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EDITOR’S QUESTION
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PETE HANNAH,
HEAD OF CHANNEL
UK AND IRELAND,
ZYXEL
A
cademies and secondary schools are no longer just places
of teaching and learning. The classroom and campus
environment is immersive and interactive, with students
and teachers expecting to readily and reliably connect to the school
network during and after the school day.
The focus on technology to supplement traditional teaching methods
has risen dramatically over the past 10 years. Indeed, recent research
by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) found that
the demand for EdTech solutions in secondary schools is higher
than that in primary schools, with significantly more demand for
classroom content (39%), training (35%) and assessment (28%).
Students are also expecting the school environment to support t heir
personal use of technology which is so intrinsic to their lives. Schools
are experiencing a surge of personal devices connecting to the
network as students arrive on campus and again at the end of the
day when they check their social media accounts. 2.
However, secondary schools are still finding themselves struggling to
deliver the consistent and secure service that students and teachers
require, due to IT networks not fit for purpose. 3.
Future-proofing the network
The strain on bandwidth will ultimately impact a teacher’s ability,
which should be the first priority for the network, so it is vital schools
ensure that network users experience a high-level of service and pose
low-levels of risk.
So, what’s the answer? Flexible, future-proofed and easy to manage
networks. Schools require a fast, secure and stable Wi-Fi service
to ensure high teaching standards, but this can be a challenge to
manage around other IT pressures.
The following elements should be the foundation of every school’s IT
network strategy:
1. Clear visibility and understanding of pressure points.
Knowing what access points and areas of the campus are under
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4.
5.
strain and at what time of day will help the IT team to make
provision for peaks and troughs in usage
Centralised and remote management capabilities. This
will make it easy to react to network traffic jams, by managing
bottle necks and boosting access to optimise the digital learning
experience and make performance enhancements where it’s
needed most
Secure and resilient access. Security controls are essential to
help mitigate threats to the network and ensure the best user
experience. Automated controls make it easy to filter content and
restrict access as necessary. Segmenting the network will also
ensure it remains secure, no matter who is accessing it
Classroom mode. Although a school environment needs to cope
with numerous users, the demands will be different from that of
a similar sized enterprise. Any networking solution needs to cope
with peaks and troughs in usage and the specific demands of
school life, from teachers and students, through to the needs of
visitors accessing the network
Energy efficiency. Powering the network can be costly. The
ability to power off (or down) elements of the network when
necessary will help save electricity and reduce unnecessary
running costs
By focusing on these areas, academies and secondary schools can
ensure that technology continues to successfully underpin life and
learning, rather than undermine schools’ efforts to enhance the
learning environment. n
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