The Windows MultiPoint Server (WMS) launched by Microsoft in India recently, is a solution that multiplies the power of one PC several fold – whithout a matching increase in cost. It allows multiple users to simultaneously share one computer, thereby increasing access to affordable computing in educational scenarios like classrooms, labs and libraries. Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 is an operating system that allows multiple stations to draw their processing power from one traditional desktop PC, providin
g each student an independent monitor, keyboard and mouse.
The solution allows upto 10 stations to be connected to one traditional PC via a simple USB device ‘Linksmart’. With this solution, schools in India can now look to increasing the power of its available computers at half the cost it would take to buy and run a conventional set-up. To bring this alive, Microsoft is working with education-specific ISVs including NIIT and Educomp to ship solutions for WMS.
The solution allows teachers to assign and distribute work assignments based on each student’s level and need, or establish a consistent experience, depending on the needs of the class (check out the video). Students can work on individual projects and at their own pace, while finding, using and sharing information effectively, enhancing their productivity and learning experience. All this can be done within the classroom, since Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 was designed for non-technical professionals to set-up and manage.
Additional benefits include the light management load for educational establishments since the stations don’t have individual processors or storage. The same reason also makes this type of setup environmentally friendly since it requires less energy.
Some of the core benefits that WMS offers:
Let us hope WMS is able to solve the problem of education in our country by creating an environment that makes learning more motivating, relevant, collaborative, and engaging for today’s students!
Good quick review. some screenshots of the OS and key configuration applets would’ve been nice.
Unfortunately the way I see it, WMS target _is_ the student community and the student community should be the last people on earth to be blindly led into proprietory software. I’d say college students should take up projects to implement LTSP or similar solutions for their town/village schools. hardware nowadays is often cheaper than software, if you take Microsoft licensed software as such.
Thanks for the review! Please do reach out to us if you have any questions about MultiPoint Server.
Coming soon to the MultiPoint family is Mouse Mischief! It’s slated for a 4/20 launch date and we’re very excited.
“Mouse Mischief is a tool that Microsoft makes available free of charge, and that allows teachers to work with Microsoft Office PowerPoint to make interactive presentations. With Mouse Mischief, teachers can add multiple choice questions to their presentations, and large groups of students can answer the questions using mice connected to the teachers PC.
Mouse Mischief not only gives students the ability to engage, have fun, and learn in new, interactive ways, but it also provides teachers with a more affordable alternative to purchasing expensive student response systems, commonly known as clickers, by letting students use affordable wired or wireless USB mice that their school already own.”
http://microsoft.com/mousemischief
Take Care,
-Eric
Online Community Manager
Mouse Mischief
MultiPoint Server
Thanks for the review! Please do reach out to us if you have any questions about MultiPoint Server.
Coming soon to the MultiPoint family is Mouse Mischief! It’s slated for a 4/20 launch date and we’re very excited.
“Mouse Mischief is a tool that Microsoft makes available free of charge, and that allows teachers to work with Microsoft Office PowerPoint to make interactive presentations. With Mouse Mischief, teachers can add multiple choice questions to their presentations, and large groups of students can answer the questions using mice connected to the teachers PC.
Mouse Mischief not only gives students the ability to engage, have fun, and learn in new, interactive ways, but it also provides teachers with a more affordable alternative to purchasing expensive student response systems, commonly known as clickers, by letting students use affordable wired or wireless USB mice that their school already own.”
http://microsoft.com/mousemischief
Take Care,
-Eric
Online Community Manager
Mouse Mischief
MultiPoint Server
@Diabolic Preacher
Hi thanks for your comment. A lil observation that I would like to make here is that the target Audience as pointed out by us in the story is educational institutions not individuial students. So while the spiral down effect of hardware sharing and the consequent decrese in price of computinv certAinly impacts students, the server progrMme is more of a cyber infrastructure component for a school. The properitory softwAre argument thus is a lilttle weak on this count as the students might very well use an open office software on integrated resources.
