THEME: NETWORKS
Establishing a reliable network for the K-12 environment from end to end means much more than having large pipes and enough routers to transfer data. Networks are moving to a Web-based environment that supports the convergence of data, voice, and video, with architecture based on Internet Protocol (IP) standards that are flexible, scalable, and cost-efficient. This means the network is the foundation of the entire educational delivery. No longer are parts of your network supposed to be operating as islands of service, for buildings, districts, and the state. Think of it as a building. Most school districts today are building 10-story buildings on a skimpy 1-story foundation with beams that are 2-by-4s. What's worse, in five years, it will become a 30-story building, due to voice, data, multimedia, and other technology advancements and educational demands, all on the same jury-rigged foundation. Many schools are going with what they used five years ago, with makeshift upgrades and add-ons. This situation will only become more broken down, as more complex reporting requirements and instructional technologies become a reality. The Problems: While states are investing in data-management technologies and online assessment, especially in the face of NCLB, many districts' backbones and networks are woefully inadequate to deal with the bandwidth and reliability demands of the new systems. The reasons for this include:
Without a network that works the way it's supposed to, a Student Information System data update can take 30 minutes or a teacher isn't able to access an application in time for a lesson, or your food-service database can easily be broken into so that students' and teachers' personal information is taken. Each of these is an actual case, replicated every day many times across the country. All of these cause disruption, losses in productivity and money, and damaged credibility. They stop the delivery of education in its tracks. The Solutions: We've identified the problem, but how about the solution? How can you build out a network centered on educational delivery that works? All reliable, robust, and stable networks are built around certain concepts. In this newsletter, we set out 8 essential principles of building, enhancing, and maintaining a network, and provide examples of each. And in the Products and Solutions section, we look not only at a range of products, but at new models of managed-provider networks that have a single, "buck-stops-here" accountability for all of the technology that runs on a network, and lastly, examine a Best Practices model of such a network in the state of Tennessee. The
Eight Principles Reliability Reliability For networks to perform, the basis is an interconnection of servers at the local, regional, state, and Internet levels. Local and wide area networks must be able to quickly and reliably carry traffic from the student, teacher, or staff workstation to the servers, and if need be, to the state. Example: In Carbon County, Wyoming, school district networks were redesigned and enhanced, to aggregate schools within each district for networking before connecting them to the statewide network. The reason for aggregating schools within a district is to support the flow of large amounts of intra-district information traffic, such as SIS, library systems, assessment data, etc., without causing bottlenecks. Capacity isn't just a matter of pipes through which data flows. They mean your network can consistently handle your school operations and instructional needs, and it has to be flexible enough to handle all of these at once. Example: Increasingly, school operations like payroll and human resources, and the newest technologies such as streaming video, can gobble up broadband. But many schools' IT departments believe that doubling broadband will solve the problem, but it won't. Managed network provider Education Networks of America (ENA), which is examined below in the Products and Solutions area, offers this example: Take a lab in which there are 30 computers all trying to download the same video file through a single T1 line. It takes an average of 12 minutes to download the file. By doubling the school's bandwidth, you will only reduce the file download time by half, to 6 minutes. It should take all 30 computers less than 12 seconds to download the file. A Managed Internet Service Provider (MISP) achieves this by managing the way the network operates and optimizing the combination of bandwidth lines, servers, and organization of content. ENA uses what it calls SNAP technology (School Network Amplification Platform). This is a system of storing commonly used Web sites and files on the network, rather than requiring the school's Internet connection for each file request. In this instance, a teacher would download the file once before class, and because it's stored on the SNAP system, it will be delivered through the school's LAN, not the Internet, requiring only seconds rather than many minutes. Scalability is the ease with which a network or system can be enhanced, altered, and "scaled" for new applications, upgrades, and the continually new demands over time. Managed networks should be flexible and able to be scaled from simple backbones to sophisticated networks. A scalable network system is one that can be modified from a small number of nodes to thousands of nodes, if need be. True scalability means a district can adapt and change without fear of outgrowing its network system because it is flexible. Example: A rapidly growing school district with 30 school campuses has a network provided by multiple vendors. The system is aging, and the network couldn't adapt when newer applications for advanced Student Information Systems were needed. Teachers felt frustrated in efforts to use new, advanced instructional applications. The district decided to go with a new Internet Protocol (IP) network infrastructure with voice, video, and data on a single network. The result: The district network has been able to handle new schools, incorporate technologies such as video streaming, and accommodate online testing systems. Its underlying platform can grow with the demands, whereas previously such changes wouldn't have been possible. Redundancy
is a vital component in managing a multilayered network to ensure
24/7 reliability. It provides for consistent reliability in the
event of failures in either hardware or software. Basically, it's
the duplication or mirroring of parts of the network and system
that function as backups in the event that another portion fails.
