guidelines for school system chief technology officers guidelines.pdf · personalized, 24/7,...
TRANSCRIPT
DESIGN GUIDELINES
March 2014
sponsored by
Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
QualcommTechnologies,Inc.
Copyright ©2014 Consortium for School Networking. All rights reserved.
CoSN (Consortium for School Networking)1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1010Washington, DC [email protected] www.cosn.org
CONTENTS
Foreword...........................................................
Informa=onTechnologyinSchools....................
DataandCapacity..............................................
NetworkDesignConsidera=ons.........................
AccessPointsandWirelessConnec=vity............
Connec=ngDevicestotheNetwork...................
Connec=ngfromOutsideofSchool....................
UnderstandingDeviceCapabili=es.....................
Conclusion:LookingAhead................................
ReferencesandResources.................................
Acknowledgments...........................................
SENDChecklist...................................................
2
4
13
21
36
44
46
48
51
53
54
55
DESIGN GUIDELINES
“Wemustmakeourschoolsanintegralpartofthebroadbandandtechnologytransforma8on—par8cularlywhenthatsametechnologycanbeharnessedtodriveempowered,morepersonalizedlearning.Fromdigitaltextbooksthathelpstudentsvisualizeandinteractwithcomplexconcepts,toappsandplaAormsthatadapttothelevelofindividualstudentknowledgeandhelpteachersknowpreciselywhichlessonsorac8vi8esareworking,thistechnologyisreal,itisavailable,anditscapacitytoimproveeduca8onisprofound…InacountrywhereweexpectfreeWi‐Fiwithourcoffee,whyshouldn’twehaveitinourschools?”
—PresidentObama’sannouncementofConnectEd,June6,2013
Smart Education Networks by DesignGuidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Foreword
Weliveinanincreasinglyconnectedandtechnology‐infusedworld.Inrecentyears,theprolifera8onofincrediblypowerfulandalways‐connectedmobiledeviceshastransformedthewaywework,acquireinforma8onabouttheworldaroundus,entertainourselvesandinteractwithourprofessionalandpersonalcontacts.
Manyoftoday’sK‐12studentsarenotfarbehind.HavinggrownupintheworldofsmartphonesandthemobileInternet,theyapproachacquisi8onandintegra8onofinforma8onfardifferentlythanstudentsdidevenjustafewshortyearsago.1Thetrendisworthyofacknowledgment.Itiswidelyacceptedthatmostofthefastest‐growingcareerfieldsintheU.S.requireamasteryofavarietyofinforma8ontechnologyandcommunica8onskills.
Mobilecomputingtechnologies,ubiquitousconnectivityandcloud‐basedserviceshavetransformedprofessional,civicandpersonallives.Iftoday’schildrenaretobecollegeandcareerready,thesesametechnologiesshouldalsobeanintegralpartofthelearningexperiencesinK‐12schoolsandclassrooms.Thoughtfullydesignedandrobustnetworksarecritical,withsecureaccessfromamixofdevices.
One‐to‐onecompu8ng,coupledwithubiquitousconnec8vitypromisestotransformcurrentapproachestoteaching,bringcoreconceptstolifeinpowerfulwaysandreinvigoratestudentengagement.Thelatestmobilecompu8ngdevicesarecapableofenablinghighlypersonalizedandtargetedcurricula,providingintegratedlearningassessmentswithimmediatefeedback,andenablinghighlyinterac8veandcollabora8velearningprocesses.
We have a tremendous opportunity to effect significant and positive changes in our classrooms and in the academic lives of our students.
Page 2 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
TheSmartEducationNetworksbyDesign(SEND)initiativewilladdressthechallengesfacedbyschoolsystemsbyprovidingschoolsystemleaderswiththeknowledgetowiselyinvestineducationalnetworksfortodayandtomorrow.
Theini=a=vewill:
■Highlightnewandfuturetechnologiesinallaspectsofeducationnetworkdesignsuchasmobile,wireless,broadband,security,safety,identitymanagement,andcrisispreparedness.
■Identifybestpracticesinstrategicdesignofnetworksforeducationfocusingoncreatingscalable,affordable,reliableandresilientnetworksforschoolsanddistricts.
■Developvendorneutralresourcesandtoolsforschooldistrictstoassessthecurrentstatus,identifylongtermneeds,determinegapsandplanforsuccessfulimplementation.◼
1Willingham,DanielT.“HaveTechnologyandMul8taskingRewiredHowStudentsLearn?”.AmericanEducator,Summer2010:23.Print
Learningopportuni8esprovidedbynewwell‐designeddigitallearningenvironments,orinnova8ve8me‐shiXingteachingmodels,suchasflippedclassrooms,onlinecourses,orhybriddeliverymodelsaremakingaccesstoreliablebroadbandconnec8vityoutsideofschoolasimportantasitisinschool.Learningcannolongerbelimitedtotheconfinesoftheclassroomortheschoolday,andneithershouldaccesstolearningopportuni8esendwhenthefinalbellrings.
Asthelatestlaptops,tabletsandsmartphones,aswellasbroadbandconnec8vitybecomeaffordable,manyU.S.schooldistrictsareconsideringinves8nginsubstan8alupgradestotheirexis8ngITsystemsandinfrastructure,andexploringbuild‐outofthesupportstructuresforextensive1‐to‐1technologydeployments,eitherdistrict‐owned,student‐ownedorablend.
Design,deploymentandongoingmonitoringandmaintenanceofreliableeduca8onnetworksremainessen8altorealizingacademicgainsfrom1‐to‐1compu8ng,localorremotehostedcontent,learningmanagementresources,interac8velearningsimula8onsoraugmentedrealityenvironments.Unfortunately,amajorityofschooldistrictsarenotadequatelyequippedtosupportthesetransforma8vetechnologyprograms.AccordingtotheCoSNE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013,57%ofdistrictsdonotbelievetheirschool’swirelessnetworkshavethecapacitytohandlea1‐to‐1deploymenttoday.
Recognizingtheneedforthough`ul,well‐informedplanningandeffec8veexecu8onfromeduca8onITleaders,CoSN,withfinancialsupportfromQualcommTechnologies,Inc.,establishedtheSmartEduca8onNetworksbyDesign(SEND)ini8a8ve.SENDwillassistschools,districtsandstateboardsofeduca8onindesigning,deployingandmaintainingnext‐genera8oneduca8onnetworks—cri8calon‐rampstotransformedlearningenvironments.SENDwillprovidecrucialdecisionguidelines,planningtemplates,supporttoolsandotherresources.
SENDconversa8onthemesincludetheincreasinglysignificantrolesplayedby:
■1‐to‐1programs
■BringYourOwnDevice/Technology(BYOD/T)
■Iden8tymanagement
■Cloudservices
■Datasecurity
■Broadbandconnec8vityintheclassroom
■Alwaysconnected,24/7learningenvironments
■Mobilebroadbandconnec8vity(3G/4G).
Educa&onnetworksencompassanydeploymentofcomputerhardware,soUware,digitalcontentandresources,andlocalandmobileconnec=vityservicesintendedtomeettheneedsofteachers,schooladministrators,studentsandparents.Theymustbedesignedanddeployedtoproviderobust,
All of these critical ingredients to transforming our education system rely upon the presence of high-performing and highly reliable education networks.
Page 3 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
reliableandsecureaccesstodesignatedresourcesandcontentbyauthorizedusersonapproveddevicesat8mesandloca8onsthatsupportestablishedlearningobjec8ves.
Personalcomputingtechnologyadoptionwithineducationwillbesuccessfulwhenthattechnologyisusedtosupportinstructionalmodelstransformedbyanytime,anywhereaccesstolearningcontentandcollaboration,aswellasintegratedstudentcomprehensionassessmentsandimmediatefeedbackmechanisms.Thesevitalelementsrequirehigh‐performingandhighlyreliableeducationnetworks.
ThroughSENDandothereduca8ontechnologyprograms,wehaveatremendousopportunitytoeffectsignificantandposi8vechangesinourclassroomsandintheacademiclivesofourstudents.ThisdocumentisbutoneaspectoftheSENDini8a8ve—toaccesstheSENDCTOChecklistwhichdrawsuponthekeytenetsoftheseguidelines,aswellasotherSENDresources,visithkp://www.cosn.org/smartednetworksandfollowTwikerhashtag#SmartEdNetworks.ForthelatestupdatesonotherCoSNini8a8vesvisit(www.cosn.org),followusonTwitter@COSNandlikeusathttp://facebook.com/mycosnCoSNisgratefulforQualcommTechnologies,Inc.(www.qualcomm.com)foundingsponsorsupport.
WehopeyoufindtheseguidelinesandotherSENDresourcesinforma8veanduseful.
InformationTechnologyinSchools
Likeallsegmentsoftheeconomy,schoolsusetechnologyinseveralwaystosupporttheirteaching,learningandoperationalobjectives.RapiddevelopmentofInformationandCommunicationsTechnology(ICT)createssubstantialopportunityforschoolstoinnovate,tofurtherengage21st‐centurylearnersandtoincreaseoperationalefficiency.
Ever‐increasingdigitalresources,broadeningconnectivity,mobiledevicesandpowerfulanalyticaltoolsareshapinganeraofhighlypersonalized,24/7,anytime,anywherelearning.Increasedaccess,mobility,1‐to‐1andBYODinschoolssupportpersonalizedlearningenvironmentsandotherinstructionalmethods.Accessremainsapriorityandthedirectionisclearandpersistent:24/7,ICT‐basedlearningwillcontinuetogrow.
Schoolsarecomplex,multi‐processoperatingentities.Inadigitalworld,theyhavebeenICT‐adoptersinmanyoperationalaspects,fromautomationofattendance,scheduling,communications,transportation,etc.,tostrategicdatauseforteachersandlearners.ICTplaysanimportantroleinmaximizingefficienciesandprovidingservices.UnderlyingandenablingallICT‐basedprogramsandprocessesareeducationnetworks.
Smartly-designed education networks are critical in supporting new instructional models and enabling anytime, anywhere access to learning.
Page 4 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Educa=on’sadop=on
InformationandCommunicationsTechnology(ICT)isanincreasinglyimportantpartofthecomplexfabricofeducation.Inglobaleconomiesandindustries,adoptionoftimesavingandmoreeffectivemethodsofaccomplishinggoalshasincreasedproductivityandloweredcosts—animportantfoundationalbenefitofICT.Moreimportantly,ICTenables personalizedlearning.ICTisalso“increasinglyrecognizedasakeysourceofinnova8on…Thisabilitytoinnovateisessen8alinthecurrentinforma8onrevolu8onthatistransformingeconomicandsocialtransac8onsinoursocie8es.”2Thisistrueacrosseconomic,socialandeduca8onstructures.Teachingandlearningprocessesmustembraceinnova8ontoimprovelearning.Already,fromsmartphonestoopen‐sourceinstruc8onalmaterials,theeduca8onallandscapeischangingdrama8cally.Educa8onnetworksunderliethatchange.
Fromseeminglyancientdial‐inmodemstotoday’salways‐onInternetofEverything,organiza8onsandsocie8eshavebeentransformed.Advancedtechnologyfromtheconsumerintotheenterprisehasfundamentallytransformedourdailylivesandexpecta8ons.Digitally‐inclinedparents,studentsandfutureemployerschallengeeduca8onalleaderstodeliverrealandrelevantlearning.
Tothatend,globaltechnologytrendsimpac8ngeduca8onnetworksinclude:
Already, from smartphones to open-source instructional materials, the educational landscape is changing dramatically. Education networks underlie that change.
Page 5 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
22013WorldEconomicForum,TheGlobalInforma8onTechnologyReport2013,p.v.
1.Digi8za8on–themassadop8onofconnecteddigitalservicesandtheever‐increasingrepositoryofdigitalcontent.
2.Consumeriza8onofInforma8onTechnology–newinforma8ontechnologyemergesfirstintheconsumermarketandthenspreadsintoorganiza8ons.
3.UbiquitousAccess–Everyoneofus.Everywhere.Connected.3
Thesetrendsenableflippedclassroomsandhybridonlinelearningmodels,andempowercollabora8onamongteachers,learners,parentsandthecommunity—fundamentallychangingthewayourstudentslearn.TheyalsosupporttheSENDdesigngoalofany8me,anywherelearning.Indeed,thePewResearchCenter’sInternetandAmericanLifeProjectpresentsfourpointsabouttechnology’simpactonlearning:
■Broadbandfacilitatesnetworkedinforma8onandnetworkedknowledge
■Mobileconnec8vityalterslearningvenuesandexpecta8ons
■Socialmediaaidspeer‐to‐peerandlearningbydoing
■Newkindsoflearnersemerge.4
Asschoolsadoptthesetechnologiesforteachingandlearning,aswellasadditionaldigitalprocessesfordiagnosticassessmentsthatareformativeforinstructionandcomefromanalyzingdatastreamsgeneratedbylearningexperiences,theimpactonnetworkandsystemresourcesincreasesexponentially.The2012SETDAreport,“TheBroadbandImperative”5describestechnologyadoptiononthreelevelsandprovidesaframeworkforassessingschoolbandwidthrequirements—andthentheassociatednetworkandInternetresourcesbasedontheseadoptionlevels.
Educa8ontechnologyleaderscanusetheSETDAtoolindeterminingtechnologyadop8onlevelsoftheirrespec8veschools.Thentheycanplantechnologyresourcecapacityastheyprogressthroughdefinedadop8onlevels.Thetoolcanalsohelpschoolsunderstandtechnologyusageandresourcerequirements.
As schools adopt these technologies for teaching and learning, ...the impact on network and system resources increases exponentially.
Page 6 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
3Internet.org.4hkp://www.pewinternet.org/About‐Us/Our‐Research/Use‐Policy.aspx5www.setda.org,TheBroadbandImpera8ve,FrameworkforAssessingBandwidth,p.22.
Page 7 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology O!cers
Documenting current states of technology adoption and identifying opportunities and expected growth patterns is vital in network design.
andcanbeevaluatedintwophases.ThefirstismosteasilyunderstoodandseeninthewidespreadadoptionofApple’s“i”devicesandservices,thoughcontinueswithFacebook,TwitterandInstagram.Consumercloud‐basedservicesincreaseexpectationsofubiquitousconnectivityviamobileandWi‐Finetworksonarangeofpersonalmobilecomputingdevicesincludingsmaller,lighterlaptopcomputers,tabletsandsmartphones.Growthinconsumermobiledevicesisexpectedtocontinueseeminglyunabated.TheEricssonMobilityReportreleasedinJune2013predictsthattheglobalnumberofmobiledeviceswilldoubleinthenextthreeyears.6
Thesecondphaseistheinfiltra8onofconsumertechnologyintoorganiza8onsthroughwavesofBYOD/Tprograms.Thisadop8oncyclerepresentsafundamentalshiXfromearlierpersonalcompu8ngmodelswhereadvancedtechnologieswerefirstadoptedbyenterprisebuyersandonlygraduallymadetheirwayintoconsumerhands.Thus,consumer‐firstend‐devicedesignsarepoten8allylessrugged,lessconsistentinarchitectureandnotenterprise‐awareorready—allobstacleswithwhichtocontend.WhenaconsumerproductestablishesaconsiderableK‐12orbusinessfoothold,pressuremountsforthevendortomakethedevicemorecompa8bleforenterprisemanagement.
Newandadvancedtechnologiesareanormal,integralpartofstudentlivingandlearningoutsidetheclassroom.Naturally,thesetechnologieswillmigrateintotheclassroomasstudentsbringtheirmostfrequently‐useddevicesontoschoolgrounds.BYOD/Tpoliciesandstrategiescri8caltosuccessfullearningenvironmentsmustbedevelopedbytheschoolleadershipteamsoastoinformthedesignofnetworkinfrastructuresandsystems.Thesestrategiesshouldbedevelopedincloseconsulta=onwithteachers,asteachersplayavitalroleintheireffec=veuse.Therefore,ITandadministra=veleadershipmustallotampleprofessionaldevelopmentandinstruc=onalplanning=me.CoSNhasdevelopeda“LeadershipforMobileLearning”ini8a8vetoassistCTOsinthisimportantarea.Visit:hkp://www.cosn.org/mobilelead
Asalways,thenetworkdesignteamshouldfirstevaluatestatededuca=onalobjec=ves,strategiesandpolicies,andthendeploythetechnologyresourcestosupportthose.
