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School Wi-Fi: The Modern Approach in a Technology-Driven Time

 

In an era driven by technology, where smartphones have become extensions of our beings and information is at our fingertips, it is no surprise that the modern school system has undergone a significant transformation.

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The seamless integration of technology, particularly through Wi-Fi connectivity, has revolutionised how education is received. In today’s interconnected world, Wi-Fi has become the lifeblood of educational institutions, nurturing an environment where learning transcends traditional classroom boundaries.

School Wi-Fi has emerged as a powerful catalyst for change, enabling students and educators to access a vast wealth of knowledge, resources, and collaborative tools. Gone are the days of outdated textbooks and limited information sources. With Wi-Fi for schools, educators can harness the limitless potential of the internet, bridging gaps in learning and fostering digital literacy. As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it has become increasingly apparent that equipping students with digital skills is no longer a luxury but an imperative for their future success.

Beyond empowering students with knowledge, Wi-Fi connectivity also facilitates personalised learning experiences. With online platforms and applications, educators can tailor lessons to cater to the unique needs and interests of each student, enhancing engagement and comprehension. Real-time collaboration, virtual field trips, and interactive multimedia resources are just a few examples of how a school Wi-Fi system can create immersive and dynamic learning environments.

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School Wi-Fi connectivity also equips students with the digital competencies essential for their participation in an increasingly globalised and digital society. From acquiring research skills to understanding digital etiquette and online safety, schools play a pivotal role in preparing students for the realities of the modern world.

As technology continues to shape our daily lives, it has become evident that Wi-Fi and connectivity are no longer mere luxuries in the education sector; they are fundamental components of a holistic and future-oriented learning ecosystem. Embracing this digital wave ensures that students are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the rapidly evolving landscape of the 21st century.

Building a school Wi-Fi network

For those of us who went to school during or around the age of the BBC Micro or Archimedes, the words “school network” evoke a room full of beige boxes and cables. But computer years, just like dog years, pass at their own pace. Bring your own device (BYOD) enabled Wi-Fi school networks are shaping the age of a more dynamic approach to intellectual pursuits, a closer match of this generation’s educational needs.

The requirements of educational institutions are unique, and the networking industry has had a hard time meeting them. A school is nothing like a bank. Students and teachers are nothing like corporate employees. And their requirements go beyond the comfortable realm of technical requirements.

More than in any other field, the success of building a school Wi-Fi network depends on defining and understanding requirements – technical and commercial as well as social and interpersonal.

How do we go about building this understanding? We start from the first principles: the educational benefits that faster, frictionless network access can provide, and the technical and non-technical issues that need to be solved before those benefits can be delivered.

School Wi-Fi: Benefits and Challenges

Deploying Wi-Fi networks in schools and other educational institutions in the UK has been a challenging journey. Experts from both the industry and the education sector have faced difficulties in finding suitable solutions. However, the potential benefits of providing fast, stable Wi-Fi access to students, staff, and management are significant:

  • Permanent, fast access to educational resources for teachers and students
  • Improved mobility and more flexibility for teachers and staff
  • Reduced device management and maintenance costs
  • More flexibility in terms of security surveillance and monitoring options

Despite these opportunities, there are also risks associated with implementing wireless networking infrastructure. Educational institutions must consider several critical requirements:

Coverage and performance:

How can you ensure good performance throughout a campus, without overspending?

How can you guarantee network access for everyone,  regardless of their technical competence and financial possibilities?

Access control and filtering:

How can you control what content can be accessed without blocking access to legitimate and useful resources?

Safe and secure access to confidential data:

How can you ensure that only authorised individuals can access particular records or documents?

Budget constraints (especially in public institutions):

How do you ensure that your budget is sufficient not only for today but also for the long term, especially in public institutions with tight or inflexible budgets?

Difficult maintenance conditions:

How do you maintain your network in working order without disrupting classes with constant maintenance work?

Can these requirements be met? Absolutely – and it’s not just something that we say because otherwise, this would be a very gloomy post.

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Here are our solutions to these problems.

Coverage and Performance 101

Let’s start with coverage and performance, as these parameters are critical in addressing the fundamental questions of any networking project: Can I achieve the necessary coverage and performance, and how? What devices are needed, in what quantity, and where should they be placed?