With proper redundancy, there is no single point of failure. Keep
in mind that, unfortunately, redundancy is often planned for at
a network-center level, but not end-to-end. Interconnectivity is the ability for networks, systems, links, circuits, nodes, and devices to work together seamlessly. It not only means the ability for systems to function together smoothly, but for selected applications to be given priority. Example: Consider how typical K-12 district networks are set up. Mostly, schools are connected to a central nexus, and then data is transferred to a regional or statewide network, or to the individual district's Internet provider. However, utilizing a Managed Internet Service Provider in a district allows separately controlled networks to interconnect, which ensures a more reliable, smoother end-to-end connection. Planning for any converged network must include end-to-end considerations and solutions for safety and security. Many school districts pay lip service to these issues but are floundering, and their networks remain vulnerable to hackers, worms, and virus outbreaks. Plus, many have no internal and external firewalls or are not keeping virus definition updates and security patches absolutely current. Filtering solutions must be able to recognize threats and problems such as inappropriate Web content, spyware, and spam. And, as part of this effort, districts need to have a continually updated acceptable-use policy in place for all employees and students. Networks must be designed with several layers of defense across the entire network, which work with additional components such as firewalls, intrusion-detection systems, and virtual LANs. And wireless has now provided a particular security challenge. In converged networks, vendors and service providers are designing and implementing enterprise-wide, standards-based security solutions. Furthermore, Managed Internet Service Providers can take the onus off school personnel by managing firewall services and virus screening. By implementing additional levels of protection at the higher network levels, costs can be lower than doing so at the individual school level. Example: A managed network service has tools and monitoring in place that constantly determines when network traffic appears to be strange for any reason. Monitoring equipment, for example, can tell when School A is using typically a certain level of the network at a peak time. But what if that suddenly goes from 50 percent to 90 percent? A managed-service provider looks at the traffic on the router and sees what it is and figures out whether this is legitimate school traffic or traffic generated by an attack. The provider can take steps to shut it down. In such cases, the provider will alert the school before the school even knows that something has happened, and can take steps to prevent loss of data or services. The developments of IT architecture based on Internet Protocol (IP) standards are allowing school districts to more simply integrate varying applications and services onto a simplified structure that contains or even reduces costs. Currently, many schools - already stretched with tight budgets - are wasting thousands of dollars per year for costs such as upgrading software, deploying and managing multiple, inefficient servers, duplicating equipment, supporting separate voice and data networks, etc. Schools that are ahead of the curve are taking steps to enhance and implement networks that operate far more cost efficiently. Combining network equipment and software can dramatically cut operational and support expenses. A further step is using a managed network service provider. Providers can deploy a mix of fiber, wireless, telecom, and other technologies for networks, based on reliability and best available costs, and are not beholden to one solution. Example: The Okanagan Skaha School District #6 in British Columbia decided to do a complete network overhaul, working with Cisco Systems and integration partner Boardwalk Communications. The district's five-year network plan provided for a converged voice, data, and video IT architecture based on IP standards, and a fiber-optic network. The project meant replacing and consolidating the district's multiple desktop and server operation systems with standard PCs, servers, and networking and telecom equipment based on a unified IP architecture. In the process, the district enhanced the schools ' Internet access, improved community access to information, and built a new telephony services with voice messaging available to teachers in every classroom. Some of the efficiencies: The district saved $120,000 (Canadian) just in reductions in server deployment. The heating and air conditioning systems are now at a centralized IP level and integrated onto the backbone network, enabling the district to save approximately $12,000 annually in energy costs. With a reduction in phone lines and decreased costs for telecom facilities and support, the district is saving thousands per year for telephone service. Proper management and maintenance of school systems' networks now mean a real-time, proactive 24/7 view. The International Organization for Standardization defines five areas in its network-management model: fault management, configuration management, performance management, security management, and accounting, or usage-information management. Fully functional network maintenance includes continual network monitoring, trouble ticketing and resolution of problems, intrusion detection, application monitoring, prioritizing of mission-critical flow, control of Web and e-mail content filtering, controls over peer-to-peer file sharing, management of the firewall, and many other functions. Example: In addition to providing 24/7/365 network monitoring services, managed networks can include help desks that solve problems immediately - assuming, of course, that those help desks are responsive. One example might be a teacher in a high school lab who attempts to download something off the Web, but it doesn't work. Perhaps if the school had a full-time technology coordinator, the teacher might have been able to get help. Or, quite likely, the instructor would have had to wait - a problem that will disrupt the lesson the teacher had planned. However, now, with the school participating in a consortium that has engaged the services of a managed network provider, the teacher is able to call a fully trained, 24-hour-per-day staffed Help Desk and resolve the issue much sooner. Now
that we've examined the eight principles of building and maintaining
your network, let's look at a representative sample of Products
and Solutions. Then, the Best Practices
article examines ConnectTEN, the statewide K-12 network in Tennessee,
which uses the services of ENA, a provider of network solutions.