ConsiderthesequestionsindevelopingaBYODstrategy:
■Whatisthestudentpopula8onthatwillu8lizeBYODforclassroominstruc8on?
■WhatarethedigitalresourcesthattheBYODwillu8lizeforinstruc8on?
New and advanced technologies are a normal, integral part of student living and learning outside the classroom.
Page 11 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
6“AFocusonEfficiency”.Internet.org.September16,2013hkps://vcdn‐dragon‐a.akamaihd.net/hphotos‐ak‐ash3/851590_229753833859617_1129962605_n.pdf
■WhatarethetechnicalstandardsforBYODtoaccesstheresources?
■HowwillteachersbetrainedforBYODinstruc8onalusage?
■IsthereanadequatewirelessdeviceonboardingandresourceprovisioninginfrastructureinplacetosupportBYOD?
■IstheInternetinfrastructurereadyforaBYODini8a8ve?
Dataandintegra=on
Thesolepurposeofnetworksistohelpusersdevelopandcommunicateinforma8oninpowerfulandeffec8veways.Thisflowofinforma8onatpreviouslyunimaginablelevelsofspeedandquan8tycreatesefficienciesinourprocessesandinlearning.Learningmanagementsystems(LMS)andstudentinforma8onsystems(SIS)areessen8alcomponentstotheeffec8veopera8onofschoolsandtotheteachingandlearningprocess.Theevolu8onofthesesystemsintomorebroadlyreachingcontentmanagementsystemsischallengingnetworksandinforma8onmanagementprofessionals.Asmoreprocessesbecomedigital,theirintegra8onisparamounttofacilitateopera8onalefficienciesandestablishthenecessaryframeworkforpersonalizedlearning.Withhigh‐speedcommunica8ons,robustdevices,sophis8cateddigitalcontentandreal‐8medata—teacherscaninstruct,assess,remediateandextendlearninginunprecedented8mes,speedsandloca8ons.High‐capacitydatabaseswithpowerfulanaly8calcapacityretainsystemdatatoinformlearners,teachersandschoolleaders.
Thesebenefitsareamerevisionifthenetworksandcommunica8ontechnologiesthatwilldeliverthemaren’tmadereality.Educa8onnetworksmustbesmartlydesignedtorealizesuchpoten8al.
The sole purpose of networks is to help users develop and communicate information in powerful and effective ways.
Page 12 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
PREPPINGFORPLE,1‐to‐1andBYOD>>WhetherplanningforaPersonalizedLearningEnvironment,1‐to‐1orBringYourOwnDeviceprogram,thepreparationissimilar.Allthreerequirestrong,on‐campuswirelesswithsolidbackboneconnectionstoarobustcentralnetworkandadequateInternetbandwidth.First,buildascalablenetworkbeforetryingtoimplementanyone‐mobile‐device‐per‐studentproject.Second,CTOsmustinvolvethecurriculumteamtoensurethedistrict'scurriculumwillbeadjustedtotakeadvantageofthetechnologyinstudenthands.Third,provideproperteacherandadministratortrainingatleastsixmonthsaheadofrollouttostudents.Lastly,discusstheprogramwithparents,theboardand(insomecases)localgovernmententities,businesses,andelectedofficialswhomaybeabletoprovideassistance.Solicitinggeneralagreementontheendgoalwillhelpkeeptheprogramsmovingforwardwhenissuesarise.http://www.pasadenaisd.org/◼—SteveWentz,PasadenaISD(TX)
DataandCapacity
Dataanditsmovementbetweenandamongusersistheprincipaldeterminantinplanningforanddevelopingnetworkcapacity.Today’sschoolsfaceadualchallenge:ever‐increasingdatarates(media‐intensive)andslower,agingnetworks.CoSN’srecentE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013hkp://www.cosn.org/e‐rate‐broadband‐surveyconfirmstheprac8calexperienceofschools:cri8calcapacityneedsareatallkeypointsofservice,Internet,wirelessandLAN/WAN.
Datacomesinmanyforms,fromsimpleemailtostreamingvideo.Thusnetworksmustbedesignedtoeffec8velyaccommodatetransferofsuchdataandprovideaposi8veuserexperience.Dataitselfis essen8altounderstand,buttheotheressen8alcomponentwhendeterminingcapacityisnumberofusersonthenetworkandwhetheraccessingviawiredorwirelessconnections.Together,thenumberofusersandthetypesofdatatheyareusingconstitutetheaggregatedatabeingtransmittedand,implicitly,minimumnetworkcapacity.
Asageneralguideline,CoSNagreeswithandsupportstherecommenda8onoftheStateEduca8onTechnologyDirectorsAssocia8on(SETDA)regardingminimumnetworkcapaci8esdetailedlaterinthisdocument.Itisalsoimportanttorealizethatmobilebroadband(3G/4G)technologiescansubstan8allyaddtoaschool’sInternetcapacity.
Bandwidthandcapacity
Bandwidthexpressesameasureofnetworkcapacity.Originallyaradioandtelevisiontermforthesizeofacommunica8onschannel,todaybandwidthdescribesthepipe‐sizeusedfordataflow.Normallyexpressedinvaria8onsofbitspersecondasin“megabits(amillionbits)persecond”and,morerecentlyasthetechnologycon8nuestodevelop,“gigabits(abillion)persecond,”the“bits”conceptisvital.Allperformanceconsidera8onsareafunc8onofbandwidthanditisthebitsthatcons8tuteourdata.
Aonegigabitconnec8on(portsonaswitchconnec8ngdevices,oranEthernetadapterinacomputer)generallymeansthespeedandcapacityofthedataflowisonebillionbitspersecond.Byhistoricalstandards,thisseemsanenormousamountofinforma8ontobetransportedandprocessed,however,experiencedemonstratesthatitdoesn’ttakemuchoftoday’scontenttoconsumethiscapacity.CoSN’srecentE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013hkp://www.cosn.org/e‐rate‐broadband‐surveyconfirmsschools’prac8calexperience—cri8calcapacityneedsareatallkeypointsofservice,Internet,wirelessandLAN/WAN.
Bitsanddata
Alldigitalmediaarestoredinbinaryform.Thistakesmanybitstocompletelydefineordescribetheinformationtorender(present)ittotheuser.The
Data itself is essential to understand, but the other essential component when determining capacity is number of users on the network...
Page 13 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
numberofbits(or8‐bitbytes)neededtorepresentinformationtypesvarieswidelyanddependsonmanyfactors.Theseestimatesvaryduetotheamountofinformationonadocument(words,graphics,etc.)andthequalityorresolutionofthevisualmedia(photosandvideo).Somereasonableaveragesaredepictedinthetablehere.
Whiletheyprimarilysupportinstruc8onandlearning,educa=onnetworksincreasinglyprovidecri=calsupportfordataanalysis,administra=veservices,security,telephony,andbuildingservicessuchasligh=ngandHVACcontrols.Thus,datatransportandnetworkresponserequirementsmustbeconsideredinthedesignofthenetwork.Inpar8cular,“converged”systems—useofaschool’sdigitalnetworktosupportdatainthetradi8onalformandvoiceservices(telephony)andvideo(securityandevenTV)—arecommonlyimplementedinnewereduca8onnetworks.
Anothersignificant,relevantdesigntrendisInternetwebsitesessiongrowth.Alargeincreaseinsessioncountlevelshasimplica8onsforfirewallsandcontentfilters.Olderarchitecturesandequipment
werenotdesignedtosupportthisincreaseresul8nginadiminishedorineffec8veuserexperience.
Since2010,averagewebpagesizehasnearlydoubled.Rampantpagebloatmaynotbenews,butthatdoesn’tmakenewfindingsanylessalarming.AccordingtotheHTTPArchive,theaveragetop1,000webpageis1246KB,comparedto828KBinMay2012—a50%growthrateinjustoneyear.7
GrowthofInternetwebpagesize,includingsessioncount,andincreaseinnumberofusers—helpsexplainsubstan8algrowthinschoolInternetusage.
Wi‐Fi,mobile(3G/4G)anddata
Wi‐Fiandmobiledata(3G/4G)arethetwoservicessuppor8ngconnectedmobilelearning.Accesstoqualityconnec8vityforlearners,staff,andwhetheratschool,homeoraboutthecommunity,are
School networks nationwide have implemented various forms of Wi-Fi and are in-process on capacity upgrades.
Page 14 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
7hkp://www.webperformancetoday.com,June5,2013
cri8callyimportanttothefabricofubiquitousorany8me‐anywherelearning.Thecapaci8esoftheseenvironmentsarevitalindesigningacomfortableuserexperience.AccordingtoCoSN’sE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013hkp://www.cosn.org/e‐rate‐broadband‐survey,“57%ofdistrictsdonotbelievetheirschool’swirelessnetworkshavethecapacitytohandlea1‐to‐1deploymenttoday.”
Wi‐Fi(802.11x)datacapacity
Schoolnetworksna8onwidehaveimplementedvariousformsofWi‐Fiandarein‐processoncapacityupgrades.Knownbytheirrespec8veIEEEstandards,nominalcapaci8esandsomedifferencesareshownonpage16.
The802.11acandrecentlyreleased802.11adstandardsshouldproveextremelyusefultoschoolsbydrama8callyimprovingWi‐Finetworkcapacityandreliability.Theseperformanceimprovementsareprimarilyachievedthroughu8lizingthelesscongested5GHzspectrumband,andaddingintelligenttrafficmanagementtechniques.
Mobile(3G/4G)datacapacity
Consumermobile(3G/4G)datatrafficvolumeshaveincreasedexponen8allyinrecentyearsandareexpectedtocon8nuetheirdrama8cgrowthrates.Consideringtheincreasingadoptionofsmartphonesandtheeverexpandinginformationandentertainmentusesthesedevicesaresupporting,thisiseasilyunderstood.Mobilenetworkoperatorsandtechnologyprovidersareconstantlyworkingtomakemorecapacity
While they primarily support instruction and learning, education networks increasingly provide critical support for data analysis, administrative services, security ...
Page 15 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
available.Withmobiledata,thenotionof“capacity”canbethoughtofasacombinationoftechnologyandgeographicpresence.
Thetechnologyindustryisconstantlyupgradingandevolvingboththetechnologyitselfandnetworkservices.Both3G(thirdgenera8on)andthemorerecent4G/LTE(long‐termevolu8on)technologiescurrentlyservethemarket.Thetableonthefollowingpage(p.17,top)reflectstheore8calspeedsofthesetechnologies.AsisthecasewithWi‐Fi,auser’sactualexperiencewillvarydependinguponon‐the‐groundcondi8ons.
Currentmobile(3G/4G)technologieshaveprovenveryeffectiveandreliableinmeetingtheconnec8vityneedsofmostK‐12curriculaoutsideoftheclassroom.Attheendof2012,80%ofNorthAmericanresidentshad4G/LTEserviceavailabletothem,frequentlyfrommultipleproviders.Thismayincreaseto95%ofresidentsby2019orpossiblyearlier.8
Asaresult,mobilebroadbandservicesarepar8cularlyusefulforensuringconsistent24/7accesswhenimplemen8ngdevice‘check
out’programsandbroader1‐to‐1ini8a8ves.Whilecostofservicehasbeenabarrierinthepast,mobile operatorsandeduca8on‐focusedserviceprovidershaveintroducedmoreflexible,affordableandeasily‐administereddataserviceplans.
Addi8onally,mobiletechnologycon8nuestoevolverapidly.Forthcomingdevelopmentsthathavethepoten8altoaddresseduca8onneedsinclude:
■LTEAdvanced–substan8allyincreasingthroughputbycombiningavailablespectrumspectrumallowingdensernetworksandincreasingantennacapacity
■LTEBroadcast–op8mizingcontentdistribu8onoverLTEnetworksusingbroadcastprinciples
■UseofLTEinunlicensedspectrum–co‐existswithexis8ngWi‐Finetworkswhileofferingextendedrange,greatercapacityandseamlesshandofftoWANs
The technology industry is constantly upgrading and evolving both the technology itself and network services.
Page 16 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
8EricssonMobilityReport,June2013
■Smallcells–capableofsignificantlyboos8ngindoorcapacity,andbekermanagingalargenumberofconcurrentlyconnecteddevicesoverLTEandWi‐Fi.
Impactofvideofilesizesandquality
Previouslymen8onedexamplesofthesizeofvariousresourcesareallreasonablymanageablebymostnetworks,evenwirelessnetworks,withoneexcep8on:video.Successfuluseofvideoininstruc8onalse|ngsatschool,home,orinthecommunitydependsonthevideo,thenetworkandthedevice.Today’sdevicesprocessandconsumedigitalvideo,soitisuptothenetwork,wiredandwireless,todeliverthesefiles.Contentprovidersarewellawareoftheimportanceofmobileintoday’sconsumerandeduca8onmarketsandaremakingvideoformatandresolutionaccommodations.
Whetheruploadedforsharingordownloadedforconsump8onbystudents,videofilesizeandqualityisanimportantconsidera8on.Generally,thebeker
thequality(resolu8onandbitrate),thelargerthefilesize.Toop8mizeplaybackinwiredandwireless/mobilese|ngs,videocodecshavelongbeenused.CurrentlypreferredisMPEG‐4withH.264compression—arobust,interna8onal
standardwithsubstan8alflexibility.Manyhos8ngen88esrequirethisfortheirvideocontent.Below,forexample,arethevideorequirementsforApple’siTunesUservice:
Otherserviceprovidersandhostingentitieshavesimilarrecommendationsorsimplyacceptsourcevideoandthenre‐encodeitusingH.264tooptimizeforvarioususerenvironments(wired,wireless,mobile).Technologiessuchasadaptivestreamingalsosignificantlycontributetoaneasyandeffectiveuserexperience.
Instruc=onalcontent
Thereareamul8tudeofdigitalcontentprovidersservingtheeduca8oncommunity.Fromservices
Current mobile technologies have proven very effective and reliable in meeting the connectivity needs of most K-12 curricula outside of the classroom.
Page 17 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
suchasApple’siTunesU,TeacherTube,orGoogle’sYouTube,MOOCsfromCoursera,edXandKhanAcademy—tomoreproprietarycontentfromlearningservicescompanies,aswellasdistrictteacher‐generatedandlocallyproducedinstruc8onalvideocontent,thedirec8onisclear:24/7digitallearningisheretostay.Suchservicesdependheavilyuponubiquitousandreliablenetworkconnec8vity.
Theprimaryques8onamongnetworkdesignersisafamiliarone–‘Dowehaveenoughbandwidth,bothInternetandlocal?’Theanswerdependsontheamountofdatainthesecourses,lessonsandlearningobjectsthatwillbesupported.Thisvariesbyprovider,formatandstudentlearning8me.KhanAcademyalonecontainsthousandsofvideos,onlineexercisesandotherservices.Mostprovidersuseacombina8onofHTMLcontent,documentsandvideointheirlessons—withvideobeingthemostchallengingfromanetworkcapacitystandpoint.
Asaguideline,anes=mateof5MBperminuteofvideoisagoodbasisforplanningnetworks.Thiscouldbeperstudentorperclass,dependingontheinstruc8onalse|ngandloca8on(schoolorhome).Thetransfermedium,wiredorwireless,thenbecomesavitalconsidera8on.
Datarequirementscalcula=ons
Inanyprojectorgoal,agoodideaistobeginwiththeendinmind.Innetworkdesign,“usecases”
informnear‐andintermediate‐termdesignrequirements.Withoutovergeneralizingorbeingsimplis8c,thegoalforthenetworkrevolvessolelyaroundmovingdatainwhatevervolumeandspeedthatisneeded,bothnowandinthefuture.
