Florida District Deploys Wireless Solution To Support BYOD

St. Lucie School District in Florida has implemented a wireless solution designed for education to support its bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiative for students, teachers and guests at all 44 of its schools.

The district selected an "education-grade" wireless solution from Meru Networks with Meru Identity Manager "because of their ease of management and the way that they make it easier for users to move seamlessly from point to point," said David Jasa, IT program manager for the district, in a prepared statement. According to the company, the district also selected the Meru Networks solution for its high-density device support, ease of deployment, and Meru's MobileFLEX architecture.

According to information on the company's site, MobileFLEX is a unified wireless network architecture for BYOD. It's designed to make it easier for IT staff to secure the network and manage capacity and bandwidth when large numbers of users are connecting with personal mobile devices.

The district also implemented Meru's Identity Manager software, which is designed to simplify secure BYOD provisioning, reduce IT workload, and improve the user experience, according to information from the company. Its Smart Connect module enables self-provisioning of client devices with a single click, and its Guest Connect module lets internal "sponsors" create guest accounts or lets guests securely self-register.

According to Terence O'Leary, assistant superintendent of instruction for the district, Meru Identity Manager "keeps our IT staff from having to travel throughout the district to help people get access to the network and allows teachers to focus on teaching instead of providing IT support services.

St. Lucie School District is located on the east coast of Florida. The district serves more than 40,000 students and employs nearly 2,800 teachers.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    Nonprofit LawZero to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • stylized illustration of a desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone all displaying an orange AI icon

    Survey: AI Shifting from Cloud to PCs

    A recent Intel-commissioned report identifies a significant shift in AI adoption, moving away from the cloud and closer to the user. Businesses are increasingly turning to the specialized hardware of AI PCs, the survey found, recognizing their potential not just for productivity gains, but for revolutionizing IT efficiency, fortifying data security, and delivering a compelling return on investment by bringing AI capabilities directly to the edge.

  • magnifying glass with AI icon in the center

    Google Releases Learning-Themed AI Mode Features for Search

    Ahead of back-to-school season, Google has introduced new AI Mode features in Search, including image and PDF queries on desktop, a Canvas tool for planning, real-time help with Search Live, and Lens integration in Chrome.

  • sunlit classroom with laptops on every desk, each displaying a glowing AI speech bubble icon above the screen

    Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot to Become Available for Teen Students

    This summer, Microsoft is expanding availability of its Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot products for students aged 13 and older. Administrators will be able to grant access for students based on their institution's plans and preferences, the company announced in a blog post.