How to Get Mobile, Wireless Technology in School Classrooms

In the past, VoIP Supply’s Edu Assist Program helped hundreds of educational institutions deploy VoIP phone systems.

Our assistance program is now helping schools set up wireless networks to take advantage of the latest mobile technology trend in education.

Mobile Tech in Education

The 2013 National Survey on Mobile Technology for K-12 Education, sponsored by Amplify and conducted by market research firms IESD and STEM Market Impact, show some interesting results from over 500 district leaders:

• More than half of surveyed district leaders are now using mobile technology in 25% of their schools with a growing popularity for tablet use in classrooms.
• An additional 15% of districts said they were “very likely” to adopt mobile technology in the next 1-2 years.

Wireless devices such as WiFi enabled tablets, laptops, wireless VoIP phones, and wireless printers all rely on a strong and secure wireless local area network (WLAN).

Liz Logan at Amplify explains in her blog post that, “Tablet interest is particularly strong: 71 percent of respondents said there’s a high level of interest among district leaders in purchasing tablets.”

Wireless Campus Recommendations

For larger WLAN deployments, such as a campus we recommend scalable solutions from one of these top two wireless access point (WAP) manufacturers listed below.

Grandstream WiFi Access Points

• From small-sized businesses, multiple floor offices, to multiple branch offices, the GWN 7600 series has the right solution to cover all your needs, providing dual-band network throughput and expanded WiFi coverage range.
• With up to 175 meters range and over 250 concurrent clients access, the GWN 7600 series is a very powerful solution for commercial locations that have medium wireless network deployments with medium-to-high user density.

Read our blog to learn more: The GWN Series Wireless Networking Products – Secure, Easy and Powerful!

Ruckus ZoneFlex

• Indoor/Outdoor:  Offered for both indoor and outdoor functionality. Outdoor access points are perfect for outdoor areas where running Ethernet cable isn’t possible while indoor models offer great coverage from fewer access points for large deployments.
• Adaptable: Whether indoor or outdoor, all models combine power, simplicity, dynamic beamforming  (automatically directs transmissions to the best performing signal path), and adaptive meshing (automatically adapts to environmental changes so have to worry about constant site surveys) for great WiFi flexibility and function.

Cisco Wireless Access Points

• Remote Access:  Remote areas of a campus that were previously out of WiFi range are no match for Cisco WAPs that expand network connectivity, eliminate the need to run additional cabling, and deliver a wireless signal with the same security, standards, and encryption levels of a wired network.
• Secure Connection:  Cisco WAPs provide WiFi access anywhere on-site for students, employees, and guests while continuously scanning the network for malicious attacks from hackers.

“Wireless devices are commonplace and applications for their use are always expanding,” said VoIP Supply CEO, Ben Sayers. “The ease of setting up wireless networks is driving the strong demand for game-changing mobile learning in schools.”