The Managed Software Center is a new way for students to download and use educational software in a more efficient manner. The software center visually looks similar to the App Store, a factory-installed app on all Mac computers, and replicates it in a similar, user-friendly way. Students and faculty can now download licensed software to their computers with a single click.

Previously, all ASL-owned laptops included many programs of software that some students would never utilize. The software center fixes this issue since students download only the applications they need.

“Users are now allowed to download specific pieces of software to their computers, instead of having multiple unused applications on their system” High School Technology Coordinator Mariam Mathew explained.

The software center also makes the application download process easier for students. “[Prior to the software center] there were many steps to this process,” Tatiana Kalb (’17) said. “For one app I had to download, I had to first go to a link, sign up with a username and password, and then the application would be downloaded onto my computer.”

The software center is free and can be downloaded through the HS Tech Resources page on Haiku.

In addition to downloading applications, students can download the ASL Virtual Private Network (VPN), which means students can access the ASL servers at other places in London or the world. All a student needs to do is go onto the tech links on the software center and click on the ASL VPN button to activate it. VPN can allow students to access more of the work they do at school, at home and at other places in the world, Systems Administrator Dominic Carpenter explained. 

“The goals of [the software center] were to trial and improve the workflow of teaching and learning, just with a single click,” Carpenter said.