In the spring of 2011, Chippewa Valley Schools (CVS) set out to upgrade its existing analog video system to a digital media distribution system that could be managed from the district head-end. The district, eighth largest district in Michigan, is recognized as a leader in the educational community, and has long been committed to maintaining top-notch facilities, outstanding educational programs and state-of-the-art technology.
With the assistance of Metro Technology Services, the district’s technology project management team, CVS examined solutions by several industry leaders and chose the SAFARI Montage® digital media delivery and management system. A contract was awarded to Sentinel Technologies to install the system in all 22 of the district’s schools. The system was implemented in the fall of 2011, and it didn’t take long for Craig McBain, Director of Technology at CVS, to start getting positive feedback from his staff.
“I knew we had made the right choice with SAFARI Montage when I started getting unsolicited emails from teachers,” said McBain. “The most memorable one simply said that SAFARI Montage was the best thing since sliced bread!”
CVS teachers praised SAFARI Montage’s content, including the math programs and the award-winning Bill Nye the Science Guy titles. They also noted the superior video resolution compared to other video streaming services, a feature they found to be especially important when using the SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards which were recently installed in classrooms throughout the district. CVS staff also loved the ability to build playlists, as SAFARI Montage allows users to string together multimedia files to create a digital lesson plan, which can then be shared with others.
