Pennsylvania District Wireless Links High schools

##AUTHORSPLIT##<--->

The West Chester Area School District (WCASD) in Pennsylvania is deploying a district-wide wireless network to link all computers in its high school English and math classes.

One of Pennsylvania's 10 largest districts, WCASD servers more than 12,000 students over a 75-square mile area. It is one of 79 districts participating in the first year of Pennsylvania's Classrooms for the Future program, which provides government funding to enhance English and math instruction, discussions and projects through technology.

Network integration provider Comm Solutions (Malvern, PA) worked with wireless LAN technology company Aruba Networks to wireless network the district's computers, and Aruba implemented (Sunnyvale, CA) its role-based access controls and firewalls to manage access and protect the networks.

"Our objective was to deploy a highly reliable wireless network that required minimal IT overhead, could be centrally administered, and was scalable for future expansions," said Chris Ross, network support director for WCASD, in a prepared statement. "While the Aruba network is very extensive in terms of fielded equipment and the number of sites served, we have been able to deploy and maintain the network without adding any additional IT staff. Additionally, we were able to replace the dedicated computer labs in the elementary schools with in-classroom computers, freeing up valuable space for additional classrooms without having to construct new buildings."

To determine optimum placement of wireless access points Comm Solutions used Aruba's RF Plan software to import the schools' floor plans, eliminating the need to conduct a full site survey, lowering the time and cost of network needs analysis and design.

Read More:

READ MORE DAILY NEWS


About the author: David Kopf is a freelance technology writer and editor, and can be reached at [email protected].

Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at [email protected].

About the Author

David Kopf is a freelance technology writer and marketing consultant, and can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • teacher and children working with a LEGO Education Science kit

    LEGO Education Debuts Science Kits for Hands-on Learning

    LEGO Education has announced a new learning solution to engage students in hands-on science learning. Available in three kits by grade band, LEGO Education Science provides 120-plus standards-aligned science lessons, teacher materials, and select LEGO bricks and hardware.

  • computer monitor with glowing digital data and graphs bursting out in an abstract, energetic explosion of lines and elements against a dark background

    New OpenAI Agent Turns ChatGPT into a Research Analyst

    OpenAI has unveiled a new "Deep Research" feature that enhances ChatGPT with the capabilities of a "research analyst" that automates time-consuming research by retrieving, analyzing, and synthesizing online information.

  • silhouetted human figures stand opposite a glowing digital brain, surrounded by abstract circuits and shadowy shapes

    Tech Execs Expect AI Advancements to Increase Security Threats

    Forty-one percent of tech executives in a recent international survey said they believe advancements in AI will significantly increase security threats. NetApp's second annual Data Complexity Report points to 2025 as "AI's make or break year."

  • outline of a modern school building as glowing blue geometric shapes, surrounded by binary code streams, with golden orbs and lines representing funding, set against a dark gray gradient with faint grid patterns

    FCC Cybersecurity Pilot Participants Selected

    The Federal Communications Commission has officially selected the participants for its Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot, the three-year program exploring the use of Universal Service funds to improve school and library defenses against cyber attacks.