Inschoolse|ngs,theclassroomremainsthedominantloca8onforinstruc8onandlearning.Notwithstandingthetrendstowardflippedclassroommodels,and24/7learning,educa8onnetworkdesignersmusts8lleffec8velysupportthemoretradi8onalclassroominstruc8onmodel,whichpresentsitsownspa8alanddensityrequirements.Otheron‐campusse|ngstendtosimplybeless‐densevariantsoftheclassroomandcanbeenhancedasneededforBYODand1‐to‐1.Keepinmindthatwiththeintroduc8onof1‐to‐1programs,theen8reschoolbecomesalearningenvironmentwithakendingrequisiteconnec8vityandcapacityneeds.Asthesetrendsprogress,anylargephysicalspacecansuddenlybecomeahigh‐densityusearea,suchaslibrarymediacenters,lectureorperformancehalls,studentstudyareas(insideoroutdoors)—andevencafeterias.
Calcula=ngnetworkcapacity–students,contentandsimultaneity
Asteachersexercisetheirvariousindividualandartfulstylesofteaching,thescaleatwhichtechnologyisintegrated(bothin8meusedandnumberofusers)ultimatelydeterminesnetworkservicerequirements.Analysiswouldapplytoagivenclassroomandthen
In any project or goal, a good idea is to begin with the end in mind.
Page 18 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
extendthroughouttheschoolanddistrictforaggregateschoolanddistrictes8mates.
Incalcula8ngthese,oneapproachistosetbothhighandlowu8liza8onboundsintheclassroom.Inahigh‐usescenario,perhaps30studentsareac8velyengagedwithtechnologyatanyspecific8me.Contenttypeaccessedanddevicesusedul8matelydefinetherequirement.Moststa8cinstruc8onalcontent—HTMLpages,textdocuments(MicrosoXWordorAdobePDFs)—arerela8velysmallinthecontextoftoday’sbaselinenetworks(100Mbps–1Gbpsswitched).Videoraisesthebarwithrespecttocapacity,especiallyinawirelessse|ng.
Usingapar8cularlychallengingexample—all30studentssimultaneouslystreamingavideoat,forexample700Kbps—theaggregateloadontheaccesspointservingthesestudentswouldbe21,000Kbps,or21Mbps.AdjustedfortheinherentcapacitylossinEthernetnetworks,thislevelchallengesthetheore8calcapacityof802.11gtechnology,butfitscomfortablywithinthecapacityof802.11ndevices.
Inthisscenario,considerthefollowing:
■Theclientmusthave802.11ncapabilityandcanacceptstreaming.Dependingontheclienttechnologyused,capabili8essuchasbuffersizeandcompu8ngcapacitycoulddrama8callyaffectuserexperience.Insomese|ngs,thepresence
ofanyotherwirelesstechnology,suchas802.11gcoulddegradethecapacityofthe802.11naccesspoint.
■Thevideoresolutionisstandarddefinition(640x480)at700Kbps.Ifhigherresolutionsareneeded(suchasbetterSDresolutionoranHDstream),thendatarequirementsareincreasedsuchthateven802.11naccesspointscouldbeineffective.
■Thecore(LANandWAN)networkservicesuppor8ngthesewirelesssessionsisassumedtobesufficient.Underlyingthewirelessnetworkisthebackboneorcorewirednetwork.Today’snetworksshouldaccommodatethis,buttherearemanydesignissuesandpoten8alcapacitylimita8ons,socalledchokepoints,whichcouldnega8velyaffecttheen8reexperience.
Althoughnotanexhaus=velist,networkelementssuchasswitch,wirelesscontroller,accesspointandInternetcapaci=es(ifInternetstreamed)allmustbedesignedandscaledaccordingly.
Schoolanddistrictcapacity
Justasnetworkdesignmustdeliveradequateclassroom‐levelservices,thesameistrueatcampus anddistrictlevels.Inearlierdiscussiononclassrooms,thehigh‐useassump8onwaschosenasthemostimportantscenario—butthatscenariocouldextendtoallroomsintheschool.Dependingonthenumberofroomsinaschool,letussay50
Education network designers must still effectively support the more traditional classroom instruction model, which presents its own spatial and density requirements.
Page 19 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
roomsforanelementaryschool,75roomsforamiddleschool,and150roomsinalargehighschool—theaggrega8ondeterminestherequiredcapacityforswitchesandrouters.Simplyaggrega8ngtheseu8liza8onlevelsrevealsthat(assumingthereissufficientdeviceavailability),dataratesattheschoollevelare1Gbpsfortheelementary,1.6Gbpsforamiddleschooland3Gbpsforthehighschool.Theselevelsgenerallyexceedmostdistrictinfrastructuressince1‐Gbpslinkstoschoolsarecommon.Thischallengeis,nodoubt,thereasonsomeschooldistrictsaredeploying10‐Gbpsservice.
SETDArecommendsfor2014‐2015schoolshaveinternalcapaci8esof1Gbpsper1,000studentsandstaff—and100Mbpsper1,000studentsandstaffforInternetcapacity.For2017‐2018,theserecommenda8onsincreaseten‐foldto10Gbpsand1GbpsforinternalandInternetcapaci8esrespec8vely.AnimportantandtroublesomefindingfromCoSN’sE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013statesthat“43%ofdistrictsindicated
thatnoneoftheirschoolscanmeettheSETDArecommenda8on…”
Nonetheless,eveninthemosttechnologicallyadvancedschools—seldomareallstudentsusingthefastestdataandInternet‐intensiveapplica8onssimultaneously.Consequently,networkmanagersmonitorusageover8meandareadeptatpredic8ngandcalcula8ngpeakusageperiods,discoveringtheyuseconsiderablylessbandwidththanwhenallstudentsareusingthefastestdataandInternet‐intensiveapplica8onssimultaneously.Traffic‐andpacket‐shapingapplica8onsanddevicesfurtherhelptobufferpeakloadwithoutsubstan8alperformanceloss.AscaledreferencefortheSETDAguidelinesispresentedabove.
AdditionaltoolsforconsiderationinnetworkcapacityplanningaretwoU.S.initiativesonassessment:thePartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessforCollegeand
Just as network design must deliver adequate classroom-level services, the same is true at campus and district levels.
Page 20 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Careers(PARCC)andtheSmarterBalancedAssessmentConsortium.PARCChaspublished,“AssessmentCapacityPlanningTool.”Avaluableresource,thisdocumentisusefulinassessmentplanning.CoSNhasalsodevelopedresourcestoassistschoolsinplanningthroughits“BeingAssessmentReady”initiative.hkp://www.cosn.org/becoming‐assessment‐ready
Itisimportanttorememberthathowevercri=cal,assessmentisbutoneservicethattheschool’snetworkissuppor=ng.Allotherservicesmustcon=nuetobesupportedbythenetwork.Proxyservicessuggestedbyassessmentprovidersalsoofferaneffec=vewayofminimizingbroadbandneedsandprovidealevelofreliabilityandavailabilitytotesttakersandadministrators.Visit:hkp://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCCCapacityPlanningTool_3‐5‐13_Printablev1.0.pdf
NetworkDesignConsidera=ons
Withaninformedes8mateofthenumberofservices,amountofdata,thenumberofusersandtheiraccessmethods(wiredorwireless),adesignerhasthefundamentalvariablesnecessarytobeginbasicnetworkdesign.Addi8onalaspectsofdesigninclude:
■Security
■Topology
■Addressingschemes(planformorethanonemobiledeviceforsomestudentsandstaff)
■Resiliency
■Redundancy
■Applica8onneeds(qualityofservice)
■Adapta8ontoandintegra8onwithcloudservices
■Virtualiza8on
■Securingandimplemen8ngsufficientbroadbandaccess—aswellasprovidingfortheongoingnetworkmonitoringandmanagement.
Fromatechnologyperspective,weliveinexcitinganddynamictimes.Infrastructureisbecomingcloud‐based,andjustasotherenterprisesareseekingtheoptimalcombinationofon‐premiseandcloud‐basedservices,sotooshouldschoolsgivethoughtfulconsiderationtotheseservicesasaneffectiveoptionforsupportinggrowthormitigatingrisk.
Continuingmobilebroadbandmarketdevelopmentswilllikelyincreaseschooluseandintegrationofsuchservicesintonetworkdesign.Whetherinaschool‐sponsored1‐to‐1oraBYODprogram,designingforaccessanduseofserviceswillbecriticallyimportant.
Whendesigninganetworktoaccommodatetheneedsofallusers,especiallyinaBYOT/BYODor1‐to‐1ini8a8ve,theoldadage‘anounceof
Even in the most technologically advanced schools — seldom are all students using the fastest data and Internet-intensive applications simultaneously.
Page 21 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
preven8onisworthapoundofcure’definitelyapplies.Gonearethedaysofsimplythrowingmorehardwareandinfrastructureattheproblemandexpec8ngthingstoworksmoothly.Thissec8onwon’tdelveintospecificpiecesofhardware,butoneshouldcomeawaywithusefulnetworkdesignconsidera8ons,eitherfortotallynewenvironments(greenfields)ortoupgradeanexis8nginfrastructure tosupportwireless.Whilethereisnosinglebestsolu8ontomeeteveryneed,theinforma8onpresentedhereoffersasolidcoreofconsidera8onsandguidelinesfromwhichtobasedecisions.
Performancerequirements
Theexpression“beginwiththeendinmind”ispar8cularlytruewhendesigningnetworks.Theclassic“RequirementsDefini8on”stepinbuildinganylargeprojectiscri8cal.Requirementsofthenetworkcanbethoughtofasbeingdeterminedbytheservicesthatusethenetwork,whicharetheapplica8onsthatbringtheinforma8onorservicetotheuser–avideoforateachertosharewithstudents,aphonecallbetweencolleagues,oran
onlineassessmentofprogressareafewexamples.Therearemanymoreapplica8onsandservices,eachwiththeirownneedsfromthenetwork.Itisthereforenecessary,asdeterminedbythevision,missionandgoalsmen8onedabove,todevelopaclearunderstandingandinventoryoftheapplica8onsandservicesandtheirpreciserequirementsfromanetworkingperspec8ve.Theserequirementswill,ul8mately,bereducedtoverytechnicalelements,but,aswasdiscussedinthesec8ononDataandCapacity,theendresultwillbeaboutvariousformsofdataandhowfastitmustbedeliveredoverthenetwork.Addi8onalrequirementsregardingahostofservicessuchasresiliencyofthenetwork,securingthenetworkandbackingupthenetwork’sdataaddfurtherrequirementstoinformthedesign.
Mostschoolshaveexis8ngnetworksand,inlargepart,havebeenabletodelivervaryingdegreesofserviceandmanyareonapathtowardthetransforma8vecapabili8esandteachingmodelsdescribedpreviously.Irrespec8veofwhereaschool
Assessment is but one service that the school’s network is supporting. All other services must continue to be supported by the network.
Page 22 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
maybeontheirjourneytotransformation,theyall shouldalwayscomparetheirrequirementstotheirexistingconditions–usingasmuchdataaspossibletodescribetheexistinginfrastructureandproducingagapanalysisdetailingexactlywhatmustbedoneintermsofenhancingthenetworkinordertoachievetheirgoals.
Networktopology
Keyinsupportingthemobileuserisasolidinfrastructure.Generallythoughtofasthenetworkcore,thisincludestheconnectionstotheInternetandtoschoolswithintheschooldistrict.Manyoptionsareavailabletoschoolsindesigningnetworks,butthemostprevalentarestar,ringandhybrid(ring/star)options(seethefollowingdiagrams).Whilemanyfactors,principallycost,affectthetypeofdesignchosen,aguidingconsiderationshouldbetheabilityofthenetworktominimizeoutagesintheeventcommunicationsarelosttoagivennode.ThisisparticularlyimportantinenvironmentswherethedistrictcentrallyprovidesapplicationandInternetservicestoallschools.Schooldistrictsshouldreviewtheirexposuretosuchriskanddevelopstrategiestomaximizeresiliency.Desirableoptionsincludesecondarydatacentersandredundantorbackuppathstonodes.
Star:
Astarisacommondesignusedbymanyschoolstoday.Thisapproachgrewoutofthe“leaseddatacircuit”approachtobuildingnetworks.Historically,schoolsconnectedtothedistrictdatacenterusingleaseddatacircuitsinastar(or“point‐to‐point”)topology.Overtime,thesemayhavemigratedtodarkfiberorleased‐fibermedia.Simpletooperate,theyarestillinusebymanyschools.
It is necessary to develop a clear understanding and inventory of the applications and services and their precise requirements from a networking perspective.
Page 23 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Ring:
Correctlydesigned,ringsprovideamoreresilientlevelofavailability.Nodesontheringstayincommunicationwitheachotherevenifaserviceinterruptionoccursalongthering.This“self‐healing”propertyhasassociatedcostsbutmaximizesavailability.
Hybrid:
Togainreliabilityandminimizecosts—especiallywithschoolsincloseproximitytoeachother—considerahybridmodel.Similartostarornode‐off‐a‐ring,thismethodessen8allydeliversonebig“pipe”tothehubschoolwithsomewhatsmallerconnectionsto“spoke”schools—andeliminatesequipmentduplication,creatingsubstantialcostsavings.
Thereisnosingle“correctway”todesignanetwork.Sometopologiesbetterlendthemselvestoredundancyandrobustness,butthemethodof
Many options are available to schools in designing networks, but the most prevalent are star, ring and hybrid (ring/star) options.
Page 24 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
bringingaconnectiontoadevicecanvarysignificantlyfromonelocationtoanother.
Manynetworktransportinfrastructureswereimplementedpriortonewtechnologyadvances;therefore,manycurrentdesignsonlyprovideasingle‐servicedeliveryloca8onandsingleroutefromthecampustotheservice.AlthoughsecondaryorredundantlinksarenotE‐Rateeligible,amul8‐linkormul8‐sitedeliverymodelshouldbeconsideredasschoolsplanforgrowthandcapacitystrategies.Amul8‐sitedeliverymodelcansimultaneouslysupportvirtualiza8on,disasterrecoveryandbusinesscon8nuityplanning
Dynamicsinthenewnetworkingenvironment
Designrequirementsforeduca8onnetworkshavechanged,ashavetheservicedeliverymodels,availableservicesforinforma8onandcommunica8onstechnologies,accessdevicesandaccessloca8ons.Inshort,everythinghaschangedduringthepastfewyears.Nowistheop8mal8metore‐evaluateandre‐buildthenetwork,ifpossible.
Afewrequirementstoconsiderwhenre‐designingthenetwork:
■TheInternetismission‐cri8calandwillcon8nuetogrowinuse
■24/7,mobile,any8mecompu8ngiscri8caltothesupportofPersonalizedLearningEnvironments(PLEs)
■Private,hybridandpubliccloudsareeduca8onnetworkrequirements
■Internetserviceswillgrowsubstan8ally,meaningthatassociatedschoolInternetinfrastructurecomponentsmustbesizedadequatelyandscalable
■TheWANandInternetservicedesigndirectlycorrelatestotheviabilityofmanagedservicesasa valuableop8onforschools
■Wirelessnetworkdesignisaboutcapacityandaccess
■Studentcompu8ng,BYOD/Tandmobiledevicesareuntrustedandwilllikelybetheprimarydevicesaccessingthenetwork
■Considerpoint‐to‐mul8pointnetworkdesigns.ThesenetworksareeligibleforE‐Rateundercertaincircumstances.9
■Describeanddefinethecurrentandfuturerolesformobilebroadband(3G/4G)withrespecttodistrictnetworkstrategies.WirelessInternet(3G/4G)servicesareeligibleforE‐rateundercertaincircumstances.10
■Securitymodelsarechanging
■SoXware‐definednetworkingwillimpactschoolnetworkdesignsand
There is no single ‘correct way’ to design a network. Some topologies better lend themselves to redundancy and robustness, but the method of bringing a connection to a device can vary.
Page 25 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
9,10USACEligibleServicesListhkp://www.usac.org/sl/applicants/beforeyoubegin/eligible‐services‐list.aspx2014
Page 26 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
In a few short years, everything has changed. Now is the optimal time to re-evaluate and re-build the network, if possible.
