How to support Technology in the Classroom

One of the biggest mistakes schools make when deploying or allowing new devices onto their campus and into their classrooms, is by not making sure their network infrastructure is up-to-date and/or sufficient enough to properly support their end-users.

We've seen numerous situations where schools have bought and deployed new tablets or new laptops, only to find that nothing worked because their Wi-Fi network couldn't support the new devices.

With tight budgets you can't afford to buy new devices and have them not work; you need to get it right the first time.

Your wireless network or infrastructure is what makes using new mobile devices possible. Yes, wireless is a specialized skill and yes they're not cheap, but they're also more attainable than you might think.

After engineering and deploying more than 1000+ wireless systems over the last 11 years, we've learned a lot about what should work and what actually does work.

A few of the main takeaways are:

• Your Wi-Fi system needs to always align with the devices that are connecting to it
• Technical resources are expensive and hard to find
• User expectations are higher than ever
• Everything is constantly changing (devices, applications, how we use Wi-Fi, device numbers, number users, even the physical environment)

What makes this especially challenging for schools is that Wi-Fi networks today only have a useful shelf-life of between three to four years at the very best. 

Knowing that traditionally, wireless networks cost a lot of money to design, deploy and manage, how do schools with almost no available budget get what they need?

Using Wi-Fi as a Service, your school can have the exact wireless system it needs to support any technology plan it wants to implement. Whether it's new tablets as part of a 1:1 program or BYOD, Wi-Fi as a Service enables schools of any size to successfully embrace technology and the mobile devices their students want and need.

Wi-Fi as a Service offers a variety of benefits, for example:

• Affordable monthly payments
• Scalability to grow with your needs up or down
• Guarantees you always have the latest system in place
• Allows you to prioritize your budget towards other mission-critical projects

Using a subscription, Wi-Fi as a Service allows schools to budget over-time exactly what they need to deliver the best class of service to their students, staff and guests.

Want to learn more?  Check out our pricing page to compare plans and get started today!

At SecurEdge, we provide the platform that simplifies networking. If you have any questions or would like to discuss an upcoming project, please contact us here.

*Editor's note: This blog post was originally posted in September 2013 and has been completely revamped and updated for thoroughness and accuracy.