of the Enterprise LicenseAgreement (ELA) in association with Promedia Technology Services, Inc. and VMware. This agreement will allow School Boards members to procure VMware virtualization technology and support services at the best possible price point available today, at 30% below the already reduced education pricing. The NJSBA has put together a series of webinars to educate its members on the details and benefits of the ELA.

The first webinar in the series, designed to outline the benefits of virtualization and the ELA, brought together all of the key members of the agreement. Members of NJSBA, NJEDge, VMware, and Promedia gathered to explain the agreement to School Boards members and demonstrate the value of the ELA and virtualization technology. To view the webinar follow this link.

The second webinar, Virtualization 101, gave a high level overview of virtualization technologies, their benefits, and the ways that virtualization can provide a simultaneous reduction in cost and improvement to your environment’s performance. You can view Virtualization 101 here.

There will be two more webinars to follow which will go into further detail about virtualization and the agreement. The next two will be held on March 14th and April 11th, and will focus on a technical deep dive into Server Consolidation and Desktop Virtualization, respectively.

You can use these links to sign up for the upcoming webinars in the NJSBA’s series:

March 14th – Server Consolidation - This webinar will provide a deeper look at how the server consolidation aspect of virtualization can save money by streamlining your data center.

April 11th – Desktop Virtualization - This webinar will provide a deeper look at how the desktop virtualization technology can provide cost savings and ease of administration throughout a desktop environment.

Promedia will be at NJASA Techspo 2012 on January 26th and 27th at Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Techspo brings together educators and technology experts from across the state of New Jersey and provides an opportunity to learn about and discuss the technology challenges faced by NJ schools today. Find out more about Techspo here.

At Techspo 2012, Promedia will be featured with a presentation called Virtualizing Desktops on iPads and Managing These DevicesInside Your School District:

This presentation will be given on Friday, January 27th at 2:30 PM and will touch on topics such as:

• How Virtual Desktops are presented on a mobile device (Windows 7 on the iPad)

• Ease of administration and management through the use of a virtual desktop environment and how this leads to cost savings

• Solutions for controlling Apple Devices inside your school district

• The ability to push applications and curriculum to these devices selectively or district wide

• Remotely manage and wipe devices with a click of a mouse

• Central administration console for windows desktops and iOS device management

There will also be an additional announcement from NJSBA and NJEDge detailing how your district can save money by taking advantage of the NJSBA/NJEDge virtualization agreement with Promedia and VMware.

And don’t forget, at the end of the session Promedia will be giving away an iPad 2 to one of the attendees!

Presentation Slides

We look forward to an outstanding Techspo 2012, with plenty of opportunities for education and discussion about the state of technology in education today! See you there!

On November 18th, Promedia will be delivering a presentation at the monthly meeting held by the New Jersey Educational Computing Cooperative. The meeting will consist of  ”iPad Apps Smackdown” + “Website Smackdown” topics hosted by Samantha Morra, Montclair BOE and Lisa Thumann, Rutgers CMSCE in the morning, followed by Promedia’s presentation which will take place in the PM session of the meeting. Presentation details below:

An Introduction to iOS Management from JAMF Software – 12:30 November 18^th NJECC PM Session

One of the most appealing aspects of iPads and iPod Touch devices is the fact that they are easy, intuitive to use and expand teaching and learning possibilities.  As schools start using Apple iOS devices in the classroom on a large scale, there are often varying levels of understanding about the management options available to IT administrators.  Mobile Device Management (MDM) is commonly perceived as a comprehensive solution for managing mobile devices, but in reality there are additional steps to consider when managing iOS devices. With this presentation, an engineer from JAMF Software will discuss the options and technologies available to manage Apple iOS devices in the classroom, including a definition of terms, an up to date summary of Apple’s management framework, and the place of mobile device management tools such as the Casper Suite from JAMF Software. Next, that knowledge, framework and toolset will be applied to create a practical workflow used to support thousands of iPads in a real world educational environment.

To register for this session follow this link to NJECC’s website.

October 25^th, 26^th, 27^th, 2011 (Atlantic City, NJ)-Promedia will be attending the HCANJ 63rd Annual State Health Care Convention & EXPO from October 25th-27th at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. The Health Care Association of New Jersey is an association of major long term caregivers in the state. Promedia will be on hand to illustrate how our technology solutions can be beneficial to healthcare providers. Please be sure to stop by the Promedia booth to find out more about our technology solutions and how they can be implemented in the healthcare field.

October 24th, 25th, 26th, 2011 (Atlantic City, NJ)- Promedia will be one of the featured presenters at the NJSBA Conference, which is set to be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The conference features 185 learning opportunities, which will include methods to help schools use their limited finances more efficiently, ways to improve and expand curriculum, and strategies on becoming a more effective school board member or administrator. Learn more about Workshop 2011 here.

Promedia will be featured from 10:30AM-12 PM on Tuesday, October 25, in a presentation called Managing iPads, iPod Touches, and other iOS Devices Throughout a School District. Additionally, Promedia will be presenting a session titled Increasing Flexibility & Efficiency While Lowering Costs with Virtual Desktops from 1:30 PM-3 PM on the same day . To find out more details please access the presentation pages through the links, and be sure to visit Promedia at our booth in the Convention Center from October 24th-26th.