463 Australian Schools To Go Wireless

• By David Nagel
• 04/28/09

##AUTHORSPLIT###- -->

A massive 463 schools in New South Wales in Australia are going wireless. The move is part of Australia's Digital Education Revolution initiative and is being implemented through the New South Wales Department of Education and Training.

Digital Education Revolution initiative aims to "contribute sustainable and meaningful change to teaching and learning in Australian schools that will prepare students for further education, training and to live and work in a digital world." It includes AUS$2 billion in funding to provide information and communication technology to all secondary schools, broadband, teacher professional development, online curriculum tools and resources, deployment assistance, and online learning and access.

The New South Wales wireless rollout is designed to enhance teaching and learning opportunities. The Aus$70 million deployment impacts more than 200,000 students and about 25,000 teachers at public secondary schools. IBM is handling the deployment, which will be built on Aruba Networks' equipment. IBM will provide "project management, network configuration and roll-out expertise, enabling most secondary schools to take advantage of the new technology before the end of the year," according to the company.

"The way kids learn is going to be transformed," said Verity Firth, New South Wales minister for education and training, in a prepared statement. "[W]e are not tying students to their desks--learning activities using online resources including the Internet can take place in classrooms or the library."

The deployment is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.