RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – July 1, 2008: Lenovo today announced that Whitfield School, an independent school for grades 6-12 in St. Louis, MO, has successfully completed its first school year operating a 1:1 computing program (one computer for every student, grades 6-12) utilizing more than 600 Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks to power the school’s innovative use of Linux.
Whitfield’s students and faculty utilize Linux on their Lenovo ThinkPads to access applications that enhance the student’s learning experience. For example, 11th grade English classes use the notebooks to design book covers that visually depict a “truth” in the literature they are reading. Spanish and French classes at Whitfield use audio tools to record and listen to conversations in different languages.
“Lenovo understands the needs of educators to have cost-effective, reliable and manageable technology solutions, and has designed and tested its ThinkPad notebooks to meet these requirements while providing students innovative tools for a superior learning experience,” says Alex Inman, director of technology, Whitfield School. “Lenovo support for Linux is the best we’ve seen, and has helped us achieve our 1:1 computing goals within the first three years of the Whitfield PC program.”
Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks are being used to support student work conducted in both Windows and Linux environments. A study conducted by the school since the inception of its PC computing program in 2005 indicates by the end of the first school year, students using ThinkPads spent 50 percent of their time on the PC in the Linux environment. This increased to 75 percent in the 2006-2007 school year, and 86 percent the 2007-2008 school year ending in June 2008.
Whitfield deploys ThinkPad R61, R50e, R51 and Z60t notebooks running Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10.
About Whitfield School
Founded in 1952, Whitfield School is an independent, coeducational college preparatory day school for grades 6–12. Located on a 25–acre campus in west St. Louis County, Whitfield’s demanding academic program coupled with the support of a dedicated, world class faculty prepares graduates for both the college experience and life beyond. With an average class size of 12 and a school size of 470, Whitfield is able to develop and maintain a community of families who value mutual respect and personal responsibility. Students are encouraged to take part in activities including visual and performing arts, 22 athletic teams, 20 clubs and organizations and community service. Visit: http://whitfield.ccsct.com/
About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building the world’s most innovative personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.
