Microsoft announced today that Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 is now available. This is a new Windows product designed to increase access to affordable technology in education – done by allowing multiple users to share one computer using multiple screens. Each person individually controls his or her own station with an independent experience.

Shared resource computing can multiply the number of student workstations available to schools, delivering more value while staying within the same budget,” says Microsoft. “Teachers can better align computing resources with instructional strategies while deploying fewer fully configured computers and reducing workstation support liabilities.”

You can see initial reactions to the product (while admittedly being filmed and published by Microsoft). I’d embed the video here for your convenience, but that would require you to use the free Silverlight plugin (which, at this very moment, is consistently crashing on me).

The top ten features of this offering?

1. User stations use the host computers processing capabilities, but provide a stand-alone computer experience.
2. Students can set their own favorites in Windows Internet Explorer, customize their desktops, customize the Start menu, save and access their individual settings, and work on any station.
3. Set up generic or class-specific accounts instead of setting up individual student accounts.
4. Easily share files, videos, and more with and between groups of students.
5. Students can save files in their own private folders where only the student and teacher can access them.
6. Plug in a headset or microphone at each station and enable students to enjoy a multimedia experience without disrupting other peoples work (or watch YouTube videos if they haven’t already been blocked).
7. Install an application once and see it appear automatically on all user stations.
8. With the Disconnect feature, students can save their working sessions without logging off, but free up the user station for others.
9. See how many stations are being used, which student is using which system, and whether hardware is connected properly.
10. Here’s the Product Data Sheet [PDF]

So, are you still a student in school – or an administrator working inside a tech-savvy school district? What do YOU think?

Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 Launches

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Team MultiPoint Web, three brothers from Oregon (Jimmy, Mark and Luke Dickinson), recently won the US Imagine Cup Finals and are now preparing to go to Cairo to compete in the WW Finals for Software Design.

The team also entered the MultiPoint Education Award sponsored by Unlimited Potential. Their solution is a web portal that allows for teachers and students around the world access a searchable database of MultiPoint applications in multiple languages.

Every child around the world should be entitled to a primary education, but many are not receiving a full primary education or even a partial primary education. They have many gaps where people still fail to obtain a full primary education. This is due to a lack of funding, training, materials, and manpower to provide a primary education.

In addition to being able to upload and share new MultiPoint applications, the portal also allows teachers the ability to customize game learning content, and generate reports assessing their students. The solution utilizes the Microsoft MultiPoint SDK, Silverlight, and PopFly technologies.

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Multipoint Gaming