■Virtualiza8onisanimportanteduca8onnetworkcomponent.
Arobust,full‐serviceeduca8onnetworkenvisionsmanypartnersandmethodsofdeliveringservicetoschoolsandotherloca8ons(seediagram,p.28).
NetworkaddressingschemesandVLANs
Goodplanningisessen8al.Networksmustaccommodateforthelikelihoodthatschoolswillhavemanymoredevices,andhencemoreaddresses,requiringmoreconnec8vitythaneverbefore.Security,managementandmonitoringmustalsobeintegratedintothedesign.Emergingbestprac8cesrecommendthatthenetworktobeassegmentedaspossibleandthatseparateVLANsforstudentsandstaffbeestablishedtoproperlysecurethenetwork—especiallyastheBYODmodel increasesinprevalence.Thenetworkdiagrambelowrepresentsahigh‐leveldesignforanadvancedschoolnetwork.
Inaddi8ontotheuseofVLANtechnology,designers mayalsotakeadvantageof“qualityofservice”(QoS)technologyavailableinnetworkingequipmenttohelptheirnetworkeffec8velydelivercri8caluserapplica8ons.Inthecontextofnetworkconges8on,QoSisusingapriori8za8onschemetoensure(asbestaspossible)thatcri8calservicessuchasphonecalls(VoIP)orcontentdeliverytospecificusersorapplica8onsarenotdelayed.Forexample,videoconferencecallsrequirehigher
alloca8onsthanaudiocalls,whileaudiocallsrequire higheralloca8onthandownloadssuchaswebpages ordocumentsforreadingoredi8ng.
Broadbandaccess
Internetserviceismissioncri8cal.TheConnectEDannouncementcallingforE‐Ratemoderniza8ontopriori8zeInternetservice,andtheFCC2011Transforma8onOrderoutliningoverhaulofourtelecommunica8onssystemstopriori8zeInternetaccess,reflecttheimportanceofInternetaccessinhomes,schoolsandcommuni8es.CoSN’srecentE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013revealsthatvirtuallyall(99%)ofschoolssurveyedstatedtheywillneedincreasedInternetbandwidthandconnec8vityinthenext36months,withover60%sta8ngthattheydonothavesufficientcapacitynoworwithin12months.OnewayoflookingattheimportantroleofInternetaccessinschoolopera8onsistoconsidertheInternetaswewouldanyotheru8lity—cri8calfordailyopera8onsandmustbefunded.FortheInternet,thisincludestheneedforallcomponentsnecessarytodelivertheservicetostudentsandstaff.
AsInternetdesignrequirementshavechangedsignificantly,soshouldnetworkdesignmodels.Capacityandmission‐criticalrequirementsalonecandrivedesignchange,however,astheInternetplaysaleadroleindisasterrecovery/businesscontinuity,inprovidingPLEs,invirtualizationandinservicesandforcommunicationsand
Page 27 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
A robust, full-service education network envisions many partners and methods of delivering service to schools and other locations.
Page 28 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Networks must accommodate for the likelihood that schools will have many more devices, and hence more addresses, requiring more connectivity than ever before.
informationdissemination—itbecomestheprioritycapability.
ListedbelowaredesignguidelinesrelatingtoInternetservice:
1.Contractwithmul=pleInternetServiceProvidersifneededforredundancyandsufficientcapacity
■Havingmul8pleISPsincreasescapacityresilience,andservice‐providerflexibility■ObtainanAutonomousSystemNumber(ASN)hkps://www.arin.net/resources/request/asn.html
2.Designmul=pledeliveryloca=onswithintheWANforInternetAccess■Allowsforbetteropportunitiesfromalternativeproviders
Virtually all (99%) of schools surveyed stated they will need increased Internet bandwidth and connectivity in the next 36 months...
Page 29 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
■Increasesresiliency■Supportssecondarynetworkopera8onsloca8onsandsecondarydatacenterservices.■BuildtheWANformul8pleservicedeliveryloca8ons■Considerpoint‐to‐mul8pointtransportservicesormodifyandaddfromtheexis8ngWAN■Mul8pledeliveryloca8onscanalsodoublecapacitywithoutmovingtoahigh‐capacity,expensiveservicetransportnetwork
3.Consideraprofessional,carrier‐neutraldatacenterastheaddi=onalservicedeliveryloca=on.■Carrier‐neutraldatacentersprovideopportunityforhigh‐capacity,low‐costInternet■Professionaldatacenterssupportdisasterrecovery,businesscon8nuity,InfrastructureasaService(IaaS),Internetandpower■Thedatacentershouldhaveaccesstohigh‐quality,high‐capacityInternetproviderstolowertransportcost
4.Considermanagedserviceop=onstoscaleInternetcapability■ManagedBorderGatewayProtocol(BGP)rou8ngservices,generallyneededinamul8‐providerenvironment,canbeprovidedbyanInternetServiceProvidereveniftheschoolhastwoproviders
■ManagedfirewallserviceforastudentInternetserviceprovidesscalabilityandreducedcapitalcost■Astudentfirewallservicemaynotrequirethesameruleandmanagementasthetradi8onalenterprisefirewall
5.Consideraffilia=onwithregionalorstatewidenetworksassociatedwithInternet2■Internet2permitscommercialpeeringservices,androutingpathwaystosuchcommercialentitiesasMicrosoft,Apple,Google,etc.,whicharethesourcesofmuchcloud‐basedandsoftwareupdatetraffic■Regionalandstatewidenetworksmayprovideothercost‐effec8ve,enterpriseservicessuchasIntrusionProtec8onServices(IPS),UnifiedThreatManagement(UTM),traffic/packetshaping,IPv6rou8ng,firewalls,etc■Duetotheend‐to‐endmanageddesignofInternet2,regionalandstatewidenetworksprovidedifferentlevelsofservicebyemployingIntranetrou8ngstrategies■Considerthesenetworkswhereavailable,formoreinforma8onseetheInternet2K‐20Ini8a8ve:hkps://k20.internet2.edu/
Whenbuildingnext‐genera8onInternetserviceorevalua8ngexis8ngserviceforscalability,allcomponentsoftheInternetservicemustbe
As Internet design requirements have changed significantly, so should network design models. ...The Internet becomes the priority capability.
Page 30 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
assessedbasedoncapacity,memory,bandwidth,andspecifica8ons.1.DemarcorBorderGatewayProtocol(BGP)router—BGPisthemostpopularexteriorrou8ngprotocolasitallowsfordecentralizedrou8ng,whichisbeneficialinamul8‐homedenvironment)
2.Firewalls
3.Wirelesscontrollers
4.Contentfilters
5.Intrusionprotec8onsystems,stand‐aloneorpartofUnifiedThreatManagement(UTM)
6.Packetshapers,cri8calintrafficmanagementinaconstrainedbandwidthenvironment
7.Corerouter
8.Layer2switchesinDMZ,externalorInternetsegmentsontheInternetService.
Internetinfrastructureequipmentmanufacturershaveansweredtheneedforhigh‐performance,high‐capacityequipmentsuchasnext‐genera8onfirewallsandUTMsthatcanprocessInternetcontentwithincreasedsizeandsessionsperpageanddevices.
Following(seetable)isanexampleofamanufacturerpla`ormspecifica8onfromthreeyearsagoversuscurrentnext‐genera8onhardwareandcapability.Notethatnumbersrepresentedmightbetheore8calmaximumsandcouldbesignificantlylessasmorefeatures(filtering,an8virus,an8‐spam,etc.)areenabled.Ascostofthesecoredevicesisanon‐trivialconsidera8on,workcloselywithknowledgeableengineerstoavertopera8onoversubscrip8onfromdayone.
Mobile(3G/4G)
Securingaffordableandsufficientbroadbandaccess forlocal‐areaconnec8vityviaWi‐Fiistheprimary
All components of the Internet service must be assessed based on capacity, memory, bandwidth, and specifications.
Page 31 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
focusofbuildingeffec8veeduca8onnetworksonschoolgroundstosupportrobustwiredandwirelessenvironments.However,ensuringcon8nuousconnec8vityaXerthefinalbellringsshouldalsobeasignificantconcernofnetworkplannersandschooladministrators.Severalstudiesandpilotprogramshavedemonstratedthatmakingcoursecontentavailableandprovidingameansofcollabora8onamongstudentsandwithteachersonacon8nuousandconvenientbasisdrivessignificantbenefitsforstudentsandadvancesinlearningeffec8veness.Theuseofmobile(3G/4G)connec8vitycanplayasignificantroleinensuringsuchcon8nuousaccessfor1‐to‐1programs.
Anywhere,any8meconnec8vityprovidesstudentswiththeopportunitytoinserttheirstudiesintorealworldse|ngs,wheneverthe8meorcontextisconducivetolearning.Furthermore,formanystudentsamobile(3G/4G)connec8onwillbetheironlymeansofconnec8ngfromhome.Somedistrictssharethatashighas70%oftheirstudentsdonothavebroadbandandWi‐Fiaccessathomeinsomeregions,makingmanyoftheadvantagesof1‐to‐1programsanddigitalcontentinaccessibletothisgroupassoonastheystepoffofschoolgrounds.Addi8onally,regardlessofwhetherthepropor8onofstudentswithoutaccesstoaWi‐Ficonnec8onathomeis70%or10%,networkplannersandschooladministratorsmustbediligentnottocreateadigitaldividebetweenstudentswho
As cost of these core devices is a non-trivial consideration, work closely with knowledgeable engineers to avert operation oversubscription.
Page 32 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
haveaccesstolearningcontentandopportuni8eswhileinthecomfortoftheirownhomes,andthosewhodonot.
AsschoolsworktoensurethatallstudentsareInternet‐connectedathomeandinthecommunity,itisrecommendedthatnetworkplannersmeetwithmobilenetworkoperatorsoreduca8on‐focusedmobileserviceproviderstobekerunderstandserviceop8ons,coverageandcosts.Aspreviouslydescribed,mobile(3G/4G)networkswilloffergoodcoveragetothevastmajorityofhomesandpublicplaces,andmobileserviceprovidershavebeenworkingtodevelopandbringtomarketsolutionsthataddresstheneedsforcostandsecuritycontrols.Theinfographic(below,right)highlightstheimportanceofmobile(3G/4G)asasolutionforstudents.
Communityhotspots
Anotherstrategyforsuppor8ngoff‐campusconnec8vityisthesi8nganddeploymentofcommunityhotspots.Communityhotspotswereinfactlistedasoneoftheservicesthatwillbeconsideredinthemoderniza8onofE‐Ratefor2014.Theseareanopportunityforpublic/privatepartnershipswherebyschooldistrictscanextendhigh‐capacity,highlyavailableInternetaccesstostudent‐frequentedfacili8esorloca8onsinthecommunity.Suchcommunityhotspotscanserveausefulfunc8oninsuppor8ngoutofschoolconnec8vityinareaswherelargenumbersof
studentsmaybecongrega8ngandakemp8ngtoconnectsimultaneously,orat8meswhenlargevolumesofdownloadoruploadac8vitycanbemoreefficientlyandcost‐effec8velyoffloadedtoanavailableWi‐Finetwork.
Furthermore,technologiessuchasHotspot2.0–alsoknownasNextGenera8onHotspotsor(NGH)–willofferseamlessinterworkingbetween3G/4GandWi‐Finetworks.Thiscapabilityisidealforthestudentpopula8onsconsideredintheseguidelinesasitessen8allytakestheguessworkoutofselec8ngwhichnetworkadeviceshouldaccessatagiven8meandcontext.WithHotspot2.0,thedeviceiscapableofiden8fyingavailableWi‐Fi,3Gand4Gnetworks,understandinglikelythroughputspeedsofeachavailablenetwork,thendeterminingthebestpossiblemeansofestablishingaconnec8onbaseduponsecurity,performance,QualityofService,networkpolicies,andahostofotherfactors.
An infrastructure for learning is always on, available to students, educators, and administrators regardless of their location or the time of day.
Page 33 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
11
11GlobalTrendsinPublicWi‐Fi—WBAWi‐FiIndustryReport,2013
Asitbecomescommerciallyavailable,Hotspot2.0orNGHwillprovideanothervaluabletoolforschoolstoseekingtoenable24/7learningfortheirstudents.
BackhaulorWAN/LANconsidera=ons
Generally,schoolshavedoneagreatjobinstallingnetworkstoprovideabaselineforconnec8vityandapplica8ons.Asdiscussedearlier,demandplacedonthosenetworksisincreasing.CoSN’sE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013indicatesthat,whilehavingmorebroadbandistoppriorityforschools,thisisquicklyfollowedbyaneedforwirelessandWAN/LANcapacity.Networkrou8ngandswitchingcapacitymustkeeppacewiththeneedsoftheapplica8ons.Providersareresponding,making10Gbpsand40Gbpscapabilityavailable.TheguidelinewithrespecttoWAN/LANis toanalyzeneedsandthenpurchaseasmuchaddi8onalcapacityaspossibleforuseoverthefinancialplanninghorizon.Addi8onally,virtualiza8onandtechnologiessuchasSoXwareDefinedNetworking(SDN)offerthepromiseofbekermanageabilityandaffordability.Inplanningfor
WAN/LANimplementationsorupgrades,schoolsshouldconsider:
1.Point‐to‐mul8pointWANsforincreasedcapacityandresiliency
2.Managedservices
3.Long‐termdarkfiberinfrastructuretosupportscalabletransport.
Page 34 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
With respect to WAN/LAN, analyze needs and then purchase as much additional capacity as possible for use over the financial planning horizon.
Inevalua8ngserviceop8ons,schoolsshouldconsiderallofthecostsassociatedwitheachop8onandanysignificantdifferencesinperformancecapabili8es.
Theconnec8onbetweenwirelessaccesshardware(accesspoints,arrays,etc.)andtheirassociatedcoreconnec=onpointshouldbeatleast100Mbps,with1Gbps(orhigher)preferred.Akeydeterminingfactortoconsideristhedensityofclientsexpectedoneachaccesspoint(hereaXerreferredtoas‘AP’).Thegreaterthenumberofexpectedclients,ordensity,thehigherthebandwidthneededforthebackhaulconnec8ons.SomeAPsalsosupportuseofredundant(forreliability)orbonded(formorebandwidth)connec8ons,possiblyrequiringaddi8onalcablingrunsifpre‐exis8nginfrastructureisinadequate.
Addi8onally,manyAPsrequirecommunica8onfromacentralmanagementcontrollerandwhileoverheadshouldbeminimal,ifthereisamarginalconnec8ontobeginwith,opera8onofthenetworkcouldsufferasaresult.Bandwidth,evenat1Gbps,isrela8velyaffordableonmostschoolnetworkssothereisnoreasontounder‐designthisconnec8on.
Anotherpointofconsidera8onwiththebackhaulorLANcomponentofthenetworkisthefactthatmanyAPs(andotherdevicessuchasphones)nowdrawelectricalpowerfromnetworkcabling,knownasPoweroverEthernet,PoEorPoE+.Whilenega8ngtheneedforendpointpower,itmay
renderoldercablingunusable.Infact,ifpre‐exis=ngcablingisnotatleastCat5e,andpreferablyCat6,thenthecosttoreplaceoraugmentpre‐exis=ngcablingwillneedtobeconsideredwhendesigningyournetwork.Similarly,totalpoweravailabletowiringclosetsneedstobeevaluatedsincethesedevices(e.g.,APSandphones)arebeingpoweredbyswitcheswhichthemselvesaredrawingmorepower.
Keepinmindthataddingbandwidthisnota“fix‐all.”Simplyprovidingmorecapacityinanenvironmentmightseemlikeaquickcureforyour
A key, determining factor to consider is the density of clients expected on each access point.
