Dive Brief:
- School districts have had to beef up their cooling systems as they centralize applications and consolidate servers or face outages caused by overheating that can severely disrupt teaching and learning.
- EdTech: Focus on K-12 reports the Goshen Community Schools in Indiana installed an air-conditioned rack system to keep IT equipment cool after experiencing automatic shutdowns from overheating, and it also purchased power distribution units and a centralized uninterruptible power supply.
- The uninterruptible power supply gives IT administrators a chance to safely shut down equipment or withstand short outages, and, combined with proper cooling technology, these measures can increase the lifespan of IT equipment.
Dive Insight:
The increasing reliance on digital technology in today’s classroom has created a world of new responsibilities for IT administrators. The actual maintenance of IT equipment is still critical, but it is no longer the overwhelming part of IT leaders’ jobs, as many districts turn to their expertise to guide new device initiatives and collaborate with curriculum and instruction departments.
With so many responsibilities, it is easy to overlook some things. But proper maintenance of equipment should never fall to the bottom of the list. Once districts make these big purchases, it is important to protect the investment, and sometimes that takes time and additional equipment.
