Networking
Georgia District Expands WiFi for E-Learning Initiatives
Glynn County School System has deployed a new wireless network at four schools, completing the second in a multi-phase wireless networking rollout district-wide.
The project, which began in 2006, is designed to support the district's electronic learning initiatives and to allow the district to launch 1:1 programs at some schools. In the second phase of the rollout, Extricom wireless LANs were deployed at Glynn Middle School, Golden Isles Elementary, Jane Macon Middle School, and the Risley Early College Academy, bringing the total number of schools that have received a wireless makeover to 11, according to information released by Extricom this week. The system supports densities of about 25 to 30 wireless devices per classroom.
"For us, consistency and simplicity of deployment is key," said Bob Schwartz, Glynn's director of information technology services, in a statement released this week. "Our wireless system has to have the capability to quickly scale up to meet high end-user demand, but at the same time has to have 'set it and forget it' reliability and ease of use, and that's what has sold us on Extricom over the course of the project. School principals don't hesitate to pick up the phone and let me know if problems crop up with technology, but since the project started, we've had no calls about the Extricom WLAN. In fact, one of our elementary school principals was so eager to have it deployed, she and the school's parents raised the funds for it themselves selling cookie dough. I wouldn't have a problem recommending it to any school district that wants a system-wide wireless solution."
According to information supplied by the district and Extricom, the rollout kicked off four years ago through a grant from the Georgia Department of Education, which funded a deployment at a single middle school.
The remaining Glynn County schools will receive their wireless makeovers over the next two years.
Glynn County School System, in Brunswick, GA, serves 12,500 students in 21 schools and learning centers, including 10 elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school, in addition to a range of centers and academies.