Coverage and Performance Expectations

To determine the kind of coverage and performance you should expect, it’s important to understand the various Wi-Fi networking standards currently in use. The key standards to focus on, in chronological order, are 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, and the latest, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6). These standards differ significantly in terms of speed, range, and device support.

  • 802.11b (1999): Offers up to 11 Mbps speed with an indoor range of approximately 100 feet.
  • 802.11g (2003): Provides up to 54 Mbps speed, also with an indoor range of around 100 feet.
  • 802.11n (2009): Supports speeds up to 600 Mbps with an indoor range of about 200 feet.
  • 802.11ac (2013-2014): Enables speeds up to 1 Gbps over shorter ranges of about 80-90 feet.
  • 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) (2019): The latest standard, offering speeds up to 9.6 Gbps with improved range and efficiency, capable of supporting multiple devices simultaneously.

Most modern devices support at least 802.11n, with those manufactured after 2013-2014 typically supporting 802.11ac. Devices from 2019 onward often support 802.11ax, providing the best performance and range.

Practical Implementation

For optimal coverage, a single access point is generally insufficient, especially in larger areas like lecture theatres. Here are some key considerations:

Device Requirements: Assess the type and number of devices that will be connecting to the network. This will help determine the necessary Wi-Fi standard and the number of access points needed.

Access Point Placement: Strategically place access points to ensure comprehensive coverage and minimal dead zones. This might require conducting a site survey to identify the best locations.

Scalability: Consider future-proofing your network by using the latest standards like 802.11ax, which can handle higher device densities and offer better performance.

By understanding these Wi-Fi standards and implementing them effectively, you can ensure robust and reliable network coverage and performance across your educational institution.

This brings us to our second set of questions: how many access points do we need, and where do we put them?

Coverage and Performance 102

Network coverage is a flaky subject. We tend to think of it only in terms of signal strength. Network coverage is basically a fancy way of saying “This is how far I can go before I see no bars on my phone”.

But this is not a complete picture. Wireless access points have a fixed bandwidth, and a fixed number of simultaneous clients that they can support. A “strong” connection can still be slow in a crowded area, or you may see frequent disconnects.

To make matters worse, RF signal propagation is not too straightforward, either. Signal quality depends on building shape and material, on the placement of clients and wireless access points, and on the shape and material of the obstacles between them. It is not a function of distance alone.

So how do we know where to place Wi-Fi access points, and how many of them are needed?

There is a simple answer: through a wi-fi survey.

A Wi-Fi or wireless survey, sometimes known as an RF (Radio Frequency) survey, is a process that measures and records cellular and Wi-Fi coverage in a specific area. We conduct this survey to map how RF signals propagate and decay throughout your premises.

This provides one critical half of the puzzle. The other critical half is an understanding of how each area is used, and by how many people.

The second essential part of the puzzle involves understanding how each area is used and by how many people. This tells us the required coverage in quantitative terms—what signal strength is needed and for how many devices. The RF survey informs us about the necessary equipment and its optimal placement to meet these requirements.

Conducting an RF survey is crucial for successfully deploying a Wi-Fi network within a reasonable timeframe. While an educated guess might suffice for a small office, it won’t work for large campuses and buildings with multiple classrooms, labs, and offices. In such environments, guesswork can lead to quick installation followed by months of adjusting routers, purchasing additional access points, and running new cables.

Wi-Fi access points are just the visible part of the network. Clients connect to the Wi-Fi network via these access points and routers, which must be connected to your core network and the Internet. This infrastructure is typically wired, requiring some cable installation. However, installing or upgrading Wi-Fi access points usually doesn’t affect existing networking gear. You might need additional switching equipment if expanding your network, but your current equipment can usually remain in use, provided it still meets your needs.

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Students using school WiFi

Content Filtering

One of the main concerns when it comes to Wi-Fi networks and Bring your own device (BYOD) is content filtering. Can it still be done efficiently when everyone is using their own devices, and accessing the same network?

The problem is complicated by the need for flexible filtering. On one hand, it is important to be able to restrict access to unsafe content on school grounds. On the other hand, an inflexible access control system, which forbids access to legitimate educational content, can render a school’s network useless for many educational activities.

The good news? This late in the 21st century, content filtering is largely software-controlled. Who can access what can be decided ad-hoc based on their access credentials, regardless of what device they entered them on. If your school has a network – wired or wireless – that was deployed anywhere in the last fifteen years, chances are that’s how it’s done there as well.

