Solutions for Schools

School districts are often faced with the challenge of
providing students and teachers with the latest and
greatest that technology has to offer, while working
with a very limited budget.  Teachers and students
must have access to all of the tools needed to ensure
the success of each student.  Students must become
savvy users of the technology that they will encounter
after graduation. By increasing the availability of
technology in the classroom new challenges are created. 
How will this technology be secured?  How will the school district
prevent students from being exposed to inappropriate material
or information which should only be accessed by school administrators? 
School IT staffs must search for the solutions which will be cost effective,
as well as being easy to deploy and even easier to maintain.

As part of the goal of providing teachers and students
with the tools needed to succeed nearly every classroom today
from elementary school to high school is equipped
with computers. Giving teachers and students the ability
to communicate via email allows them to stay constantly
connected.  Teachers are able to make class notes
available to students and pass along information as it becomes
available.   As questions arise while students are
working on their assignments at home they are able
to ask their teacher for help.  Students are then able to
email their completed assignments to their teachers,
all but eliminating the possibility of the dog eating their homework. 
By making email such a vital educational tool unwanted email
or SPAM must be eliminated.  Preventing SPAM will
allow teachers and students to only receive email
which is important to them.  Eliminating SPAM will also
save school IT staffs the time that they would otherwise
have to spend dealing with the resulting viruses
that would otherwise find their way onto the schools network. 

One of the solutions that more and more school districts
are looking towards has been wireless technology. 
The cost of wiring just 41 classes via conventional Ethernet
can reach as much as $5,000.00 per room.  Providing wireless
access to those same 41 classrooms can be lower than $1,000.00 per room. 
Wireless networks are an exceptionally good fit for school districts
today as the use of modular classrooms continues to rise. 
As additions are completed to the schools existing building
the wireless computers and access points are simply picked up
and moved along with the desks.    

Please look over the case studies from Bluesocket
and Barracuda Networks to see how other school districts
have used their products to secure their information.