PRODUCTS
AND SOLUTIONS: Note: The BLE Group does not endorse any of the products and solutions listed below. These products and services were chosen to provide a representative, vendor-neutral sample of what is available in networking options and related technology solutions for schools. School systems are entering an unprecedented time of challenge and opportunity in using technology to deliver education and improve student performance. Key to this is your schools' network: It is the foundation of this delivery. In the Theme, we examined the key attributes and concepts that define a reliable, efficient, and scalable network that will be able to grow as technology changes. Below we look at representative examples of products and services available. These companies can be categorized as: 1) networking companies; 2) a managed service provider; and 3) telecoms. However, there is a lot of overlap in what the companies offer, and many in this area partner with each other to create networking solutions. The products and solutions we examine are: Networking Companies These are large companies that specialize in networking solutions for enterprises such as companies, government agencies, and school systems. For the most part, the emphasis has evolved during recent years from being sellers of items like routers to offering all types of networking solutions, services, and consulting. For example, while Cisco remains a leader in selling networking gear, its business is transforming into solutions that address the entire network, such as security, managed services, and converged networks. We also look at 3Com and Apptis. Cisco
Systems Cisco is a major player and networking giant in business and in the K-12 education market with a huge variety of networking and technology solutions and products. More than 80 percent of worldwide Internet traffic travels through Cisco gear and devices. Cisco is working with school districts to design and implement converged Internet Protocol networks that are scalable to meet future needs. They deliver data, voice, and video on one network, doing away with traditional technologies that required separate networks for these services. Its relevant products also include: content networking, DSL and Long Reach Ethernet, optical networking, security and Virtual Private Networks, storage networking, voice and IP communications, video, and wireless. Cisco emphasizes the concept of a "full-service" network foundation, not just a collection of switches, routers, wireless LAN, bandwidth, and security, but more generally an infrastructure that enables the end-to-end movement of data, voice, and video, improves educational delivery and enables access to resources on and off campus, and reduces costs. Another major thrust of Cisco Systems is executing secure wireless networks that overcome physical barriers to networking and avoid the expense of rewiring and retrofitting buildings. The company works with a large variety of partners and resellers in the education space. It has service provider alliances with such companies as Sprint and BellSouth, and strategic alliances with IBM, Microsoft, EDS, and many others. Following is one example of a Cisco Systems' networking solution in a K-12 school district: The Birdville Independent School District in Texas is installing a Cisco converged network to support a diverse range of education technologies. The district network infrastructure was seven years old and had a mish-mash of brand-name products. Because the district, like many others, faces budget constraints, Cisco partnered in seeking financial solutions, which include partnerships with companies, e-rate funding, and a community bond. The converged network that Birdville ISD is completing includes routers; switches; a multi-layered network firewall; a secure Virtual Private Network for administrators, staff, and teachers; unified voice-mail system; emergency responder; voice-over-IP phones; and wireless access points. The new network will enable Birdville to save money in operational and staffing expenses. Other benefits range from a supporting network that can deliver video to the desktop, increased security, and the ability down the road to add to the network, rather than have to replace it. 3Com
Corp. 3Com Corporation provides secure, converged data and voice networking products and solutions that can support online learning, collaboration, and efficient administration for all sizes of school systems, including everything from small rural districts to multi-campus districts. 3Com's networked telephony solutions replace the complex traditional voice technologies with IP telephony that offers voice and data on one network. It is supported by Quality of Service support from 3Com switches that prioritize time-sensitive traffic. The company's XRN Technology provides a high-availability network that offers scalability. The 3Com switches convert a single Ethernet connection to four switched "in the wall" ports, supporting 1/100 Ethernet, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and other capabilities that allow for adding new network users with low expense. The single data and voice network infrastructure can be administered remotely. Also, with browser-based software, users and administrators can customize phones for individual needs. 