Page 35 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
SUSTAINEDSURPRISE>>ForsythCountySchoolsinGeorgiahasaverylargewirelessinfrastructuresuppor8ngmorethan45,000users.Atanygiven8meduringtheschoolday,nearly20,000uniquedevicesassociatewiththeirwirelesshardware.Nearlysixyearsintosuppor8ngdevicesinthismanner,they’vefoundthateventheirmostheavily‐usedarrays(wirelessAPs)onlyexperienceapproximately10‐15Mbpsofsustainedusageontheirbackhaul—evenwithupwardsof200devicesakached—manyarraysexperiencesignificantlylowerlevelsofsustainedusage.Consideringthehighrateoftechnologybuy‐in—bothfromthedistrictandthecommunityat‐large—theyweresurprisedtodiscoversuchsmallsustainedusageonbackhaullinks.Nevertheless,asanaggregatenumberforthedistrict,it’snotuncommontoseenearly800MbpssustainedusagedirectedtodistrictInternetcircuits.Thisisinaddi8ontothe22,000district‐suppliedcomputersthatmaybeinuseonthewirednetwork.◼
networkproblems,butitisimportanttodiagnoseandaddresstherootcauseoftheissue.Manyenterprise‐levelwirelesssolu=onsprovideintegratedrepor=ng,whichisinvaluableinproac=velyminimizingproblems.
SomeAPscanalsoperformapplica8on/webfilteringattheedgeofthenetworksoastoreducenetworktrafficonthebackhaulandInternetlinks,akeyingredientwhendetermininganddesigningbackhaulbandwidthorspeed.
Lastly,butveryimportantly,accordingtoCoSN’sE‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013,26%ofdistrictsareusingslowercopperbackbonesand2.3%areusingwirelessbackbonesintheirschoolLAN.Ingeneral,theseneedtobereplacedwithfiberconnec=onstowiringclosets.Therearecosttradeoffsbetweennetworkelectronicscomponentsandsingle‐ormul8‐modefibersoschoolsshouldworkcloselywiththeirequipmentprovider
Staffing,trainingandleadership
Humancapitalandleadershipmustbeincludedinnetworkdesignandopera8on.Developinghumanleadershipcapacityfortechnologyiscri8calinthedesign,planningandcon8nuedopera8onofsuperiornetworksforstudentsandteachers.Workingwithtechnologyleaders,CoSNoffersarangeofsolidresources,mostrecentlyCoSN’sCer8fiedEduca8onalTechnologyLeader(CETL)program,whichisfocusedaroundaframeworkof
essen8alskillsandprovidesacomprehensivedevelopmentalandcer8fica8onprocessfortechnologyleaders.Findoutmoreat:hkp://www.cosn.org/cer8fica8on
AccessPointsandWirelessConnec=vity
Astheeffec=venessaffordedbymobilitycon8nuestoberealized,designandimplementa8onofwirelessservices(Wi‐Fiand3G/4G)becomecri8cal.Unlikethewiredenvironment,inwhichcapacityandreliabilitywasrela8velyassuredbecauseofdedicatedresources,wirelesstechnologyhasadifferentsetofdeploymentandusechallengescenteringoncapacity,especiallyinscenariosinwhichtherearemanyusersofdata‐intensiveapplications.Thisandotherchallenges,suchaswallsandbuildingmaterials,whichlimitreception,canbeovercomewithgoodanalysisanddesign.
Beyondthephysicalsignalandcapacityconsidera8ons,wirelesstechnologyalsocompelsthedesignertoincludeaddressplanning,security,andidentitymanagementintothedesign—especiallyasprivatelyowneddevicesarelikelytobeused.
Designques=ons
Contrarytopopularbelief,properlyimplemen8ngawirelessnetworkisneitherquicknoreasy.Itis
Adding bandwidth is not a ‘fix-all’ ... it is important to diagnose and address the root cause of the issue.
Page 36 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
en8relypossibletobuyaconsumer‐levelproductfromthenearestelectronicsstore,connectittothenetworkandbeginofferingawirelessconnec8onforstudents,however,doingsowouldbecour8ngfailure.Though`ulanalysisanddesignarecri8cal;startwithaplanandthengoaboutdetermininghowbesttoimplementthatplan.
Someques8onstoinformdesign:
■Howmuchcoverageandatwhatdensi=es?
Istheintenttoprovidecoveragejusttoclassroomsortotheen8recampus?AXerdecidingwhichareastocover,apropersitesurveyisthenextstep.Oncecoverageareasaredecided,asurveywillshowwhereAPsneedtobeplacedtoprovideadequatecoverageforexpecteduserdensi8es.SpecialcareshouldbegivenindeterminingAPplacement.BesuretoallowenoughcoverageoverlaptocompensateintheeventofanAPoutage.
■Whattypesofdeviceswillbeallowedtoconnect?
Thebroadarrayofend‐userdevices(notebooks,handhelds,tablets,gamesystems,e‐readers,etc.)presentsachallengeindesigningandadministeringnetworks.Whileitmightseemreasonabletoassumethatifthenetworkcanhandleonetypeofdevice,itcanhandlethemall,thatisnotnecessarilythecase.Somedevicesrequirecertaincondi8onstobepresentonthe
networktofunc8onproperly.Strategieshereincludetes=ngmanyofthecommondevicestoensuresuccessfulaccessand/ortolimitdevicestoaspecifictype.Notdoingsosetsuppooruserexperienceandmayimpactthenetwork.
■Areyoustar=ngfromscratch,oristhereapre‐exis=ngwirelessnetwork?
QuiteoXen,implemen8nganewwirelesssolu8onismucheasierthanintegra8ngnewhardwarewithapre‐exis8ngsetup.Nevertheless,shouldapar8alsolu8onalreadybeinplace,carefully
Thoughtful analysis and design are critical; start with a plan and then go about determining how best to implement that plan.
Page 37 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
SMARTSUPPORT>>Adistrictdecidednottosupport802.11b‐onlydevicesonthenetwork.Eventhough802.11gwasbackwards‐compa8blewith‘b’,any‘g’radiowouldhavetoslowdownto‘b’speeds(impac8ngallconnecteddevices)ifa‘b’deviceassociated.As802.11bdeviceswereonthewanewhenthedistrictimplementeditsBYOTsolu8on,itwasassumedtheimpactwouldbeminimalwith,atworst,afewhandheldgamingsystemslosingconnec8vity.FastforwardafewyearstoChristmas2012:thelatestKindleFire,whichsupported802.11g,wouldnotakachtotheBYOTnetwork.Workingcloselywiththewirelessvendor,itwasdiscoveredthattheKindlerequired802.11bsupport,eventhoughitwasn’tgoingtouseit.Sincethenetworkhad802.11bsupportdisabled,theKindlerefusedtoconnect.ThevendordevelopedaquickpatchtofooltheKindleintothinkingthenetworksupported802.11b,eventhoughitdidnot.Acloserela8onshipwithone’swirelessvendorand/orVARcanbeawisemove.◼
considerhowthetwodisparatesolu8onswillinteroperate.Inplanningapar8alnewimplementa8on,selecthardwarethatcanscaletoalargerinstalla=on.
■Whatconstruc=onmaterialsareusedinthebuildings?
Thoughtechnologypersonnelmightnothavedirectinputintobuildingmaterials,goodrela8ons withtheschool’s’facili8esdepartmentprovidesgreaterunderstandingofpoten8alproblemareas.
■Whichdistrictresourcesareavailable?
Theanswercangreatlyimpactthedesign,complexity,andcostofaninstalla8onandisfurthercomplicatedbytheownershipofthedevice–schoolorstudent.Anappropriateguidelineisdesigntoprovidestudentaccesstoservicestheywouldnormallyhaveinanin‐schoolwiredenvironmentwhenusingschool‐owneddevices.WithBYOD,providesimilarbutweb‐enabledservicesdeliverablesecurelythroughmobilebrowsers.
Withlimitedinternalresourceaccess(prin8ng,fileshares,etc.),consideramobiledevicemanagement(MDM)solu8on.AnMDMcanhelpassurethatclientsmeetaminimalsecurityposturewhileauthen8ca8ngaccesstodesiredinternalresources.UsingMDMtoregulateisonlyoneop8on;considerusingavirtualdesktopproducttoprovideasecureenvironmentinwhichuserscansafelyinteractwithschoolresources.Of
course,theseop8onscanaddcostandcomplexityaswellassomemeasureofresourceoverheadintheformofhardware,soXware,andpersonnel.
Anotherop8on:simplyallowonlyInternetaccessbyblockingallinternalaccess,anddirectalltrafficouttheInternetgateway.Whilethisisthemostsecureop8on,ithasthenega8vesideeffectofpreven8ngaccesstopoten8allyneededinternalnetworkfiles.
■Howcleanistheradiofrequency(RF)spectrum?
Asurveyoftheschoolbyaqualifiedwirelessprofessionalwillprovideanassessmentofhow“clean”theRFspectrumisatanygivensite.Evenifthereisnopre‐exis8ngwirelessnetwork,thespectrummightnotbeasfreefromconges8onasonemightthink.Besidesever‐presentbackgroundnoise,ifaschoolisinornearaneighborhoodorurbanarea,impingementfromoutsidewirelessnetworksisalmostassured.Sincethe2.4GHzand5GHzbandsareunlicensed,meaningthatnolicenseisrequiredtooperateequipmentinthesebandsprovidedmaximumpowerlevelsaren'texceeded,thereisn’tmuchthatcanbedonetomi8gateinterferencefromoutsidesources.Properchannelplanningandlayoutisessen8alinprovidingthebestpossibleconnec8oninachallengingenvironment.Over=me,thegrowthofnewerstandardsrelyingonthe“cleaner”5GHzshouldhelpmi=gateconges=onissuesevidentin2.4GHz.
In planning a partial new implementation, select hardware that can scale to a larger installation.
Page 38 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
■HowwillrogueAPsbemi=gated?
Nomakerhowsecurethedesign,therewillalwaysbeunauthorized,orrogue,networkswithwhichtocontend.ArogueAPcanhaveadeleteriousimpactonawirelessnetwork—asasourceofinterference,apathtoavoidnetworkfilters,asecurityissue(inthecaseofanimpersonatedSSID)andincertaincircumstancesasanunprotectedthreatvectorformalicioussoXwareoruserstogainaccesstotheinternalnetwork(intheeventauserconnectstotheroguewiththeirwirelesscardwhilesimultaneouslyconnectedtotheinternal,wirednetwork).Asmartdesignincludesfeaturesto“sequester”roguetraffic—boththerogueitselfandanyconnectedclients—effec=velyneutralizingtheoffender.Whilethiswon’tcleanthespectrum,itdoes“enforce”expectedbehaviorbymakingroguesunusable.
AddressingkeychallengesinWi‐Fideployments
ThereisafiniteamountofRFspectrumavailable,especiallyinthe2.4GHzband(usedby802.11b/g/n)withonlythreenon‐overlappingchannels(1,6,11)availableforuse.Overlappingisthetermusedtodescribethe"bleedingover"ofasignal'sprimary
frequency(or"centerchannel")intoneighboringfrequencies.Wi‐Fichannelsinthe2.4GHzspectrumwilloverlaptwochannelsoneithersideofthecenterchannel(i.e.,channel6willalsoimpingechannels4,5,7,and8—asthosearethechannelswithinthetwo‐channeloverlaponeithersideofthecenterchannel).Thisiswhy,eventhoughthereare11channelsinthe2.4GHzspectruminNorthAmericaforwirelessnetworking,onlythreechannels‐1,6,and11‐don'toverlapwitheachotherandshouldbeusedtoimplementthemostrobust2.4GHznetwork.
Forexample,ifthereisalreadyawirelessAPrunningonchannel6.Thismeansthatchannels4,5,6,7,and8arebeingused(centerchannel6,plusthetwoneighboringchannelsoneithersideof6).Ifanaddi8onalAPistobeaddedandnotinterferewiththeexis8ngAP,channel1orchannel11must
Proper channel planning and layout is essential in providing the best possible connection in a challenging environment.
Page 39 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
beselected.IftheAPweretobeconfiguredtorunonchannel2,itwouldimpingeonchannels0*,1,2,3,and4(*there'snotreallya'channel0'—itisjustbeingusedasa"placeholder").Sincechannel6alsoimpingesonchannel4,thencenterchannels2and6areoverlapping,whichcancreatecommunica8onproblems.Thoughtherearenorulesmanda8ngtheuseofonlychannels1,6,or11fornetworkinginthe2.4GHzspectrum,usinganythingelsecanseriouslyaffectcommunica8onsandnega8velyimpactawirelessengineeringplan.Itisalsoconsideredtobebestprac8cetousechannels1,6,and11,aswellasbeinga“goodneighbor”whenotheren88esmightbewithincloseproximity.
Asagreatmajorityofconsumerhardwareusesthe2.4GHzbands,conges8onrapidlydegradesperformance.Fortunately,thereisanotherbitofunlicensedspectrum:the5GHzbandwithupto23non‐overlappingchannelsavailableandusedby802.11a/n/ac.Thoughini8allyfarlesscommonintheconsumerandbusinessspace,thewidespreadadop8onofdual‐band802.11n(andtheforthcoming802.11acstandard)hasmadedevicesthatsupportthe5GHzspectrumsomewhatmorecommon.Nevertheless,agreatmajorityofdeviceswills=llprefer2.4GHzunlessconfiguredtoprefer5GHz.Notonlycanthe2.4GHzspectrumbemorecrowdedwithclients,it’salsocongestedbynon‐802.11trafficfromBluetoothdevices,gamingsystems,personalhotspots,microwaveovens,andevenimproperlygroundedelectricalsystems.
Nevertheless,even5GHzhaslimita8onssinceitshigherfrequencyismorepronetosignalloss(the5GHzsignalismorereadilyabsorbed—or‘akenuated’byobstruc8onsbetweentheAPandthedevice)andgenerallyhasashorterrangethan2.4GHzdevicesatthesamepoweroutput.Carefulplanningisrequiredwhendesigninganinfrastructurethatwillsupportboth2.4GHzand5GHzspectrum.
Designfortheneededdensity(capacity)
Designinganetworkforahigh‐densityuserenvironmentcanpresentmanyini8allynon‐apparentchallenges.Oneoftheseisthepeoplethemselves.Thehumanbody,whichisabout60%water,isasignificantsignal‐absorp8onmaterial.Whenperformingasitesurveyandusingpredic8veanalysis,manyunderes8matetheamountofsignal
Though there are no rules mandating the use of only channels 1, 6, or 11 for networking in the 2.4 GHz spectrum, using anything else can seriously affect communications...
Page 40 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
TRAFFICTRENDS>>OfficialsatForsythCountySchools,withnearly20,000concurrentwirelessdevicesontheirnetwork,havenoticedthat,whilethenumberof5GHz‐capabledeviceshasindeedincreasedontheirnetwork,ithasn’tkeptpacewiththeoverallgrowthrateofwirelessdevicesonthenetwork.Obviously,evenwithdual‐band802.11n(andpre‐802.11ac)devices,thegreatmajorityofdevicesarestilloperatinginthe2.4GHzspectrum.Thoughthisshouldbegintrendingmoreinthedirectionof5GHzdevicesinthefuture,inthenear‐term,therewillstillbesignificant2.4GHztraffic.◼
lossoccasionedbysimplybyhavinglargenumbersofstudentsinaclassroom.Thisissueisn’toXenfoundinmanycorporateorofficescenariosasit’snotnormaltohave30+peopleregularlygroupedtogetherinarela8velysmallspace.Thiscanbemi=gatedbyhavingAPsclosertotheusers,eveninves=nginoneAPperclassroom.Acau8onarynote:suchdensity,especiallyinthe5GHzbandswill beeffec8vebutmaynega8velyimpacttheRFspectruminthe2.4GHzbands.Thus,athoroughsitesurveyiscri8calindesigningarobust,andfault‐tolerantwirelessnetwork.Someguidelinesforexis8ngwirelessinfrastructureareasfollows:
Buildingmaterialsandbuildingarchitecturemaner
Construc8onmaterials,aswellasfurnitureandfixtureplacementinaroom,cansignificantlyimpactsignalquality.Thoughsignallosswillevenoccurinemptyspace,signalspassingthroughoneormorewalls,filingcabinets,interac8vewhiteboardsordoorswillencountermoreloss.Addi8onally,mirrorsinadancestudio,ormorecommonly,sound‐absorbingmaterialsinamusicclassrequirespecialaken8on.Userswillalsoneedtohaverealis8cexpecta8onsinawirelessenvironment.ProvidingaWi‐Fisignalcouldbeconsidereda“besteffort”medium.Allotherthingsbeingequal,awiredconnec8onwillalwaysbemorereliableandfasterassomanymorevariablescanimpactwirelessservice.Eventhetypeofdevicecanchange thequalityofserviceanduserexperience.
