Visualizing the Future

More and more, K-12 educational institutions are reorienting themselves towards technology-based learning solutions. The goal is to turn out students who can enter higher educational facilities or the workforce with the critical technology grounding they need to be immediately productive

Network access is critical to this process and wireless LAN or WLAN is the easiest, most cost-effective way to ensure this. WLAN can support a huge variety of educational applications, including online learning and testing, real-time attendance-taking, student multimedia creation, even reinforcing school security.

But the effectiveness of all these tools is not just determined by network access but by network performance. if the wireless system doesn't measure up, teachers and students will be much less productive.

How Well Does the System Work?

Wireless performance is in the classroom can be analyzed a million different ways, but ultimately boils down to some simple questions. The most important one is capacity - can every student get on the system at the same time and download without it slowing to a crawl? How well the WLAN supports a mix of applications is also important - Do data, voice, and video all play well together on the same infrastructure?

Coverage is a third critical component: is wireless accessible everywhere? In a modern school, teaching doesn't just take place in front of a blackboard, it happens anywhere on the school grounds, making the entire campus one giant classroom.

Extricom: WLAN Architecture Built for K-12

What makes an Extricom system ideal for the K-12 environment is its patented Channel Blanket architecture, which supports both coverage and capacity at full performance. Inside the Channel Blanket, all access points transmit on the same channel, and transmissions are centrally coordinated by the switch, not the individual AP. The resulting blankets of wireless coverage provide robust, resilient wireless connectivity. 

An Extricom system allows APs to be placed without having to take co-channel interference into account. User-dense environments such as classrooms can be supported by deploying APs in densities traditional wireless systems would not tolerate. This minimizes packet re-transmission and translates to the best possible throughput and performance for large numbers of users.

Meeting the Core Requirements

Other areas where the Extricom WLAN aligns with the needs and requirements of K-12 educators include the following:

CORE REQUIREMENTS			THE EXTRICOM EXPERIENCE
Administrative Simplicity: Overstretched IT Administrators operate in a tactical mode to resolve day-to-day operational issues, so their WLAN must feature easy deployment and administration.			Ease of Deployment and Administration: The Extricom WLAN solution can be put into production within a matter of days by personnel with basic skills, and administration is simple and centralized.
Comprehensive Communications: High standards of reliability are mandatory, to avoid impacting classroom productivity.			Guaranteed Service: Only the Extricom WLAN technology can deliver guaranteed levels of connectivity to all users everywhere.
Cost-Effectiveness: School budgets demand a WLAN infrastructure capable of handling change transparently.			The Lowest Cost of Ownership: Extricom's solution is deployed and maintained with plug-and-play simplicity. The result is the lowest TCO in the industry.
User Security: Privacy of student information, even testing integrity, is of paramount importance.			A Secure Wi-Fi Environment: Extricom embeds the strongest security available, without sacrificing mobility or performance.
High-Density Environment: In the typical school, large numbers of users need concurrent access to the WLAN, so high capacity without coverage or mobility trade-offs is critical.			Easily Scalable Infrastructure: The Extricom Channel Blanket maximizes capacity and coverage with APs deployed in any density and the highest bandwidth in the industry.

For more information on how an Extricom WLAN can help you achieve your goals, fill out our contact form or visit the Products section of Extricom's website.