Solutions for Education

Trends Driving Education Network Investments

At today’s colleges and universities, the academic network has become an integral component of the learning environment, supporting everything from basic communications to innovative coursework and teaching tools. As student and faculty increasingly rely on network applications, institutions must find ways to extend network access to every corner of the campus. In addition, with the explosion of mobile computing and wireless Internet access over the past several years, many prospective college students are now accustomed to having near-constant access to e-mail and the Internet. To attract prospective students—as well as compete for top faculty—colleges and universities must demonstrate that they are state-of-the-art learning environments, and can provide the ubiquitous network access users expect.

Many colleges and universities face major challenges extending network access throughout a campus environment that can encompass hundreds of buildings. For many institutions, dormitories and classrooms are housed in older facilities that were not designed with modern technologies in mind. Asbestos or other environmental considerations can make it extremely difficult to rewire such buildings, and even if hardwiring is possible, the costs can be prohibitive.

A reliance on conventional wired networks poses other challenges as well. Wired infrastructures are difficult to scale as bandwidth and usage demands grow. The traditional model of providing students with network access through fixed physical computing labs is also extremely inefficient. Computing labs require continuous investment in new equipment, as well as high ongoing maintenance and management costs. Such facilities also were designed for a time when most students did not have their own PCs—much less for today’s students, who arrive on campus not only with laptops, but frequently with laptops that are already wireless-enabled.

The Benefits of Cisco Unified Wireless Network Mobility Services for Educational Institutions

Educational environments have long been pioneers in new ways of learning and making information available. From e-mail to browsers to wireless access, universities and their graduates around the world have driven new ways of learning. Once again, education is leading the way with more pervasive wireless networks than any other industry. The young demographic and their expectation of immediacy coupled with a natural collaborative environment have fostered the demand for wireless access. Pervasive wireless networks are now being taken to the next level in education, with new applications including:

• Differentiated guest services—Multileveled wireless access for the community, visiting researchers, conference attendees, students and faculty.
• Lower-cost communication—Voice over wireless LAN using Skype or other software clients helps students reduce the cost of staying connected to relatives and friends back home.
• Making new connections—Finding people with similar interests combines Wi-Fi location services and social networking sites to help students make connections, especially on large campuses.
• Ensuring student and faculty safety—Wireless video surveillance keeps students and faculty safe as they travel in and around campus and the community.
• Protecting campus assets—RFID tags on valuable computing devices and other important research tools helps ensure that their location is known and deters theft.

A pervasive wireless LAN provides many benefits to the entire educational community. Unfettered mobility further increases the collaborative and creative environment already in play on campus.

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