The bad news is that some systems (especially ones that have been in place for a long time) can use a mix of access criteria based on credentials and based on location. For example, they filter content for computers in the library, or the cafeteria, regardless of who’s accessing them.

Migrating to a wireless infrastructure does require some extra effort, but it is certainly achievable. This work is worthwhile, as a more intuitive approach to content filtering and access control will make your system easier and more cost-effective to manage while also providing greater flexibility.

Data Security

Closely related to the challenge of controlling access to external content is the issue of managing access to internal content.

Under UK law, schools are responsible for the security of confidential and personal data. Even beyond legal requirements, certain documents and records must be accessible to specific individuals.

While having this data available over the network can be beneficial, it also poses risks when accessed via a shared network.

The rise of content and document management systems has shifted the challenge of electronic access control to a largely software-driven approach. Nevertheless, an effective security policy often necessitates maintaining separate networks for handling sensitive data.

Well-designed Wi-Fi networks can facilitate the implementation of such security measures. At a minimum, the design and deployment of your Wi-Fi network should align with your established security policies.

 

Long-Term Budgeting and Maintenance

Budgeting in educational institutions has often puzzled the networking industry. While Wi-Fi equipment is widely accessible and affordable for most schools in the UK, the challenges lie not with the budget size but in accessibility and structure.

The formal management structures of educational institutions, along with the diverse number of stakeholders, can complicate approvals and adjustments to a project, even when funds are available. In simple terms, it’s crucial to get things right the first time.

This isn’t just a formality; the nature of educational activities differs from business operations. Unlike a maintenance crew that can politely request a manager to use a different meeting room while they check a router, asking a teacher to change classrooms can be much more complicated.

These considerations extend beyond the initial weeks after a network is commissioned when minor adjustments might be more acceptable. Instead, predictability in financing and maintenance is essential throughout the network’s lifespan. This reliability begins with a thorough analysis phase that starts with the Wi-Fi survey and concludes with a detailed breakdown of equipment and installation steps.

Controlling costs requires a balanced approach. While there’s a vast selection of Wi-Fi equipment on the market, it’s unlikely that the most expensive options are necessary. However, opting for lower-cost equipment can introduce long-term risks. In this field, investing in quality not only enhances performance but also leads to a more predictable long-term expense plan and less disruptive maintenance services.

Integration: Challenges and Opportunities

Until not so long ago, we were used to thinking about the school’s computer network as an auxiliary tool. We thought of it as infrastructure to some degree, but not the way whiteboards and sports grounds are infrastructure.

This is no longer the case anymore, especially in universities. For many educational institutions in the UK, the network is an essential part of the teaching and administrative infrastructure.

It’s a challenging situation. Schools have plenty of old, but perfectly working systems that need to be integrated into the same network that also has to cater to young adults, teenagers and nine year-old children.

The good news is that Wi-Fi networking is a well-understood technology that often complements other types of networks, rather than replacing them. Virtually any equipment you have can be bridged to a wireless network.

A well-designed Wi-Fi network can be more than a more accessible version of its wired predecessor. It opens completely new avenues, such as:

Using Wifi CCTV cameras, which can be easier and cheaper to deploy and manage than their wired counterparts

Deploying Wi-Fi-enabled HVAC, lighting control systems, and other IoT (Internet of Things) equipment. These systems enable tighter and more fine-grained control over energy consumption, reducing your carbon footprint and energy bills.

Delivering educational content on-demand, in informal or unconventional settings throughout the campus.

Making the most out of your investment is more than just staying within budget. Wi-Fi is a very flexible technology in schools – and it gets you a very flexible infrastructure.

Conclusions

Few voices in the industry recognise how uniquely challenging Wi-Fi school networks are. At first sight, a school Wi-Fi network is like an enterprise network, except most of its users are teenagers.

But this is hardly an accurate description. School Wi-Fi networks tend to have more diverse client devices and a more diverse user base and pose unique security challenges, with a unique social dimension to them.

ACCL has been installing Wi-Fi networks in London schools for over two decades and offering networking services for more. We are very familiar with all the challenges that today’s UK schools face and we’re happy to do our part in helping you deal with some of them.

Find out how we can help

Chat with us today about your latest project.

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