14 Aug American International School of Bucharest empowering students by transforming the learning environment through new technologies implemented by Crescendo and Cisco
The American International School of Bucharest (AISB) believes technology has the promise, potential, and power to transform how we teach and learn in preparing students for future readiness. AISB was founded in 1962 by the US Embassy to meet the needs of a growing educational community consisting of both American citizens living in Romania and other expatriates.
Learning can no longer be confined within the four walls of a classroom. We believe technology is a very important catalyst in reshaping and promoting positive educative experiences for our students. Furthermore, technology provides both students and teachers a way to bridge the gap between the current with a desired future by creating the stage for transformation and rethinking about learning through innovation, invention and entrepreneurship. My personal vision for technology at AISB is premised and encapsulated through 3 “E” words – Educate, Engage and Empower. While we are focused as a school on improvement and transformation my aspiration is to use technology in building a learning organization where our learners are engaged in the process of learning how to learn. We are committed to create a learning environment framed through s student-centred approach based on learner voice
and choice to personalize, differentiate and individualize learning. We hope to achieve this lofty goal through the smart application of technology grounded through our Cisco network infrastructure”, explained Johnson Jacob,
IT Director at American International School of Bucharest
Through this vision, the school board and the leadership team recently approved the upgrade of both wireless and wired network infrastructure, in order to heighten capacity by responding to increasing network traffic demands, while improving scalability, redundancy, integration, management, security and data back-up.
The upgrade of the network infrastructure began last year with an invitation to several local technology companies to other solutions for AISB’s current and future needs. The design presented by Crescendo, a long-time partner of AISB was selected because it proposed a highly reputable state-of-the art solution based on current and future Cisco technologies. In addition, Crescendo demonstrated their professionalism and expertise as a consulting company through their insightful and forward-thinking recommendations with the promise of delivering a quick and reliable solution.
“Because we understood the needs and at the same time we shared the vision of AISB for technology, we were able to propose a thoughtful and integrated solution based on technologies of the future in meeting the requirements of this progressive educational institution. For Crescendo, this project is an outstanding example for how collaboration with an educational partner can further student learning in helping to realize the vision of the institution through the use of modern technologies”, says Dan Agache, Crescendo Executive Director.
“We have had a positive and enduring relationship with Crescendo for a long time. We have always appreciated their availability to support us through their professionalism and expertise. The original network solution was implemented in 2004 by Crescendo and our return to them 10 years later for the new solution is a true testament of the mutual trust and respect between the two organizations”, says Johnson Jacob, IT Director at American International School of Bucharest
The final solution implemented by Crescendo involved upgrading the school’s network infrastructure and included:
The solution offers:
- Network access control for students, teachers and school guests (BYOD solution, based on Cisco ISE – Identity Service Engine)
- Simplified roaming and device mobility through Cisco Campus Solution
- Integrated unified management application through Cisco Prime solution
- Easy network administration with the help of Cisco Catalyst Instant Access
- Multiple ports
AISB is well equipped in terms of technology. Every classroom is fitted with a variety of technologies such as interactive smart boards, wireless projectors and speakers. We also have a wide variety of other devices such as desktops, large screen HD touch displays, document cameras, tablets and iPads. We also provide convenient access to technology for teaching and learning through our 1-to-1 teacher tablet program, 1-to-1 student laptop program and our BYOD program, which is open to students, teachers and parents.”, said Johnson Jacob. As a result of increased demands for connectivity and access it was imperative for AISB to upgrade and modernize their network infrastructure.
“Our aim was to ensure that our students and teachers have the best environment to support learning and this required a very determined effort to improve our network capacity and our ability to provide an integrated wireless and wired solution for a seamless experience. We currently have over 1,000 devices requiring network connectivity and the demands continue to grow. We could not have realized this without the Cisco network infrastructure we most recently implemented with Crescendo. We are proud to have achieved this and we can now offer instant and seamless access for all our users with no disruption for maximum effciency and productivity”, said Johnson Jacob.
The solution was implemented
successfully during the summer
of 2015 over a period of one
and a half months.
“Crescendo and Cisco demonstrated their technical expertise through an amazingly flawless world-class and professional deployment – one of the best and most successful deployments I have experienced in my entire career over 30 years” said Johnson Jacob
American International School of Bucharest is one of the most respected and reputable private educational institutions in Romania. Currently the school has around 820 students enrolled from over 56 nationalities, with approximately 200 faculty and staff from a number of countries.
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