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Posted: Thu, April 17, 2008
North Wales' Pinacl Solutions revolutionises 'virtual learning' within schoolsPinacl Solutions, based at North Wales' Technium OpTIC at St. Asaph, has won the coveted Information and Communication Technology (ICT) accolade at this year's British Council for School Environments (BCSE) awards ceremony, for revolutionising the concept of 'virtual learning' at the Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough - currently the largest academy in the UK. The prestigious annual awards, held this year at Old Trafford in Manchester, celebrate excellence across the school design and building sector. Shortlisted in the category 'Best Use of ICT to Create a Learning Community', Pinacl Solutions triumphed against tough competition, including the highly respected educational specialists, Research Machines. Working in partnership with leading suppliers such as Cisco, Novus and Easy Trace, Pinacl Solutions' fully integrated infrastructure has played a vital role in helping the Thomas Deacon Academy achieve the goal of 'anytime, anywhere' learning. The innovative 'Thin Client' technology used by Pinacl Solutions provides students and teachers with remote access to the campus network and applications, allowing homework and extra-curricular projects to be accessed outside the academy environment. Pinacl Solutions has also introduced a number of interactive Audio Visual solutions to the academy and a Smart Card application, which facilitates 'cashless' catering, library book management and electronic registration. "I am very proud that Pinacl has won this award," said Rob Bardwell, managing director of Pinacl Solutions. "This project is reflective of our ability to deliver an innovative, practical, fully functional ICT environment for a rapidly growing institution. Up to 2,200 students are now able to log onto the academy desktop from home or anywhere with a broadband connection and they will have secure access to the full range of applications that they would have in the academy - taking the concept of virtual learning to a new level." Pinacl Solutions work at the Thomas Deacon Academy has been acknowledged and duly recognised in the industry for its 'green' efforts. Due to the lower emissions and power required by the Thin Client infrastructure, the academy can significantly reduce its carbon footprint and improve its sustainability. IT consultants, Cybercom, who worked alongside Pinacl Solutions on the project, said: "Pinacl's consultative approach and comprehensive solutions knowledge was key to the successful delivery of Thomas Deacon Academy's ICT solution. Pinacl demonstrated that they fully understood the needs of the new academy and their proposal represented the best value combined with the best level of construction project experience." |
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