Pleasant Grove Independent School District

When Pleasant Grove Independent School District needed a reliable and accurate method to track down missing devices, it chose HiddenApp.

How HiddenApp helped Pleasant Grove Independent School District safeguard its technology.

Pleasant Grove Independent School District is dedicated to offering each one of its 2300 students an education that extends beyond the walls of the classroom. With robust ambitions and stretch targets for all students, the District seeks to foster learning, communication & collaboration and, with a curriculum that supports cross-discipline exploration and critical thinking,  to develop its students into high levels of learning and independence. 

Technology as Enabler

The District recognizes the important part that technology plays in empowering teaching and learning. Responsible for this area is Jim McClurg, Director of Technology, an IT professional with more than thirty years of experience. “Nearly a third of our students are economically disadvantaged, and I feel privileged to be helping these and all of our students grow into successful, self-sufficient individuals,” says Jim, “Technology is a major enabler of every student’s education.”

Staying in Control

The District covers four schools and provides a wide range of devices and platforms for students and staff alike, within a comprehensive digital learning environment. “We provide a 1:1 environment on all campuses, and that means we’ve a wide range of devices for students to use, both in-classroom and out,” says Jim. 

The technology available includes teacher laptops, student Chromebooks and Chromebook Carts, laptops, iPads, and a MacLab. With so many students across four campuses, keeping tabs on each device wasn’t an easy task. “Misplaced and missing devices have always been a problem for us,” says Jim, “and missing devices equal lost dollars.” But it’s not just about that. When you don’t have the information you need, it’s also difficult to manage spares, re-assign devices and to budget for new devices going forward.”

Super-Accurate Tracking

Jim was drawn to HiddenApp because of the accuracy of device tracking and ability to pinpoint a device’s location to within meters. “HiddenApp’s big win for us was the very accurate location tracking,” Jim says. “When there are four busy schools to look after, there’s such a big difference in results between “kind-of” accurate and “very” accurate. We needed that extra accuracy to hunt down missing devices, wherever they were.”

Easy to use

Jim needed fast, easy enrollment and a control mechanism that wasn’t complex. “With so many other duties, I needed something user-friendly that I could get up and running quickly. HiddenApp’s enrolment capabilities made it straightforward to enrol the devices, and the centralized dashboard made it simple to drill down to individual devices to check their location.”

Why Pleasant Grove Independent School District chose HiddenApp: