For example, we don’t block sites like YouTube and Facebook, but instead allow our teachers to guide the students to the best educational materials. Amanda Zeller, a 7th Grade Language Arts teacher, recently told me that her students can now easily and reliably access the educational resources that she posts and conduct more thorough research. For her, the new network broadens the online materials that she and her students can utilize and it enables her to use technology to drive her teaching.
While Oyster River is transitioning to the new curriculum and deploying new educational tools, we are also preparing for the online assessments associated with the new educational standards. To successfully implement the assessments, we must be able to optimize network performance and ensure that our testing devices receive priority over other activities.
This is where Aruba’s comprehensive, centralized management tools come into play. With Aruba’s Airwave Network Management System, combined with ClearPass, we have management tools that provide a detailed breakdown on each type of device. Because we can see how devices are being used, we can optimize the network to give everyone the best connectivity. Whether it’s a tablet, an e-reader or a laptop, we know exactly what’s on our network and we can optimize settings for each device type, ensuring that our testing process goes smoothly.
With the changes we have made to our network infrastructure, we are confident that we will be able to give our students an exceptional educational experience, one they will need to meet the new educational standards and beyond.
Josh Olstad is IT Director for Oyster River Cooperative School District.