Preparing Education Networks for the New Academic Year

One of the easiest mistakes in network planning is assuming that because infrastructure worked last year, it will work equally well this year. That’s because these days, education technology rarely stands still.

There may be more devices connecting to the network. Teachers may have adopted additional cloud applications. Students may be using richer digital resources and more video. Administrative teams may have moved further towards cloud-based platforms. New classroom or collaboration technology may also have been introduced.

Individually, these changes can appear incremental. Collectively, they can significantly alter the demands placed on connectivity.

Preparation for the new academic year should therefore begin by identifying what has changed. Which applications have become essential? Where has device density increased? Which parts of the campus experience more demand than they did twelve months ago? That assessment provides a much stronger basis for network planning than relying on last year's assumptions.

Schools and campuses have distinctive patterns of connectivity. As well as changes from last year, there can be changes throughout the day. Demand can rise sharply at the dawn of the teaching day. Hundreds or thousands of users may access platforms within similar timeframes. Students move between classrooms, lecture theatres, libraries and communal areas, shifting concentrations of wireless demand as they go.

That makes averages only part of the story. A network that appears perfectly capable during quieter periods may behave differently when several classes stream content while students access cloud platforms and administrative teams continue normal operations.

Institutions should therefore assess network performance at realistic peak periods. Understanding when, where and why demand increases can help IT teams identify whether additional capacity or changes to infrastructure may be required.

Few situations illustrate the importance of reliable education connectivity more clearly than digital assessment. During a traditional exam, the desk, paper, and pen remain available regardless of network conditions. With online testing, connectivity becomes part of the examination environment itself.

That changes the nature of network planning. If large groups of students need simultaneous access to an assessment platform, the institution needs sufficient capacity to support that concentration of activity. Reliability also matters because interruptions can create stress for students and additional work for educators and IT teams.

The lesson extends beyond exams. Whenever an institution moves an important process online, the underlying connectivity becomes part of that process too. The more important the application is, the closely its network requirements should be considered.

Where predictable connectivity is particularly important, Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) can provide institutions with greater certainty.

DIA provides an uncontended 1:1 connection, meaning bandwidth is not shared with other customers. It also offers something particularly valuable in an educational context; symmetrical upload and download speeds.

For education, symmetrical connectivity is coveted because institutions are not simply consuming information. Teachers, students, researchers and administrative teams may also be uploading content, joining video calls, accessing cloud systems and transferring data.

Whatsmore, we monitor our DIA service 24/7 and provide an online portal through which inbound and outbound traffic utilisation can be viewed. That visibility can be particularly helpful for IT teams in understanding network demand rather than waiting for users to report that something feels slow.

Bandwidth arriving at the premises is only one part of the broad equation of education connectivity. It still needs to reach students, teachers, and staff effectively. 

Wireless connectivity can be particularly challenging in education because users are constantly moving. A lecture theatre might experience intense demand for an hour before that concentration shifts elsewhere. Libraries and communal areas can remain busy throughout the day, while different buildings may have very different coverage requirements. Managed WiFi for business provides centrally wireless connectivity and allows access points to be added according to requirements. That’s helpful for staff, students, parents and visitors alike.

Education is fast becoming more digital, more cloud-dependent and more connected. Infrastructure decisions should therefore consider what teaching and learning could require in several years, not just several weeks.

With the right foundation, connectivity becomes something teachers and students barely have to think about. And in education, that may be one of the clearest signs that the network is doing its job. If you're considering DIA for your institution, our dedicated team would be happy to talk you through your options.