Why Networking Matters in Schools
Classrooms of today have shown how technology and online resources can help further the education of students, making the need for high-performance wireless local area networks (WLANs) in school as essential as they are to businesses and hybrid workers. Providing students and staff direct access to the information for collaboration and assess to educational apps helps educators to incorporate new resources and ways of teaching into their normal lesson plan.
There is even evidence that shows the correlation between the functionality of a school’s IT network and the rates of staff retention, the effectiveness of teaching plans, the outcomes of students learning, overall morale, or the behaviour of learners. It is clear that high-performance networking within education is becoming increasingly important for positive outcomes within schools which is why TP-Link is eager to support the construction of modern networks within schools.
The Power of IT in Education
The disruptions brought on by COVID-19 began to highlight the importance that IT access in delivering education. Students with good IT and network access were able to continue learning, creating an undeniable learning gap between them and those with poor connectivity.
With high-speed, campus-wide reliable networks available to students, educators are able to personalise the learning experience of their students to be tailored towards their weaknesses through software tools and educational resources. It also enables faster access to information and facilitates the ability for real-time collaboration.
The benefits of IT use don’t just stop when the students leave education with studies showing that it also helps to better prepare students for jobs!
IT in Education Challenges
Dead Zones
Dead zones include anywhere where the signal available is insufficient to support multimedia learning. Eliminating, or at least severely minimising, these areas are vital to support the networking of an educational institute as a whole.
Fortunately, these types of issues can be solved by carefully ‘mapping’ the campus to establish usage patterns, signal strengths, and usage densities. Once you have your area mapped out you can then plan out areas to incorporate access points with to ensure your signal goes further.
Poor Quality WiFi
If the WiFi quality is so poor that it frequently drops out it will cause major disruptions to the learning process. This will undermine both teachers’ and learners’ confidence in the network and ultimately in the school itself.
Ensuring strong WiFi signals to facilitate learning can be easily secure through cloud-managed, high-performance routers, switches, and access points. With these three devices in your arsenal, schools are able to provide the network architecture to support multilayer services for different defined user groups.
Compromised wireless connections
With high-density environments like classrooms, access points can easily become overwhelmed. With so many users trying to access the network simultaneously, many access points and routers will fail to keep up with the demand and will significantly slow down for all users.
Like with eliminating dead zones, the answer to this issue lies in careful planning. When surveying the classroom, it is important to match the number and capacity of access points to the traffic that you expect to receive.
Educational Benefits
From revolutionizing the way teachers can plan and deliver lessons to providing access to new content for students, technology in the classroom has proved its value over and over again. By providing devices with a secure internet connection to students and educators, you are allowing them access to global resources, turbo-boosting their productivity and providing opportunities for further comprehension.
Some other identified benefits include:
Enhanced Control: Providing strong WiFi access to students allows them to download and share study materials to help further their understanding and encourages collaborative learning which will benefit all parties involved.
Easier Sharing: With apps like Google Docs, SharePoint, or Evernote, teachers and students are able to share assignments and notes in real-time. This can improve the communication between the two to help encourage asking questions when students are unsure. These apps also allow students to access this data at any time, from anywhere, making learning limitless.
Constant Learning: In today’s always-connected world, most students spend a significant amount of time on their smart devices. When you add the ability to study and learn onto devices that are primarily associated with enjoyment, you can change the nature of learning. Transform the learning experience from something imposed to something that feels more elective, intimate, and constant.
Broadening the Knowledge Base: Change the dynamics of learning through creating a learning environment that is always available. Access to educational resources and assignments at any time makes it possible for students to continue learning whenever they want. Creating an alternative to traditional and expensive books, libraries and other physical resources online destroy potential barriers some learners may have, making it possible for everyone to learn from any location.
Network structuring
TP-Link provides highly scalable networking solutions that would prove to be highly beneficial within educational environments. Their reliable and secure network solutions have already been widely acknowledged within the education sector.
Meet all of the critical network requirements of a modern organisation with TP-Link’s Omada range of cloud-managed devices:
- High network security for academic data security
- Stable and reliable service even in high-density areas
- High-speed wired and wireless connections to ensure no interruptions
- Easy-management authentication methods
- Seamless indoor to outdoor connectivity
- Central cloud-managed networking for remote management
Education Solution Topology Example
A typical TP-Link system for a large school or university would be made up of a SafeStream Router, a Jetstream Switch, and an Omada Cloud-based Controller.
The Jetstream switches distribute network connectivity throughout the campus while supporting your connected equipment.
Centralised Omada Management
TP-Link Omada software integrates all network devices for 100% centralized management. All educational solutions by TP-Link are supported by this software to make connecting your campus as easy as possible.
All controlled from a single interface, Omada creates a highly scalable network with seamless connectivity. Features of the Omada software include:
- Higher efficiency via centralized management
- Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP)
- Remote deployment and configuration
- AI-Driven Technology
- Auto Channel Selection and Power Adjustment
- Multi-User Privilege Assignment
- Enhanced Security
- Separated Management and User Data
To make sure your classroom remains connected and offers the best opportunities for students, you need a reliable, secure and high-performance network to back it up. Give your students an increased sense of community and empowerment through digital resources with TP-Link’s educational solutions! Give us a call on 0800 488 0000 and one of our sales experts can help you!
For additional help or support with anything mentioned in this blog, or any other products that we stock, don’t hesitate to contact our team! Use our contact form to get in touch and our team will get back to you quickly with our expert knowledge!
This is just a brief look at the TP-Link Omada Access Point Range, if you require more TP-Link Omada Access Points for your business, you can check our TP-Link Omada Access Point category for a wide range of Cisco products to suit your needs.
More TP-Link Products Available from Comms Express:
TP-Link Switches | TP-Link Media Converters, Adapters & Modules | TP-Link Wireless | TP-Link Routers & Modems | TP-Link Powerline | TP-Link Smart Home | TP-Link Mobile WiFi | TP-Link Adapters & Accessories
If you require any further information on these or any other products that we stock here at Comms Express, please do not hesitate to contact our team who will be only too happy to help.
Until next time…