AdevicecouldbeveryclosetoanAPands8llnotreceiveausablesignal.Dependingonthereflec8vityofnearbysurfaces,it’spossibleforasta8ontoreceiveprimaryandreflectedsignals.Ifthesignalsare180degreesout‐of‐phase(meaningthecrestofonesignalmatchesexactlywiththetroughofanother),itcaneffec8velycancelitselfout.UnderstandingRFenvironmentalcharacteris8cscangoalongwayinassis8ngwithdesigningforop8mumconnec8vity.
Addressplanning,design,andmanagement
Aspreviouslymen8oned,asdevicecountincreases,thenumberofpublicIPaddresses—andtheirassociatednetworkaddresstransla8on(NAT)andportaddresstransla8on(PAT)thatareavailabletotheconnec8onisofcri8calimportanceinasmartnetwork.WiththeexplosivegrowthofBYOT/BYODhardware,it’snotunusualforausertocarrymul8pledeviceswiththemandevenusethosedevicessimultaneously.Further,eachopenapplica8onmightopenacorresponding10‐20portsassignedforthedura8onofthesession.Ifauserhasfourapplica8onsopen,theneachdevicemighthave80orsoportsassigned.Carryinganaverageoftwodeviceseach,that’s160portsassignedperstudent.Ina2,000‐studentscenario,thatcouldtranslateto320,000portsallocated.SinceeachpublicIPaddresscanonlyhaveapproximately59,000assignedports,thatcouldmeansixpublicIPaddresses wouldbeneededtosupportthatnumberofusersinthatscenario.Thatmightseemlikeanextreme
Construction materials, as well as furniture and fixture placement in a room, can significantly impact signal quality.
Page 41 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
scenario,buttherehavebeeninstancesofexhaustedaddresstablesresultinginsporadicInternetaccess,evenwithplentyofbandwidthavailable.
TheCer8fiedWirelessNetworkProfessionalAssociationofferscertificationprogramsandtrainingguidestohelpleadersandengineersindesigninganddeployingwirelessnetworks.Its“CertifiedWirelessNetworkAdministratorGuide”http://www.cwnp.com/certifications/cwnaisanexcellenttool,bothinstudyingforanindustrycertificationandasareferenceguideforeffectiveimplementationandmanagementofwirelessnetworking.
Responsibili=esofstudentdatasecurity
StateandfederalguidelinesandlawssuchastheFamilyEduca8onalRightsandPrivacyActof1974(FERPA),theChildren’sInternetProtec8onAct(CIPA)andtheChildren’sOnlinePrivacyProtec8onActof1998(COPPA)addressstudentdatasecurityrequirementsandconcerns.Addi8onally,theProtec8onofPupilRightsAmendment(PPRA)protectsrightsofstudentsandparentsregardingsurveys,analysisorevalua8onsconductedbytheUSDepartmentofEduca8on.
Familiaritywiththoserequirementsiscri8calinnetworkdesign.Datasecurityshouldbeahigh‐levelconsidera8onandshouldnotbeminimizedduetocostconcerns.WiththeBerkmanCenterforInternetLaw,CoSNisbuildingaToolkitonPrivacy,whichwillincludeasummaryofFERPA.Addi8onal
resourcescanbefoundintheHarvardLawSchoolpublica8onPrivacyandChildren’sData:AnOverviewoftheChildren’sOnlinePrivacyActandtheFamilyEduca8onalRightsandPrivacyAct.hkp://cyber.law.harvard.edu/publica8ons/2013/privacy_and_childrens_data
Encryp=onandsecurityconsidera=ons
Whendeployingwirelessnetworks,encryp8onmustbeapartofthedesigndiscussion.Thoughthereareseveralencryp8onmethodologiesfromwhichtochoose,WEPiseasilycompromisedandshouldneverbeconsidered.Ifencryp=onischosen,use
With the explosive growth of BYOT/BYOD hardware, it’s not unusual for a user to carry multiple devices with them and even use those devices simultaneously.
Page 42 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
NOTEBOOKNOTES>>In2008,ForsythCounty(GA)initiallyrolledoutcoveragetosupportnotebookcomputers—whichgenerallyhavearobustantennadesignandcanbeusableeveninarelativelyweakWi‐Fienvironment.Withtheproliferationofhandheld/tabletdevices,itbecameapparentthattheirantennadesignwassignificantlylesscapablethanwhatwasfoundinnotebooks.Inalargenumberofareasnotebooksfunctionedjustfine—buttabletdevicesdidnot.Itwasdeterminedthattheminimumusablesignalforhandhelds/tabletswas‐65dBmRSSI,whereas72dBmRSSIisadequateforlaptops(thefartherthenumberfrom‘0’,theweakerthesignal).RSSI(receivedsignalstrengthindicator)isameasurementofpowerpresentinareceivedradiosignal.Thestrongerthereceivedradiosignal,thefastercommunicationcanoccurbetweenclientandAP.◼
WPA2tosecurewirelessconnec=ons.WPA2canbecombinedwithotherop=ons,suchascer=ficate‐basedauthen=ca=onorRADIUS,tofurther=ghtensecurity.
Moresophis8cateddesignsandimplementa8onscanalsointelligentlyassigndevicestopar8cularnetworks/VLANsdependingoncriteriasuchasusercreden8als,theexistenceofpar8cularmanagementsoXware,andothercondi8ons.Thisprovidesanextralayerofprotec8ontotrafficand/orinternalresources,thoughitdoesaddtocostandcomplexity.OneapproachisaWPA2‐protectedSSID,withthekeydistributedviaAc8veDirectorygrouppolicies,coupledwithcer8ficate‐basedRADIUSauthen8ca8on(cer8ficatepushedtoclientsviagrouppolicies)fordistrict‐supplieddevices.Thesedeviceswouldhavefullaccesstointernalresourceslimitedonlybygroupmembershipoftheauthen8cateduser.
Securityisavitalconsidera8on.Whetherprotec8ngabuilding,anautomobileoranetwork,propersecurityprovidesforintactandcon8nuedopera8ons.Usersexpecttheirdataisassecureascanbereasonablyassuredwhileusingaschool’snetwork.CTOsandsystemadministratorsmustensurethatdistrictresourcesareaccessedonlybythosewithappropriateauthority.Lawsandguidelinescompeladistricttoapplycertaincontrols toprotectemployeeandstudentinforma8on.Forthecoreofthenetwork,threatmi8ga8ontechnologiessuchasintrusionpreven8onand
intrusiondetec8onservices(IPS/IDS),an8‐virusandan8‐malwareservicesareessen8altoasafeandsecureopera8onofthenetwork.Theseconsidera8ons,individuallyandinconcert,informandspecifynetworksecuritydesign.
Bestprac=ceswouldsuggesthavinganetwork(VLAN)dedicatedsolelyforBYOD/Thardwareevenifthedesireistogivethosedevicesaccesstothesameresourcesasiftheywereusingschool‐supplieddevices.Segrega8ngthenetworksallowsformoregranularcontrolofthetrafficonalesstrusted,oruntrustednetworkthroughfirewallpolicies,accesscontrollists,andothermeansofthetrafficonthisuntrusted(orlesstrusted)network,shouldtheneedarise.
Combiningsuchnetworksegrega8onwithatoolsuchasMDMcanfurtherensuresecuredata,asonlyproperlyauthen8cateddeviceswillbeallowedonthenetwork.
Addi8onalprotec8onfromundesired“snooping”wouldincludeuseofawirelessproductprovidingsomelevelofsequesterednetworkconnec8on:theclientcanaccessallallowednetworkresources,butclientsareprecludedfromaccessingeachother.This helpsdissuadesomeofthemorecurioususersfrom“exploring”thenetworkbeyondwhat’sintendedbytheschoolordistrict.However,thismaypreventsomelegi8mate,in‐building,point‐to‐pointservices(suchasanetworkedvo8ngdevice)fromopera8ng
Data security should be a high-level concern and should not be minimized due to cost concerns.
Page 43 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
iftheyusetheschool’swirelessinfrastructureasatransportmethod.
IdentityandAccessManagement(IAM)
Smartnetworkdesignanddevelopmentmustincludemethodsofgrantingusersappropriateandsecurenetworkaccess.Withtoday’scomplexfabricofmultiplesystems,usermanagement,includingprovisioning,de‐provisioningandgrantingspecificauthorizations,isbothessentialandincreasinglyresourceintensive.EffectiveIAMdesignandoperationstrategiesarejustasimportant,inmanyrespects,asthedesignofhardwareandsoftwarecustomarilyconsideredpartofthenetwork.Althoughthereisnosinglebestwaytodesignaschool’sIAMmethod,resourcesexisttoassistthedesignerandCTOinformulatingasmartapproach.CoSNisacontributingmemberoftheNationalK‐12FederatedIdentityandAccessManagementTaskForce(seehttps://spaces.internet2.edu/display/K12FedIAMTF/Home)—andhasdevelopedthedocument,SingleSign‐On,MultipleBenefits:APrimeronK‐12FederatedIdentityManagementandAccessManagement.http://www.cosn.org/FederatedIdentity
ConnectingDevicestotheNetwork
What’sthepointinhavinganetworkifnottoallowdevicestoconnect?Theques8on,then,ishowbesttoaccomplishthiswhileensuringbothinfrastructureanddevicesecurity.
Authen=ca=onofdevicesandusers
Howareyouplanningtoauthen8catedevicestoyournetwork?Areyousimplygoingtoallowanydevicetoconnectwithoutregardtouserordeviceiden8fica8on?Thatmayprovidesupporttothelargestnumberofdevices,butcanmeanthatCTOsandnetworkadministratorshavenospecificandiden8fiableknowledgeaboutusersanddevicesontheirnetwork.Aneffec=vedesignapproachistoauthen=cateviawebpageredirec=onwhere,whenthemobilebrowserislaunched,auserisrequiredtopasscreden=alsforauthen=ca=on.Integratedintotheschoolsdirectoryservicesorsecuritysystems,thiscanhelpensureallusers,beforeInternetuse,agreetoa‘TermsofService’(whichcanneutralizethe‘Ididn’tknowIwasn’tsupposedtodothat!’argument).Thisredirectionmayhavesmalllimitationssuchasnotsupportingalluser‐supplieddevices,orprecludingguestsfromusingthenetworkunlessprovisionsaremade,butprofessional,responsiblenetworkmanagementandsecurityalwaystrumpssuchoutcomes.
Smart network design and development must include methods of granting users appropriate and secure network access.
Page 44 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Ifanauthenticationmethodischosen,canusersopt‐out?Ifso,willtheybeaffordedanysortofaccess?Whilethereisnosingle100%correctsolution,carefulplanningandconsiderationshouldmakeitpossibletofindsomethingthatworksforyourschooldistrict.
Managementofdevices
Withasecurewirelessnetworknowavailabletostudents,howcanonesmoothlymanageahardwareinflux?Whilethereisnoone‐size‐fits‐allsolution,smartdesignsincludedeployingsomemanagementtools.
■Bandwidthmanagement‐Isthereapar8cularapplica8onorsiteconsuminganinordinateamountofbandwidth?Blockitwithcommonfilteringtools,butsomelegi8mateeduca8on‐relatedcontentmaybecomeinaccessible.Abenersolu=onwouldbetolimittheamountoftrafficthatcanflowtoandfromthebandwidthhogandestablishpriorityforcri=caltrafficsuchasemail,andonlinetes=ng.Newer‐genera8onfiltersandfirewallseasilydothis,oXenprovidingsignificantbandwidthsavings.
■Mobiledevicemanagement(MDM)‐Partofanoverallstrategytomanageallnetworkdevices,MDMsolutionsareveryuseful,givingdistrictsgranularcontroloverauser’sdevice,fromgrantingaccesstothedistrict’snetworktolocationtrackingandcameraaccess.Theycanalsoassistin
softwareinstallationsincludinglicensemanagementandsecurity.
■Technicalsupportofpersonally‐owneddevices‐Howmuchtime,effortandmanpowerareyouwillingtodedicatetostudent‐supplieddevices?Doesyourdistricthavethecapability,ordesire,toprovidesupportforhundredsifnotthousandsofdisparatedevicetypes?Areyoureadytoberesponsibleforanyuser‐suppliedhardwareproblemsif,forexample,theyareinanywayrelatedtodistrictstaffperformedwork?Givencostsimplicitinahigh‐supportmodelforuser‐owneddevices,athoughtfulapproachmaybetoleavesupportforanyBYOT/BYODhardwaretotheenduser.
Webandcontentaccessmanagement
Responsibleandappropriatecontentmanagementisanotherimportantconsidera8oninnetworkdesignandisaconstantchallengefornetworkmanagers.Compliancestrategiesexistbothforstudentprotectionandlegalnecessity.InwirelesssettingsinwhichBYODisencouraged,itisimportantthattheschoolcontinuetoensurepersonally‐owneddevicesusingschool‐providedInternetserviceonlybeallowedtoaccesscontentdeemedappropriatebytheschool.Thismayrequireadditionaltechnologyororchestrationofotherdirectoryandfilteringstrategies,butitiswisetopreventstudentsfromaccessinginappropriatecontentinallsettings,notjustwhileonthedistrict’snetwork.
How much time, effort and manpower are you willing to dedicate to student-supplied devices?
Page 45 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
ConnectingfromOutsideofSchoolSupportforany=me,anywherelearning
Mobiledeviceavailabilityandadop8oncon8nuestoriseintheworkplace,consumerspaceandincreasinglyineduca8on.Mobiledevicesincorpora8ngwide‐areaorcellularconnec8vityareturningintomul8‐purpose,highlycapableportablecomputersenablinggreaterinterac8onwithincreasinglyimmersiveandalways‐availablelearningexperiences.Wheneffec8velyandsecurelysupported,theyhavethepoten8altodeliverhighly‐customizedandgenuinelytransforma8velearningexperiencesbothinsideandoutsidetheclassroom.
Variouspilotprojectshavedemonstratedthatsuppor8ngtheabilityofstudentstoaccesslearningcontent,interactwithteachers,mentorsandpeersany8me,anywherehasabeneficialandtransforma8veimpactonlearningeffec8veness.Forecastsforsubstan8aluseofblendedlearning(50%ofcoursesby2019)furtherconfirmthemainstreamingofthisnewmodelintoK‐12.
Thesepilotsandagrowingnumberofotherexperiencesdemonstratethatstudentsandteachersbenefitfromgainingaccesstolearningcurriculaandotherresourcesthatwillresideonschoolnetworksona24/7basis,inoroutoftheclassroom.Thereareavarietyofpossibleapproachestoachievethisresult,frommatchingWi‐Fidevicestoportable4Ghotspots,issuing
mobiledeviceswithbuilt‐inmobilebroadbandconnec=vity,orBYODwhicheffec=velyallowsparentsandstudentstoselecttheirpreferreddevice,andmanagingconnec=vityrequirementsdirectly.
Supportfor24/7accessiblelearningprogramsconsidersequitableaccesstolearningcontentandopportuni8esforallstudents,regardlessoftheavailabilityofconnec8vityathome.Someschooldistrictsmayhaveasignificantpropor8onoftheir
Mobile device availability and adoption continues to rise in the workplace, consumer space and increasingly in education.
