The 5 reasons schools don’t have better internet connectivity

CoSN’s Annual Infrastructure Survey outlines state of school connectivity in U.S. districts

school-connectivitySchool leaders said affordability remains the top barrier to robust internet connectivity in their schools, according to the Consortium for School Networking’s (CoSN) 3rd Annual Infrastructure Survey released November 3.

Improving network speed and capacity and increasing competition for broadband services remain significant challenges to districts as well, the survey reveals.

The results also detail the impact of changes to the E-rate program, as well as the growing issue of digital equity for technology access outside of the classroom.…Read More

How 2 states are making school broadband a priority

As digital tools play an increasingly larger role in learning, states are targeting school broadband access for all students

school-broadbandAs high-speed broadband internet becomes critical for student success in and beyond the classroom, a number of state education leaders are forging partnerships to strengthen school broadband throughout their districts.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock have both announced partnerships with the nonprofit EducationSuperHighway in order to bring high-speed internet to every classroom in their state.

Working with state leaders is a key factor in pushing these school broadband partnerships to success, said EducationSuperHighway founder and CEO Evan Marwell.…Read More

When one-to-one goes wrong

Not all implementations are smooth sailing. Here’s what to keep an eye on

one-to-oneWhen Murphy’s Law rears its head during a one-to-one implementation, things can start to unravel pretty quickly. Even the best-prepared districts can struggle with issues like bringing the network up to speed, professional development for teachers, proper device selection, and/or ongoing IT support for the implementation.

Robert Craven has seen it all when it comes to one-to-one challenges and horror stories. Currently senior director of technology at Tustin Unified School District in Tustin, Calif., he’s overseen one-to-one implementations at five different school districts. Each deployment was different, said Craven, and so were the problems that came along with those implementations.

“There’s always going to be something that doesn’t work out 100 percent or as planned,” said Craven, whose current district has had a one-to-one in place for three years (he came onboard two years ago). “In these cases, it’s about how you readjust and compensate for the problems.”…Read More

Kentucky deploys 480 Mbps broadband across state

All state districts will have access to high-speed broadband connections

broadband-fiberAll 173 districts in Kentucky will have access to high-speed, fiber-based connectivity of more than 480 Megabits per second thanks to a partnership between the state department of education and AT&T.

This new connectivity exceeds a national network infrastructure benchmark of 100 Mbps, which was set by the State Educational Technology Directors Association.

Counties across the state have worked to increase their broadband capacity as online assessments, video resources, and mobile devices have become more prevalent in schools.…Read More

Digital equity bill targets ‘homework gap’

Proposed legislation would ensure students have access to digital learning resources, internet outside of school

digital-internetNew legislation introduced in Congress would support “innovative strategies and methods to increase out-of-school access to digital learning resources” in an effort to boost both student and educator engagement.

The Digital Learning Equity Act of 2015, introduced by Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and co-sponsored by Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), would call for a national study on what is known as the “Homework Gap” and would support pilot programs to extend digital learning opportunities for students when they are not in the classroom.

The proposed legislation received support across the ed-tech industry after it was announced.…Read More

Mobile use rises, but school wi-fi stagnates

Pearson/Harris Poll reveals new findings on mobile device ownership and how wi-fi access impacts learning in school

wi-fi-schoolsJust 68 percent of grades 4-12 students in a recent survey said they have wi-fi access at school, though 96 percent of those same students have wi-fi access at home.

The survey, released by Pearson and conducted on its behalf by Harris Poll, finds that while student ownership of mobile devices continues to increase, wi-fi connectivity at school lags behind home access.

With increased ownership comes increased use. Use of both tablets and smartphones (at home, school or elsewhere) has risen across all grade levels.…Read More

Providing free wireless hotspots helps this district close the equity gap

A new program is helping students connect to devices and internet after the last bell

wifi-equityThe achievement gap. The literacy gap. The nutrition Gap. The preschool gap. It seems like our education system talks and talks about the inequities that exist between students and schools that are well-funded, well-supported, and well-granted, and those that struggle to keep the lights on, pay their staff, and run the HVAC.

There’s another gap, a growing one, perhaps with less media buzz, that has made its way to the doors of our schools. It’s one we can no longer ignore. This is the chasm between the homes with and those without access to quality broadband.

It’s a complex and layered issue. In rural schools, the availability of internet access beyond school and home can be difficult to obtain, while students in urban areas often can poach access from libraries, open networks in the community, or nearby fast food restaurants. In both rural and urban settings, many students are obtaining their wi-fi signals using smartphones as hotspots at a rate that isn’t sustainable for their cellular plans. Others have a home network that is plagued with speed and consistency issues. In all of these situations, learning, especially at the pace and rate necessary for today’s student to succeed, is inhibited.…Read More

How connected are your state’s classrooms? Check out this map

K-12 Connected Heat Map outlines classroom internet connectivity

internet-connectivityAs efforts to increase bandwidth and internet connectivity in K-12 schools grow, a new report from CDW-G, based on a survey of 400 K-12 IT professionals, reveals just how connected — or not — the nation’s classrooms are today.

The CDW-G K-12 Connected Heat Map outlines wired and wireless connectivity in a state-by-state display. The map is an ongoing project and CDW-G is asking schools to fill in their details to help make it more complete. Currently, there is not enough data to shade several states in the midwest and west.

Data from the Federal Communications Commission reveals that the federal E-Rate program has connected nearly all U.S. K-12 schools to the internet, though not all classrooms are connected.…Read More

Columbia Public Schools standardizes on Ruckus for Gigabit Wi-Fi

Schools are moving to Gigabit Wi-Fi in order to meet bandwidth demands

ruckus-wi-fiRuckus Wireless, Inc. has been selected by Columbia Public Schools to supply next generation Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi products and technology.

This is one of the nation’s first production deployment of Gigabit class Wi-Fi using the industry’s newest 802.11ac Wave 2 specification access point (AP). Other schools making the move to Ruckus Wave 2 Gigabit WiFi include Shelby County Schools (TN), Pitt County Schools (NC), and Vancouver Public Schools (WA).

Covering 300 square miles between St. Louis and Kansas City, Columbia Public Schools (CPS) is deploying more than 1,400 Ruckus ZoneFlex™R710 802.11ac Wave 2 APs. These access points are managed through a cluster of Ruckus SmartZone™ 100 controllers to serve over 18,000 students and staff, and nearly 20,000 Wi-Fi-enabled devices across more than 30 K-12 schools.…Read More

New service lets you pay for only the bandwidth you need

New service can scale bandwidth for peak and off-peak periods via an online portal

broadband-attA new network service from AT&T is giving customers the ability to scale their bandwidth up or down in near real time using an online portal, without having to make expensive network upgrades.

The service could be particularly useful for school districts, allowing them to add bandwidth during high-use periods such as online testing—while reducing network capacity when school is not in session.

“We’re making networks more dynamic and more responsive to customers’ needs,” said Rupesh Chokshi, director of the service, called Network on Demand.…Read More