While you Are right that the softwAre theSe days is often more expensive than hardware but then this is a solution that offers considerable savings for the users on count of both hardware and sofwtare given shared resources.
Ps: not a great fan of MS pricing either.
@Dibolic – I guess Nitin has answered your question and to add to it the target audience here is schools and not individual students.
Schools can easily afford WMS as in the long run it saves huge costs and is much more beneficial then any other alternatives.
for your benefit here are the core benefits to schools (highlighted in the post as well)
# Benefits for educational establishment:
* The hardware cost is reduced by 50%. – a school can effectively equip twice as many classrooms with the same budget
* Light management load for educational establishments since the stations don’t have individual processors or storage.
* The same reason also makes this type of setup environmentally friendly since it requires less energy
@Dibolic – I guess Nitin has answered your question and to add to it the target audience here is schools and not individual students.
Schools can easily afford WMS as in the long run it saves huge costs and is much more beneficial then any other alternatives.
for your benefit here are the core benefits to schools (highlighted in the post as well)
# Benefits for educational establishment:
* The hardware cost is reduced by 50%. – a school can effectively equip twice as many classrooms with the same budget
* Light management load for educational establishments since the stations don’t have individual processors or storage.
* The same reason also makes this type of setup environmentally friendly since it requires less energy
@Eric – Thanks a lot for the information. Mouse Mischief looks really interesting, eagerly waiting for it 🙂
Will surely get in touch with you in case of any requirement.
@Eric – Thanks a lot for the information. Mouse Mischief looks really interesting, eagerly waiting for it 🙂
Will surely get in touch with you in case of any requirement.
dear,
First of all, thank you for promoting my blog. I admit that I dont have the acumen to comment on your blog posts. Though I am quite educated, as per the educational system prevalent in our country, but I am not in a position to understand most of the intricate things your blogs essentially provide. Forgive my incapacity. Having said all these, I promise to make an effort to understand things that you have to say. But I will take time to imbibe the technicalities. Please do carry on the good work. Meanwhile, I will tell people about your efforts. In fact I do have forwarded your blog links to some of my friends. Wish you all the best in life.
regards,
wanderer
dear,
First of all, thank you for promoting my blog. I admit that I dont have the acumen to comment on your blog posts. Though I am quite educated, as per the educational system prevalent in our country, but I am not in a position to understand most of the intricate things your blogs essentially provide. Forgive my incapacity. Having said all these, I promise to make an effort to understand things that you have to say. But I will take time to imbibe the technicalities. Please do carry on the good work. Meanwhile, I will tell people about your efforts. In fact I do have forwarded your blog links to some of my friends. Wish you all the best in life.
regards,
wanderer
@eric mouse mischief is neat. never expected MS to come out with a name like that. I bet they bought off someone’s hobby project.
@vishal and @nitin: WMS is meant for schools and not individual students is exactly my point. main points you are missing out on is that LTSP is still way more affordable than the 50% less pricy WMS. On top of that, I also envision that college grads/comp. sci students could easily learn n take up implementing these thin client setups for schools. so you got school IT infrastructure taken care of and you got student project taken care of.
lastly, as an institution its definitely a far better decision to pick up good practices and use tools that you don’t get exclusively dependent on and teach that to the students so they in turn can continue the practice at home. we’re talkin school kids here. right?
i was just sounding my opinion. 🙂 and i’d wish both ltsp and wms to co-exist and hopefully evolve taking good points from each other.
@Wanderer – Thanks a lot
@Diabolic – I agree with your last part…at the end its how everyone improves on their offerings to make them more relevant and affordable for the target audience and yes, I hope so too that both LTSP and WMS can co-exist for India’s betterment!
@Wanderer – Thanks a lot
@Diabolic – I agree with your last part…at the end its how everyone improves on their offerings to make them more relevant and affordable for the target audience and yes, I hope so too that both LTSP and WMS can co-exist for India’s betterment!
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