Page 46 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
MEANINGFULK‐NECTIONS>>Apilotprogramini8atedintheinterestofexploringwhetherprovidingstudentswith24/7connec8vity(viasmartphones)couldplayaroleinenhancingstudentengagementandlearning,ProjectK‐Nectaddressedtheneedtoimprovemathskillsamongat‐riskstudentsinNorthCarolinawhoscoredpoorlyinmathanddidnothavehomeInternetaccess.AlgebraIdigitalcontentalignedwithcurrentlessonplanswascreatedandstudentswereencouragedtolearnfromeachotherinandoutoftheclassroom.Studentsdidsobyusingsocialnetworkingapplica8onsonthesmartphone,aswellasotherInternetresourcessuchaswww.algebra.com.Studentsatoneofthepar8cipa8ngclassesincreasedtheirproficiencyratesby30percentontheend‐of‐courseexamwhencomparedtoclassesnotinProjectK‐Nectbuttaughtbythesameteacher.Thecompletecasestudyavailableathttp://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/wireless‐reach‐case‐study‐united‐states‐project‐knect‐english◼
studentsloseaccesstoInternetconnec8vityassoonastheystepofftheschoolgrounds.Inthesecases,theuseofmobilebroadband(3G/4G)technology,suchastheKajeetSmartSpotdiscussedinthesidebarfromDetroitPublicSchools,ormobilebroadband(3G/4G)capabledevicesisoXenthemosteffec8vemeansofensuringthatdistrictITpoliciesarenotexacerba8ngadigitaldivide.
Whilethecostofmobilebroadbandserviceisavalidconcern,stepscanbetakentolimitabuseandcontrolexpenditures.Further,manymobilenetworkoperatorsareexploringeduca8on‐specificplanstailoredtostudent,parentandschooladministratorneeds.Someschoolsanddistrictsarepartneringwithwirelessvendorstoprovideamobilebroadbandsolu8on,completewithCIPA‐compliantfilters.
Inresponsetomobiledeviceprolifera8onamongconsumers,includingbothparentsandtheirschool‐agedchildren,schoolITmanagersaredesigningnetworkstoaccommodatemobiledeviceaccessfromdistrict‐andpersonally‐owneddevicesasthenorm,ratherthantheexcep8on.Networkadministratorswillneedtocarefullybalanceteacherandstudentpreferenceswithnetworksecurityandstudentsafetyconcernsinimplemen=ngeffec=vemobiledevicepolicies.Mobiledevicespresentaddi8onalchallengesofaccessingnetworkresourcesnotonlyfromwithinaschoolcampus,butalsofrombeyondtherela8vesafetyofon‐campusfirewalls.Ideally,IT
administratorsshouldbeabletomanagemobiledevicesinthesamemanner,usingthesamepoliciesregardlessoftheloca8onornetworkaccessmethodbeingusedbyaspecificdeviceatanygiven8me.
Mobiledeviceandaccessmanagement
Thoroughandthoughtfulnetworkplanningiscriticaltoefficientlysupportingmobiledevicesandprotectingagainsttheiruniquerisks.InconsistentmanagementtoolsandpoliciesacrosstheWireless‐LANandmobilebroadband—whichoftenresultfromaddressingmobileandpersonally‐owneddevicesasanafterthought—willsubstantiallyincreasecomplexityfornetworkmanagersanddriveupITcosts.
Well‐definedaccesspoliciesthatconsidermul8pledevicetypes,opera8ngsystemsandusecasesarecri8caltoasuccessfulmobiledevicestrategy.Thevendorcommunityoffersanumberofhelpfulmanagementsolu8onsandshouldprovidesupportforthefollowingneedsandguidelines:
■Ensuringdevicesaccessingthenetworkaren’tinappropriatelymodified(“jail‐broken”or“rooted”)andarefreeofmalware,soUwarethatcannega=velyaffectschoolnetworkperformance
■Ensuringthatconnec=vityisprovidedonlytoposi=velyiden=fiedandauthorizedusersondevicesmee=ngdistrictorschoolrequirements
Well-defined access policies that consider multiple device types, operating systems and use cases are critical to a successful mobile device strategy.
Page 47 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
■Maintainingvisibilityintoallusers,devices,andapplica=onsrunningonthenetwork
■Ensuringthetransferofcontentaccesspoliciesfromin‐schoolseqngstoexternalwirelessseqngsbothWi‐Fiandmobilebroadband
■Enforcingdevice‐levelsecuritymeasuressuchasremotewipe,enablingmanagementoflost,stolenorotherwisenon‐compliantdevicesatany=me.
UnderstandingDeviceCapabili=es
Mobileandportablecompu8ngdevicesareincreasinglyatthecenterofmanyaspectsofourlives.In2012,totalglobalmobile(3G/4G)connec8onsreached6.6billiondevices,ownedbyapproximately3.2billionindividualsamidatotalglobalpopula8onofjustover7billion.Recentresearchintoconsumerhabitsindicatesthatamajorityofuserslookattheirmobilephonesatleast1508mesperday.Furthermore,inaTIMEmagazinemobilitypoll1284%ofrespondentssaidtheycouldn’tgoasingledaywithouttheirmobilephones,and66%ofuserssleepwiththeirprimarymobilephonerightnexttotheirbeds.
Withmovesbywirelessoperatorsanddevicemanufacturerstomakesmartphonesandtheirassociateddataplansmoreflexibleandaffordable,
Recent research into consumer habits indicates that a majority of users look at their mobile phones at least 150 times per day.
Page 48 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
OFF‐CAMPUSBROADBANDEQUITY>>DetroitPublicSchools(MI)usesacombinationofprivateandpublicfundingtoprovidelow‐incomefamilieswithlaptopsandeducationbroadbandaccessoff‐campus.Detroit’sCIOandChiefStrategicOfficer,DianeJones,recentlyspokeabouttheirprogramonEducationTalkRadio.DetroitprovidedstudentswithCIPA‐compliantbroadbandviatheKajeetSmartSpot™,aportableWi‐Fihotspotusing4GLTEtechnologyanddistrictpolicymanagement.StudentswhonowhaveInternetaccessathome,feeltheyareequaltotheirclassmatesintechnology.>>TwostudiesbyProjectTomorrowexaminedtabletusebyfifth‐gradestudentsinChicagoPublicSchools(IL)andeighth‐gradestudentsinFairfaxCountyPublicSchools(VA).Thestudiescontrastedtechnologyattitudesanduseinmoreaffluent,connectedcommunitieswithchronicallychallengedlow‐incomefamiliesforwhomthetabletwasboththeirfirstcomputingdeviceandtheirfirstinternetconnectioninthehome.AwebpanelwithbothdistrictsdiscussedthefindingsinDecember.Thetabletsusemobilebroadbandtoprovideanytime,anywhereaccessmanagedbytherespectiveschools’policies.UnderaseparateprogramdubbedAccess4All,FairfaxisalsoprovidinglaptopsandKajeetSmartSpotsforstudentcheckout.>>Withoff‐campusaccessnowshowntobeaffordableviamanagedrestrictionofbandwidthintensivenon‐academicuse(primarilyconsumerstreamingmedia),moredistrictsacrossthecountryarepursuingsimilarprogramsincludingForsyth(GA),GreenBay(WI),Tucson(AZ)andEctor(TX).Recognizingthepersistentdigitaldivide,somecommunityprojects,suchasProjectL.I.F.T.inCharlotte(NC),arealsoworkingwiththeirschoolstoprovideaccess.Whether1‐to‐1orBYOT,thedigitalrevolu8onisinherentlyreliantonstudentconnec8vity,bothonandoffcampus.◼
12“10WaysMobileTechnologyisChangingOurWorld,”Time27Aug.2012.Print.
smartphoneadop8onisforecasttocon8nueonitscurrentstrong‐growthtrajectory.In2012alone,1millionnewsmartphoneuserswereaddedeveryday,manyaged24andunder.Tabletcomputersare similarlyupwardlytrendingwithmostforecastsprojec8ng25%‐30%annualgrowth,comparedtolaptopandmobilePCswithanexpectedgrowthrateofonly2%peryear.13Further,totaltabletsales surpassedthatoflaptopsduring2013.14
Akeytake‐awayfromsuchsta8s8csisthatsmartphonesandtabletcomputerswillbehighlyfamiliarandheavilyuseddevicesforthemajorityofstudents.Studentsarebringingthesedevicesintotheclassroomandakemp8ngtoaccesswhatevernetworksarevisibletothem.Keepinmindthattheseare,ineffect,highlycapableportablecomputers.Theprocessingpoweroftoday’sleadingsmartphonesalreadyequalsthatofmostPCssoldin2009,andeasilysurpassesthecompu8ngpoweroftheen8reApollo11projectwhenitsuccessfullylandedamanonthemoon.
Asdevicecapabili8esandconnec8vityop8onsincrease,andcostsdecline,itbecomesrela8velystraigh`orwardforstudentstoaccessagrowingabundanceofrichdigitalcontentandonlineresources.Insuchanenvironment,robustandreliableeduca8onnetworksbecomeacri8calenablinginfrastructureelementforteachingandlearningeffec8veness.Furthermore,network
designersandplannersneedtooperateundertheassump=onthatboththetotalpopula=onofdevicesandthevolumeofdatatrafficdrivenbythosedeviceswillincreasedrama=callyoverthenextseveralyears.
Sowhatcanwedowiththisinforma8on?Wecanstartwiththeassump8onthatsmartphonesandtabletswillbeincreasinglypowerfulandpresentamongstudentpopula8onsinthenearterm.Whenincorpora8ngeitherdistrict‐procuredorstudent‐owneddevicesintothelearningcurriculum,itisimportanttothoroughlyevaluateandunderstandtheusecasesandrequireddevicecapabili8esofteachersandstudents.Addi8onally,recognizethatdeviceinterac8onmodels,featureusageandrequirementsmayvarysignificantlyfromoneclassroomtothenext.
Whilethecurrentminimumdevicerequirementsandrecommenda8onsoftheonlineassessmentstandardsorganiza8ons,thePartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessforCollegeandCareers(PARCC)andtheSmarterBalancedAssessmentConsor8um(SBAC)serveasausefulreferencepointformakingdevicedecisions,theseshouldbeconsideredastar8ngpoint,notanendpoint.Theminimumandrecommendedsystemspecifica8onspublishedbyPARCCandSBACcanbefoundontheirrespec8vewebsiteshkp://www.parcconline.org/andhkp://www.smarterbalanced.org/orattheStateEduca8onalTechnologyDirectorsAssocia8onhkp://SETDA.org.
We can start with the assumption that smartphones and tablets will be increasingly powerful and present among student populations in the near term.
Page 49 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
13Gartner,Inc.andInternationalDataCorporation(IDC),September201314Gartner,Inc.andStrategyAnaly8cs,June2013;IDC,May2013
Transforminglearningthrough24/7access
Whilethequalityandreliabilityofnetworkaccessinschoolisessen8alandwellunderstood,enablingthesamelevelofaccessandstudentlearningexperiencesfromoutsideofschoolisbecomingequallycri8cal.Studentswhoarecon8nuouslyconnectedareabletoextendtheirlearning8meusingthesametools,resourcesandapproachesthathavebeenintroducedintheclassroom.Theycanconvenientlycontactandcollaboratewithpeersandteachers,accessonlineresources,andusebuilt‐indevicefeaturestoproducehighlyengagingmul8‐mediadeliverables.Itisimpera8vethateducatorsandITdecision‐makersrecognizeandaddresstheimportanceof24/7connec8vityformobileandportablelearningdevicesaXertheschooldayends.Optionsmightincluderaisingawarenessoffixedbroadbandandmobilebroadband(3G/4G)vendorsthatsupportkeyeducationrequirements,andhelpingtoidentifyandinventoryapprovedconnectivityoptionsfrompublicinstitutionssuchaslibrariesandcommunitycenters.AchallengethatITleadersmustalsoaddresswhensuppor8ngoutofschoolconnec8vityisthatstudentdataprotec8onmeasuresandonlineaccesscontrolsneedtoremainasenforceableastheyarewhenadeviceisconnec8ngfromtheclassroom.Asoutlinedpreviously,therearemul8pledevicemanagementsolu8onsofferedbythevendorcommunitytohelpaccomplishthisobjec8ve,withmoresolu8onsthataddresseduca8on‐specificusecasesbecomingavailable.
Costconcernshavemo8vatedmanydistrictstospecifyorfavorWi‐Fionlydevices,howevertheinabilitytoensureconsistentnetworkaccessbeyondschoolgroundshasprovenchallenginginsomerecentlarge‐scaledeploymentsofWi‐Fionlytablets.Giventhatexperience,theusefulnessofmobile(3G/4G)orwide‐areawirelessconnec8vityshouldalsobecarefullyconsidered.Severaldistricts,forexample,arepurchasingmobileinternethotspotsforstudentswithouthomeconnec8onsasaninterimstep.Asmobiledevices
It is imperative that educators and IT decision-makers recognize and address the importance of 24/7 connectivity for mobile learning devices after the school day ends.
Page 50 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
LEARNINGPOWEREDBYTECHNOLOGY>>Aninfrastructureforlearningisalwayson,availabletostudents,educators,andadministratorsregardlessoftheirlocationorthetimeofday.Itsupportsnotjustaccesstoinformation,butaccesstopeopleandparticipationinonlinelearningcommunities.Itoffersaplatformonwhichdeveloperscanbuildandtailorapplications.Aninfrastructureforlearningunleashesnewwaysofcapturingandsharingknowledgebasedonmultimediathatintegratetext,stillandmovingimages,audio,andapplicationsthatrunonavarietyofdevices.Itenablesseamlessintegra8onofin‐andout‐of‐schoollearning.Itfreeslearningfromarigidinforma8ontransfermodel(frombookoreducatortostudents)andenablesamuchmoremo8va8ngintertwinementoflearningabout,learningtodo,andlearningtobe.◼
—U.S.DepartmentofEducation,OfficeofEducationalTechnology,TransformingAmericanEducation:LearningPoweredbyTechnology,Washington,DC,2010.
becomemoreaffordableandmobilenetworkoperatorsofferincreasinglyflexibleconnec8vityplans,thebarriersthathavepreventedadop8onofdualWi‐Fiand3G/4Gdevicesinthepastarebeginningtofall.
Addi8onally,asmoreparents,teachers,administratorsandstudentsexperiencetheadvantagesofalways‐onconnec8vityfrompersonally‐ownedmobiledevices,demandforany8me,anywhereaccessisexpectedtoincrease.Flippedlearningmodelsandotherdigitallearningapproachesthatrelyupon1‐to‐1compu8ngwillalsodrivetheneedformoreconnec8vityop8ons.Finally,digitalequityconcerns,whichincludeuniversalaccesstoconnec8vity,andthenecessityofensuringthatallstudentsareabletoaccesscontentfromhomehavehelpeddemonstratetheeffec8venessofmobile(3G/4G)connecteddevicestocomplementwiredbroadbandplusWi‐Fi.
Followingaresomeusefulques8onstoaskwhenmakingrecommenda8onsonspecifica8onsforeitherdistrict‐procureddevicesortostudentsandparentsseekingguidanceon‘school‐ready’devices.
1.Istheschoolanddistrictcommittedtolearningpoweredbytechnologyintheschoolsiteandafterformalschoolhours?2.Howmanyteachershaveincorporatedorplantoincorporateflippedlearningtechniquesintotheircurricula?
3.Doteachersandstudentsintendtousemobiledevicesoutsideoftheclassroom,inoutdoororfieldtripsettings?4.WhatproportionofstudentscurrentlyhasaccesstoWi‐Fiathome?5.Howcantheschoolandcommunityhelpensureallstudentshaveequitableaccesstolearningopportunities?6.Willtherecommendeddevicesenablecontinuousaccesstolearningresourcesandfrequentopportunitiesforstudent‐teacherandstudent‐studentinteraction?
Conclusion:LookingAhead
Adop=onof1‐to‐1compu8ngisbecomingincreasinglyprevalentwithinK‐12classrooms,driveninlargepartbytheprovensuccessofflippedandhybridlearningmodels,thegrowingavailabilityofdigitalcontentandinterac8vetextbooks,aswellasthemovementtoonlineassessmentsasaresultofCommonCorestandards.Inthisenvironment,Educa8onNetworkshavebecomeinsomewaysthe mostcri8calinfrastructurecomponentofschoolopera8onsandaprimarydeterminantofthemethods,contentandteachingstrategiesthatteacherswillbeabletouseeffec8velyintheclassroom.
WebelievethatthemajorityofU.S.schoolsandschooldistrictsareatacri8caljunctureintheirtechnologyplanningandinvestmentlifecycles.Educa8onleadersandITdecisionmakerscaneasily
We believe that the majority of U.S. schools and school districts are at a critical juncture in their technology planning and investment life cycles.
Page 51 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
beoverwhelmedbytheaccelerationofchangeobservedinclassroominstructionaltechniques,theoftenwidespreadproliferationofconsumerdevicesontheircampuses,andthepromiseoftransformativeteachingandlearningeffectiveness offeredbymakingmobilecomputingtechnologiesanintegralpartofinstructionalmodels.Studentengagementandacademicachievementdoeshave thepotentialtobetransformedby24/7accesstoqualitydigitalcontent,aswellashighlyinteractive,personalizedandcollaborativelearningmodels.However,robust,reliableandhighlyavailableEducationNetworksareanecessarypreconditionofrealizingthispotential.Furthermore,networkdesignersmustconsidernotonlymeetingthebandwidthdemandsthatareapparenttoday,butmustalsothinkaboutestablishingthefoundationsforfuturelearninginnovations.Additionalchallengesthatneedtobeaddressedbywell‐plannedEducationNetworksincludeensuringequitableandefficientaccesstolearningcontentandopportunitiesbothinsideandoutsideoftheclassroom,regardlessofastudent’shomeaddressoreconomicstatus.TheSENDGuidelinesforSchoolSystemChiefTechnologyOfficersliststhefollowingcorerecommendations.
CoreRecommenda=ons:
☑Recognizethateducationnetworkshavebecomeoneofthemostcriticalinfrastructurecomponentsofanyschool’soperations
☑Recognizethat1‐to‐1,ormany‐to‐1technologyprogramsarequicklybecomingmainstream,andplanforbandwidthcapacityaccordingly
☑StarteveryEducationNetworkplanningandupgradeprocessbycloselyconsultingwithteachersandadministratorsregardingintendedusesoftechnologiesintheclassroomandensurethatnetworkhardwareandservicesarecapableofsupportingpeakloads
☑Planforsubstan8altrainingandsupportofteachersandstaffaspartofanytechnologyrollout
☑Understandthataccessingcontentandresourceswhileoutsideoftheclassroom–fromhome,classfieldtrips,andinthecommunity–isascri=caltoeffec=velearningasin‐classconnec=vity
☑Ensurethatrigoroussecuritymeasures,regardlessofthetypeofconnection,arebuiltintoyournetworkdesign–thisisbothforthepurposesofpreven8ngunauthorizedaccesstonetworkcontentandresources,aswellascomplyingwithfederalandstatestudentprotec8onlaws
☑Makedesignchoicesthatlayafoundationforthefuture,bothintermsofscalabilityandtheeasewithwhichnewdevicecapabilitiesandtechnologiescanbesupported.
Recognize that education networks have become one of the most critical infrastructure components of any school’s operations.
Page 52 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
ReferencesandResources
“E‐RateandBroadbandSurvey2013.”CoSN(Consor8umforSchoolNetworking),October,2013.hkp://www.cosn.org/e‐rate‐broadband‐survey
“TheBroadbandImpera8ve:Recommenda8onstoAddressK‐12Educa8onInfrastructureNeeds.”StateEduca8onalTechnologyDirectorsAssocia8on,May,2012.hkp://www.setda.org/web/guest/broadbandimpera8ve
“PrivacyandChildren’sData:AnOverviewoftheChildren’sOnlinePrivacyActandtheFamilyEduca8onalRightsandPrivacyAct.”BerkmanCenterforInternet&SocietyatHarvardUniversity,November,2013.hkp://cyber.law.harvard.edu/publica8ons/2013/privacy_and_childrens_data
“KajeetandProjectTomorrowAnnounceResultsfromLandmark1‐to‐1MobileLearningStudy”,Kajeet,Inc.,November,2013.hkp://www.kajeet.com/4u/educa8on/aboutUs/news/press/Results‐from‐Landmark‐1‐to‐1‐Mobile‐Learning‐Study.html
“AssessmentCapacityPlanningTool.”PartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessforCollegeandCareers,March,2013.hkp://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCCCapacityPlanningTool_3‐5‐13_Printablev1.0.pdf
“Cer8fiedWirelessNetworkAdministratorOfficialStudyGuide.”Cer8fiedWirelessNetwork
Professional,May,2012.hkp://www.cwnp.com/cer8fica8ons/cwna
SmarterBalancedTechnologyStrategyFrameworkandSystemRequirementsSpecifica8on–Feb6,2013Update)hkp://www.smarterbalanced.org
Na8onalK‐12FederatedIden8tyandAccessManagementTaskForce.hkps://spaces.internet2.edu/display/K12FedIAMTF/Home
hkp://www.cosn.org/FederatedIden8ty
“LeadershipforMobileLearning”.CoSN.hkp://www.cosn.org/mobilelead
Make design choices that lay a foundation for the future, both in terms of scalability and the ease with which new device capabilities and technologies can be supported.
Page 53 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
AcknowledgmentsCoSNthanksthefollowingorganiza8onsandindividualsfortheircontribu8ontotheseGuidelinesaspartoftheSmartEduca8onNetworksbyDesign(SEND)ini8a8ve:
WethankQualcomm,Inc.foritsgeneroussupportofthisprojectanditsstrongcommitmenttoimprovingeduca8onandaccessatalleduca8onallevels.
CoSNtakesfullresponsibilityforthecontentsoftheGuidelines.Wearegratefultoalloftheeduca8ontechnologyleaderswhotookthe8metoadviseandreviewthisdocument,especially:
Kris8nAtkins,QualcommTechnologies,Inc.,CAPaulBain,QualcommTechnologies,Inc.,CAIanByerrum,AckermanSchoolDistrict,CASteveClagg,AuroraPublicSchools,COGordonDahlby,EdTechLeadershipConsul8ng,IAChrisDede,HarvardUniversity,MAMarkFinstrom,HighlineSchoolDistrict,WAPollyGifford,Educa8onPartnersSolu8on,Inc.,TXCurtGodwin,ForsythCountySchools,GAVinceHumes,PennsylvaniaIntermediateUnit5,PAJuliaJaffe,QualcommTechnologies,Inc.,CARichKaestner,CoSNConsultant,ORKeithKrueger,CoSN,DCHowardLangford,DaltonSchoolDistrict,GAKarenMcGonigle,NorfolkPublicSchools,VAVickiMealer‐Burke,QualcommTechnologies,Inc.,CABaileyMitchell,former,ForsythCounty,GA
BobPiersant,JamesIrwinCharterSchool,COHaroldRowe,re8red,CypressFairbanksISD,TX,2012CoSNCTOoftheYearMikeSakerfield,MonroeCounty,INDeniseShorey,eLuminosity,COJimSiegl,FairfaxCounty,VASusanSilveira,QualcommTechnologies,Inc.,CAIreneSpero,CoSN,DCRonenStern,QualcommTechnologies,Inc.,CAVanceTester,QualcommTechnologies,Inc.,CATomRolfes,NebraskaDepartmentofEducation,NEJohnWilliams,MetropolitanNashvillePublicSchools,TN
AdditionalthankstoVictorRivero,EdTechDigest,CO,forhiseditorialanddesignsupport.
ProjectDirectorGordonDahlby
ConsortiumforSchoolNetworking,Washington,DCKeithKrueger,CEO
Accessing content and resources while outside the classroom ... is as critical to effective learning as in-class connectivity.
Page 54 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Page 55 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
USE:ForCIOs,CTOs,superintendentsandother
schooltechnologyleadersindesigningsmarteducation
networksinyourcommunity
Describecurrentstate Describedesiredstate/goal
Describeac=onsteps/resourcesneededandperson/positionresponsible
☐Ensurethatallstakeholdershavepar=cipatedindeveloping
aclearvisionofdigitaltrans‐forma=onwithgoals&have
recognizedtheimpactupon&importanceofthenetworkin
suppor=ngthevision&mission.p.8
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
☐Provideclarityinthedistrictactionplanstobuildnetworks
thatallowforarobustintegrationofthepoweroftechnologynot
onlyintothecurriculum,teaching&learningpractices,butalsointoprofessionaldevelopment&intheadministrativepractices&
systemsthatservethestaffandthepublic.p.8
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
☐Networkdesignshouldbedeterminedbyrequirements
stemmingfromthevision,mission&goals.Thekeyusersofthe
system‐theteachingandlearningfunction&thedistrictoperations
function‐generallydeterminetheserequirements.p.25
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
☐Conductagapanalysistodetermine&informthefunc=onal&technical
enhancementsnecessaryforthenetwork.p.26
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
☐Collect&examinedatasuchasinventory&itsage,elaborated
networktrafficanalysisatmultiplepointsinthenetwork&timeofday&year,helpdeskrecords,etc.Ifthedistrictdoesnothavenetworkdataorthecapacitytocollectit,consider
contractingtogatherthesedataoveranextendedperiod.p.26
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
☐ALIGNMENT&INTEGRATIONwithdistrictvision,mission&goals
SENDChecklist:
☐DEFININGPERFORMANCErequirements
☐GAPANDDATAanalysis
☑ page1of5
Page 56 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Describecurrentstate Describedesiredstate/goal
Describeactionsteps/resourcesneededandperson/positionresponsible
☐WAN/LANtopologyorservicesareresilient.Consider
privatefiber‐basednetworksorscalableservicesfromproviders.
Establishrisktolerance&performancemetrics.p.26
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
☐Thenetworkcoreshouldbescalable&ofsufficientcapacity
fortheplanningperiod.Allcomponentsinthenetworkcore
mustbecorrectlysizedtoaccommodatetheservices
needed&trafficanticipated.Considerdesignssuchthat
componentswithinthecoreabletobeupgradedasneeded.p.36
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
☐Thenetwork"edge"(schoolsandclassrooms)shouldhavefiberconnectionsto&betweenwiringclosetswithCategory5e(legacy
connections)orCategory6cablingfornewwiredconnections
(computers,accesspoints,etc.).Newwirelesstechnology
mayrequiretwoEthernetCategory6cablesinordertomaximizeperformance.p.37
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
☐Forwirelessapplications,ensurethatsufficientpower
throughPoweroverEthernet(PoE),PoE+,orvendor‐specificpowertechnologyisavailable.p.37
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
☐Wirelesseffectivenessisdeterminedbycoverage
&capacity.Awirelesssurveyisessentialforallspacesinwhich
mobileaccessisplanned.Consider802.11n&802.11acasthebestin‐schooltechnology&mobilebroadband(3G/4G/LTE)
foraccesswhenawayfromschool.pp.34,42,49
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
☐Understandthebarrierscausedbycertainconstructionmaterials.Innewconstruction,consultwiththeengineersto
mitigateimpairmentsforcertainwavelengths.p.45
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
☐DESIGNforsuccess
SENDChecklistforschooltechnologyleaders☑ page2of5
Page 57 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Describecurrentstate Describedesiredstate/goal
Describeactionsteps/resourcesneededandperson/positionresponsible
☐Internetcapacityshouldbesignificantandmaybeobtained
frommultipleprovidersifnecessary.Stateandregional
networks,possiblywithInternet2connections,areoptionsifavailableinthecommunity.
Considermultiplecarriersorotherstrategiesforredundancy.p.30
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
☐Internetservice,&relatedorsupportivetechnologies,mustnowbeviewedasanyotherimportantutilityusedbythe
schoolbyprovidinganadequatelineitembudgettomatchthe
neededcapacity.p.30
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪
☐ConsiderseparateVLANSforstudents&ensuresufficientaddressspacesincemultiple
devicesperpersonareincreasinglycommon&softwareapplicationsarerequiringmore
addresses&ports.Reviewsegmentationofemployee
network&studentnetworkswithVLANstrategiestoincreasesecurityofessentialdistrictdata,
systems&confidentialityrequirements.p.35
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
☐Designforandimplementend‐to‐endQualityofService
(QoS)tosupportlatency‐sensitiveapplications.p.30
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
☐Monitortheperformanceofthenetworkatallcriticalpoints&interveneasnecessary.p.30
▪▪
▪▪
▪▪
☐AutomatethemanagementofmobiledevicesusingMDM
technologies.pp.40,47
▪▪
▪▪
▪▪
☐ImplementanIdentityandAccessManagement(IAM)systemtohelpsecurethe
network&minimizeoperatingexpenses.p.46
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
☐ADEQUATE&ROBUSTINTERNETisessential
SENDChecklistforschooltechnologyleaders☑ page3of5
☐MANAGING&OPERATINGthenetwork
Page 58 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
Describecurrentstate Describedesiredstate/goal
Describeactionsteps/resourcesneededandperson/positionresponsible
☐Usetechnologywhereappropriatetoensurethat
districtiscomplyingwiththelawe.g.,CIPA,COPPA,FERPA,HIPPA,
PPRA,etc.&thatdata,eitherpossessedbythedistrictor,increasingly,bypartners,are
secure.p.44
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
☐Implementrigorouswirelesssecuritymeasuressuchas
WPA2,RADIUS,etc.asmobility&BYODbecomeprevalent.
p.45
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
☐ImplementIntrusionPrevention/Detection
technologiestominimizethreatsastheuseofInternet‐basedresourcesincreases.p.45
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
▪▪▪
☐Evenwiththeimplementationofsmart
networkdesigns,thedistrictcommitmenttofundtraining
andongoingsupportiscritical.Teachersaretheprimary
providersofdigitaltransformationandtheymust
betrainedandadequatelysupported.Similarly,technicalsupportstaffmustalsoreceive
training.pp.14,46
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪▪
☐Supportingthevision,mission&goalsofdigital
transformation&thesmartnetworksnecessarytoenable&
sustainthetransformationrequiressufficientbudgetfunds,
acontinuinginvestmentinsuccess.p.8
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
▪▪▪▪▪
☐PROTECTINGprivacy&data
SENDChecklistforschooltechnologyleaders☑ page4of5
☐TEACHERtraining&technicalsupport
☐BUDGET&investment
Page 59 Guidelines for School System Chief Technology Officers
ProgressionofK‐12NetworksSENDChecklistforschooltechnologyleaders☑ page5of5
Checklistac8vity:Whereareyou(thedistrict)onthisprogression?
Capa
cityand
Services
Time,Technology,andInvestment
☐LimitedmobilityandBYOD
☐Wirelesscoverage,not
capacity
☐Someservervirtualiza=on
☐Adequatebusinesscon=nuity☐Someonlineinstruc=onal
services
☐Limiteddirectoryintegra=on
anddevicemanagement☐Marginallyadequateinternet
☐100M/1GBandsome10GB
Core
☐Category5and5ecabling
☐FiberWAN‐star/ring/hybrid
☐VoIPorplanningtoimplement
☐Fullmobility(1:1)andBYOD
☐WWANsupportformobility
☐Wirelesscoverageandcapacity
☐Manyonlineresources,
coursesandinstruc=onalserviceswith24/7availability
☐Virtualschool
☐Cloudini=a=ves:IaaS/SaaS/
EaaS☐Completeservervirtualiza=on
☐Fullbusinesscon=nuitywith
datareplica=onasneeded
☐Deepdirectoryintegra=onfor
authoriza=onandmanagementofservicesand
devices
☐Substan=alinternetcapacityfrommul=pleproviders
☐1GB/10GB+core
☐Category5eand6cabling
☐FiberWAN‐star/ring/hybrid
☐Unifiedcommunica=onsand
VoIP
☐Limitedornowireless
☐Noservervirtualiza=on
☐Nobusinesscon=nuity
☐100MB/1GBcore
☐Limitedinternet
☐Category3or5cabling
☐LimitedornofiberforWAN/
LAN☐Analogvoice,POTS
Copyright ©2014 Consortium for School Networking. All rights reserved.
CoSN (Consortium for School Networking)1025 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1010Washington, DC [email protected] www.cosn.org