Further References

British Columbia builds wireless campus

The University of British Columbia, in Vancouver Canada is creating one of the largest wireless networks in North America to provide high speed connections to more than 40,000 students and staff across its one million square feet campus.

The university's wireless LAN is based on the Cisco Aironet 1100 and 1200 solutions, and when complete will provide 1200 wireless access points throughout the campus. The network will be powerful enough to support advanced research applications such as video-streaming, advanced engineering capabilities and online collaboration through virtual laboratories.

Slovak Academic Networks speeds up connections

The Slovak academic network is upgrading its network to allow universities, schools and research institutes to share information and content at speeds of up to 100 times faster than the present system allows. The speed and capacity of the new network, based on Cisco's Catalyst switching platform, will allow students and academics throughout the country to benefit from content-rich e-Learning applications using multimedia, video on demand and distance learning resources.

Tipperary Institute used AVVID to forge academic community

The Tipperary Institute in the Republic of Ireland is not only split between two locations some forty-five kilometres apart, but it is also responsible for many off site students. Using Cisco's AVVID solution, the Institute offers its students the chance to interact and learn together even though they may be in quite separate physical locations. Video conferencing through an IP network provides the key. Lectures can be delivered from one site to another, or from one to many, thanks to the high performance network. The network also handles data and voice communications, making it an ideal platform for the development of advanced educational applications in the future.

Using Wireless to Connect More and Cost Less

King Edward VII school in Melton Mowbray, UK has been an enthusiastic 'early adopter' of e-Learning. The school installed a leased line to provide broadband internet access. However, the service became a victim of its own success as more and more departments and students sought to make use of the Internet in their studies. The prohibitive practical and financial implications of extending a wired network through the school meant that an alternative had to be found. Cisco's Aironet 340 series wireless solution was used to create a wireless network that now provides almost ubiquitous broadband access throughout the school's area. The use of IT is now totally integrated into the daily life of the school.

Bridges across the River Mersey

A fast-growing college in the North-west of England, Halton College was fast outgrowing its premises on the north side of the River Mersey. The decision to create a second campus on a greenfield site south of the river meant that the college needed to find a way to operate seamless communications between two separate sites. The college wanted to expand on their existing network investment, yet were conscious of the costs involved. They decided to implement an integrated voice and data system, using Cisco IP Telephony. Staff now have access to email and voice mail regardless of which campus they happen to be at. Enhanced accessibility, though, is just the start. With more than 200 IP phones already installed, the college plans to take advantage of the scaleable nature of the Cisco IP solution and plans to introduce unified messaging (ie access to voicemail via email) videoconferencing so that lectures can be shared across the two campuses and to use the IP phone screens to provide administrative services such as timetables and student registration.