My generation learned much of what it knows from the blackboard. Many kids nowadays have never even seen a blackboard – and not even its successor, the whiteboard – in a classroom. For them it seems archaic. Teaching in the modern classroom is built around the projector and computers, with teachers using electronic media and software to enhance lessons. Educational systems across America are adopting technologies faster than ever. On the horizon is one of today’s most disruptive pairings: mobile devices and WLAN.

Get ConnectED

It seems fitting to quote Apple directly: “This changes everything.” Steve Jobs uttered those prophetic words about the iPhone, and the iPad changed everything – again. Wireless networks and mobile devices give students uninhibited access to information and applications, empowering them not just to learn, but to own their learning experience. Mobile devices have the amazing potential to expand the student experience and improve learning while also leveraging the electronic resources to lower the cost of education.

In a bold move this year, the federal government mandated that schools prepare their wireless networks to connect 99 percent of America’s students to next-generation broadband and high-speed wireless networks in schools and libraries. The idea: by 2018, schools across the United States will have fully equipped their students with the technological resources to become college- and career-ready. That is the intent of ConnectED, a federal initiative announced by President Obama on June 6, 2013.

In keeping with the spirit and the implicit directives within ConnectED, schools all over the country have initiated iPad programs. This summer the Miami-Dade school district approved a $63 million plan to release as many as 150,000 computers and tablets. Additionally, this summer, LA School District announced a plan to rollout 35,000 iPads by 2014.[1]^, [2]

Raising the grade on networks

ConnectED is, in part, a response to a startling reality:  existing wireless networks in schools are not designed to support the introduction of hundreds of iPads, let alone thousands. In fact, today, the average school has the same connectivity as the average American home, but serves 200 times as many users. Fewer than 20 percent of educators say their school’s internet connection meets their teaching needs; and Gartner reports that, by 2015, 80 percent of newly installed networks will be obsolete.[3]^, [4] Such poor networks will render iPads, which schools invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in, basically worthless.

Two consortiums are raising awareness for infrastructure that will support technological learning: the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSS). Besides developing computer/digital based testing programs & curriculum, these initiatives are working with state and local education agencies to meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind and ConnectED. As such, the PARCC has issued a recommendation for the internal school network bandwidth: 1000 Kbps/1 Mbps per student or faster – far above where most schools currently stand.[5]

Schools must implement wireless networks that support current student needs, but also will scale to support future needs that can only be imagined. But it’s not news to anyone that school budgets are tight, which means that IT resources are limited. Here are some considerations for IT administrators who want to deploy a wireless network that is ready for the first day of school:

Cost-effective planning

Limited budgets place a special emphasis on proper planning. Additionally, without careful consideration, IT administrators will not provide sufficient bandwidth and/or coverage to supports students. There are tools freely available today that will allow network administrators to model a network, taking into account the types and numbers of access points needed and the characteristics of the building – right down to the construction materials, to determine the optimal design. These tools even provide heat-maps, detailing where wireless networks are being challenged, and signaling where more access points might be needed. Such applications have eliminated the need for expensive “active surveys”; require no local installation, upgrade, or maintenance; and result in better planned networks that are less prone to being overloaded by increasing wireless demand. The ability to create “what-if” scenarios to model complex sets of variables is what makes these tools especially attractive.  They can simulate the effect of controlling individual radios, including enabling or disabling a radio, adjusting its power levels, or selecting bands of operation (either 2.4GHz or 5GHz).  That’s the kind of flexibility that network administrators need to become empowered.

• Device management for bandwidth rationing and delegation

IT administrators should design a network with the intention of supporting mobile devices used for educational purposes – not all foreign devices that attempt to connect to the network. Especially if standardized testing is conducted online, network administrators need to ensure that bandwidth is delegated to educational devices and applications. The ideal network solution provides a dashboard by which network administrators can monitor and control network activity, including the ability to identify wireless device locations and types and set application policies. Laptops, e-readers, tablets, and other mobile devices will only perform to the level that the network permits. In an educational environment, failing to prioritize applications and devices is detrimental to students’ learning experience.

The 1 Mbps per student recommendation issued by PARCC and CCSS will require that schools adopt an intelligent management system that blocks certain applications from consuming bandwidth. Without proper monitoring software, administrators leave their networks prone to traffic spikes that can jeopardize the integrity of their entire network. For example, many organizations lost their network when, in late June, Instagram traffic bombarded networks after the company announced that its iOS and Android applications would allow users to upload fifteen seconds of video; following the announcement, Instagram users uploaded 40 hours of video per minute, and in the first eight hours, a year’s worth of viewing material was uploaded. Proper bandwidth delegation based on applications and devices can prevent similar spikes brought on by social media, photo sharing, and video streaming.[6]

• Troubleshooting, alerting and future-proofing

The proliferation of mobile devices, especially those running on the 802.11ac WLAN standard, will continue to challenge networks for years to come. When networks falter, IT administrators need proactive alerting and ticket management to notify and resolve client issues, as well as troubleshooting tools, such as remote diagnostics and packet capture facilities. As time goes on, network administrators will want extensive management reports that help them identify wireless network performance over time and to make adjustments to the network to head off issues, before adjustments will be too late or too costly. Taking the future of wireless into consideration, educational network administrators should partner with wireless professionals who have a clear plan and solution for implementing the 802.11ac standard. The design of the school’s network must accommodate upgrades that can be made through routine additions of radios or arrays – not ripping out what’s already there and starting over. Modular solutions are available today that are ready for 802.11ac through the simple addition or swap out of radio/antenna modules, eliminating the need for completely new access points.

Conclusion

iPads are here, and they offer the power to enhance the educational experience, and to better prepare students to excel.  But iPads are only as effective as the school’s network – which for most educational institutions is not up to par. There are two common but opposing approaches to the challenges of wireless networking today. One is to work within the confines of the network and to make piecemeal changes over time to react to capacity or coverage issues. The other is to scatter access points across campus in a haphazard attempt to build a network with plenty of reserve capacity for future needs. While the former approach will risk learning objectives, the latter approach will likely result in unnecessary spending.  A more reasoned alternative involves free network design tools that allow IT administrators to accurately plan their networks for existing and future needs, and a wireless vendor who provides a cost-effective upgrade path for future scenarios. There are solutions available today that can give educational administrators the confidence to usher in the era of mobile device learning.

About the Author

Shane Buckley brings more than 19 years of executive management experience to the Xirrus team, expanding business and markets worldwide. Most recently, Mr. Buckley was the General Manager and Senior Vice President at NETGEAR where he led the growth of NETGEAR’s commercial business unit to 50 percent revenue growth over 2 years, reaching $330 million in 2011 – and played a prime role in growing corporate revenues over 30 percent. Prior to that Mr. Buckley was President & CEO of Rohati Systems, a leader in Cloud-based access management solutions, Chief Operating Officer of Nevis Networks, a leader in secure switching and access control. He has also held the position of Vice President WW Enterprise at Juniper Networks, President International at Peribit Networks, a leader in WAN Optimization and EMEA vice president at 3Com Corp. Mr. Buckley is a graduate of engineering from the Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland.