Higher Tech for Higher Learning: A quick look at some cool new stuff coming to the classroom
At Zyxel, we recently did a little research to find out what impact new wireless technologies are...
Ever wonder what kids are into these days? In a recent study conducted by the market reach firm, Smarty Pants®, the top brands among kids (toddlers to teens) isn’t Disney or Doritos. It’s not Nerf or Nike either. The top brand among this age group is actually…YouTube.
Hard to believe, isn’t it? Kids today are as connected as ever, often toting one or more internet ready devices in their pocket or backpack at all times. To reach these kids in a way that seems natural to them, teachers are developing curriculum that integrates web-based applications to help students become more receptive to learning new things. To take it even further, some STEM schools have already integrated coding as part of the lesson plan, helping kids learn SQL and Java as they learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Talk about the future being upon us!
All this connectivity, coding and web-based learning is definitely exciting. But to ensure both students and teachers have what they need to communicate, it’s critical schools have a fast and reliable Wi-Fi networks to handle the high-density environment of a classroom. And not just an ordinary classroom, but a variety of different types of classrooms that have different types of devices connected to the school’s Wi-Fi network.
Often in attempt to improve a Wi-Fi network at a given school, steps are taken to increase Wi-Fi coverage. That’s helpful, but what should happen is the school ought to improve its Wi-Fi networks capacity to handle the increasing demand that students and teachers need first. Again, better Wi-Fi coverage can certainly help, but in a classroom with 25 kids that are each connected to a Chromebook to work on their multiplication tables and reading fundamentals on ABCMouse.com, it’s essential the Wi-Fi is capable of meeting the demand in the classroom, and not necessarily improving the school’s Wi-Fi coverage to reach the parking lot.
At Zyxel, we understand it’s not always that simple. And we know that school administrators and IT professionals face a huge pile of issues and concerns from teachers, students—even parents affecting a school’s Wi-Fi performance, security, ease-of-use (we all want plug and play, don’t we?) and so on. To make matters easier, we’ve whittled down five key steps for you to get started on improving your school’s Wi-Fi:
Use those five guidelines to get started on improving your school’s Wi-Fi and your students, teachers and administrators will be on the fast track to keeping up with the high demands of the modern-day classroom. And hopefully, take some student’s eyeballs off YouTube and back on their schoolwork.
At Zyxel, we recently did a little research to find out what impact new wireless technologies are...
Most cable and/or internet providers offer their customers the option to rent a combined...