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chuch
join:2001-04-11
Tampa, FL

chuch to danj34

Member

to danj34

Re: Use existing infrastructure

said by danj34:

Back in 1996 I was a network administrator for a local school district and did just that so that every teacher could have a computer. Now, it's all unused. So are all the switches we bought. Nobody plugs in anything anymore. Money wasted.

Really? All 8 of my computer labs are hard wired, including many of the office machines, copiers, environmental controls, security cameras, telephones and so on.

The only things we put on WiFi are tablets and laptops. Anything else is plugged into a port because it reduces WiFi congestion, requires less licences for access points, and tends to be more reliable.

Any school that ditches its copper network completely in favor of WiFi is clearly being managed by a technician that lacks knowledge about proper network load balancing and resource management.
chuch

chuch to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:

Thinking back to my school days (what great days those were with all my friends) doing hours of research in the school library and taking the school bus to the city public library.

Yep, and chances were that the information you were learning was already outdated by time you obtained it.

Connectivity in classrooms provide up to date information through digital text books and reference resources, not to mention more in depth tools that you can't achieve with a ScanTron and #2 pencil.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy to chuch

Premium Member

to chuch
Wi-Fi uses unlicensed bands. So an FCC license is NOT required.

chuch
join:2001-04-11
Tampa, FL

chuch

Member

I take it you've never done a managed WiFi install - Most managed WiFi equipment, like Cisco for example, require you to purchase licences on a per AP device basis.

Implementing WiFi in a school of 1,100+ students plus facility requires more than a few D-Link routers purchased from Best Buy. Sure, you could use cheap consumer grade equipment, but you'd have nothing but problems with no ability to properly manage the network.

The airwaves are free, but the technology is not.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Are we talking licenses from Cisco or FCC licenses for the airwaves. I'm just trying to clarify.

Maybe consumer use of the airwaves is unlicensed but commercial/institutional use requires an FCC license.

chuch
join:2001-04-11
Tampa, FL

chuch

Member

Licences for equipment, not for the WiFi band.
54761437 (banned)
join:2013-01-18
Durham, NC

54761437 (banned) to IowaCowboy

Member

to IowaCowboy
Uh, I don't think you can place the blame for stupid kids squarely on technology. Issuing everyone an iPad is stupid from an economic perspective, not a learning environment perspective. Perhaps the reason 9th graders can't read at a 3rd grade level is because a). their parents are equally ill-bred and uneducated, b). the teachers are laughably unqualified thanks to unionization, lax standards, and it being nigh impossible to actually FIRE a teacher, c). low teacher salaries driving away qualified teachers into private schools or colleges, or a combination of those.