September 2005 — Applications
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Flexible Network Infrastructure Helps Meet District’s Changing Needs
As planning began, a key concern was ensuring that the district’s network had the capacity and intelligence to support both voice and data. By upgrading the Cisco Catalyst switches at the district office to support the advanced quality of service (QoS) that voice service requires, the district’s Cisco network was able to handle the expected voice traffic. Another Cisco Catalyst switch at the central office provides connectivity to the district’s wide area network (WAN), so sites can communicate with one another using Gigabit Ethernet over fiber.
AAC installed servers running Cisco CallManager software to perform call handling and offer support for Extensible Markup Language (XML) telephony applications and messaging. In each classroom, Cisco IP phones feature LCD display screens that can support XML applications. An integrated hands-free speakerphone lets the phones function as a two-way PA system for public safety and announcements. PA announcements can be made to any location on the network equipped with an IP phone—even from one building to another. AAC worked closely with the district to create a call plan that would accommodate additional locations in the future.
After installing and configuring the IP telephony system, AAC augmented the system with its own XML-based PhoneTop K-12 application suite. The suite’s Attendance Manager module lets teachers take attendance using the phone, and allows administrators to monitor and modify attendance information. In the past, teachers had recorded absences on cards, which were manually collected and returned to the administration building. A school secretary would then spend as much as two hours cross-checking the absent-student cards with the list of parents who had called in to report an absence, and then would enter the information into a database. Finally, an automated system would call the homes of unexcused absent students.
Under the new system, each teacher logs onto a password-protected screen on his phone’s LCD screen, records absences, then submits a full attendance report directly to the school’s administrative office. Within minutes, administrative staff know exactly which absences are unexcused, so phone calls can be made home hours earlier than before. The attendance program also can inform teachers of preapproved absences, birthdays, and other information.
Frederick County also is using its IP telephony system to support voice mail, making teachers more accessible to parents and administrators. Cisco Unity software provides a voice mailbox for each teacher where he or she can access messages directly from the classroom, anytime during the day.
As part of the project, the district installed Cisco Catalyst switches with Power over Ethernet (P'E) technology in its classrooms. This feature, which delivers electrical power to IP devices from the network switch, enables the district to install phones wherever they are needed, without requiring a separate power outlet, and is especially useful in older buildings with limited power. What’s more, since many switches on the campus networks are protected by an uninterruptible power supply, P'E allows the district to continue to operate phones, even if a building loses power.
