New Jersey District Upgrades Wireless Infrastructure
Pemberton Township Schools in Burlington County, NJ has been upgrading its wireless infrastructure.
The new networks, already implemented at five of Pemberton's 11 schools, were designed and installed by Carousel Industries and Meru controllers and access points.
The first phase of the installation, completed in approximately one month, took place outside of school hours, beginning each day at 3:00 pm. The second phase, which will upgrade the infrastructure at the six remaining schools, is currently under way.
The upgrade was the result of a shift in how the district, which has 2,500 computers and nearly 5,000 students, saw the use of technology in the classroom.
"Last year we had a district administrative initiative that entailed changing our focus from technology as a learning center to technology integrated into all instructional areas with project based learning," said District Information Officer Kathy Bernacki. "It became apparent that we were going to have to have more of these mobile labs that travelled around the schools as the teachers and students worked on different projects."
The district is also using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to purchase smart boards to be used in conjunction with smart response systems, both of which will be connected to the network.
"It used to be that technology was a subject on the side, like art and music," said Bernacki. "But over the course of the last five to ten years, that has changed dramatically. Technology is now used more as a tool to motivate students to learn all subjects across the entire curriculum."
The Pemberton Township School District serves approximately 5,000 students in three towns with nearly 500 faculty members.
More information about Carousel Industries is available at carouselindustries.com.