3Com also has standards-based wireless networks as an alternative to wired systems, and that be deployed to deliver local area networking and Internet access within a school building, throughout a campus, or across a geographic area. The systems are fully interoperable with existing 3Com wired networks. These are ideal for situations such as portable classrooms, hard-to-wire locations, or expanding the reach of an existing network. The 3Com networking solutions are based on providing safe networking end-to-end. This ranges from security switches at the network core to perimeter firewalls and to embedded firewalls that extend to mobile users. This end-to-end coverage incorporates integrated firewall, intrusion detection, virus protection, and content filtering from industry-leading vendors. In terms of an effort to lower the total cost of ownership, 3Com employs what it calls a "pay as you grow" approach in networking, telephony, wireless, and security solutions. This employs a "building block" approach including the ability to scale 3Com telephony systems via incremental software licenses. Apptis Apptis is a comprehensive systems integrator and IT services and solutions provider. It consults with clients and provides customizable solutions - in networking, storage, systems, security, and IT services management - addressing cost efficiency, enterprise-wide strategy, and budget realities. The Chantilly, Va.-based company (which changed its name from PlanetGov in mid-2004) has been heavily involved in sectors such as health care and transportation, as well as public-sector entities ranging from the Department of Defense to federal civilian agencies such as the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs. Its higher education clients have included George Washington University and Howard University. One example: Apptis provided a business-case analysis for the Food and Drug Administration for a converged network, with design, implementation, and support for more than 8,000 users. In K-12, Apptis has been engaged with large school districts in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area. It is now making a greater push in the K-12 market. The company will work with districts from small to large, and believes that there is an excellent opportunity to deliver its services and solutions especially to the next population ring out from large urban and suburban districts, meaning rural and relatively smaller school systems. Apptis starts with an analysis process, going into a district or agency to identify issues and concerns of the IT department; collect relevant facts about the current operation; perform interviews; construct strategies and goals; and grasp everything from what the desktop capabilities are to network capacity and objectives. Often, agencies have disparate, legacy networks that are both costly and inefficient, and Apptis will guide the client through a network upgrade that combines them into a single scalable solution. Apptis goes out and provides the optimization analysis pro bono. The goal is to find inefficiencies and recommend solutions, says Darren Hannam, Apptis team leader in commercial sales. With the size of school IT staffs, many districts are challenged just to manage the schools day to day and rarely have the opportunity to stand back and do a strategic review. For example, vast savings can be realized through the centralization of servers. Another example is school districts maintaining separate voice, data, and video systems. With a converged network, those services can be provided to every building through a single, scalable infrastructure. Apptis works with a variety of partners in delivering networking and IT solutions, including Cisco in such areas as IP telephony, wireless LANs, and content networking; and Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Remedy. Managed
Network Provider ENA (Education Networks of America) offers managed network and technology solutions for a range of entities, especially school systems, libraries, government agencies, and small to medium-sized businesses. As a Managed Internet Service Provider (MISP), ENA performs everything from soup to nuts regarding a school system's networking so that access and connections are akin to turning on lights - a utility approach vs. what it sees as the standard piecemeal solution. It's a turnkey solution. The company provides network evaluation, design, delivery, integration, and management solutions. The pitch that ENA and other companies that work on an MISP model: School systems and similar entities are very stretched trying to manage WANs, LANs, and all of the other technology involved in end-to-end delivery. Many can't afford to have full-time technology expertise, let alone a network expert. But employing an MISP allows a district to have full-time, 24/7 network management that can understand all of the nuances of the systems as well as keep tabs on usage patterns, constant security threats, and upgrades and enhancements. ENA's focus is on creating a stable technology platform over top of which it delivers a range of products and services tailored for whichever system it is implemented in. It works with a variety of vendors and partners in a vendor-neutral fashion to create a tailored solution. One example is a district that finds its educational delivery is being hurt by not having the right network and technology solutions in place, for instance losing the ability to provide video learning because one of the local cable companies opted to take one of its channels back for programming. In this particular instance, ENA worked with the district on a new technology plan that included an upgrade to fiber to the district's sites. With the upgrade to fiber, the district can now employ videoconferencing. The upgrade was also critical to implementing a new Student Information System. ENA has implemented education and municipal networks throughout the country. The company helped create and execute the first statewide K-12 network nationwide, in Tennessee in 1996. Known as ConnectTEN, the state's network enables connections, technology solutions, and support to more than 1,900 locations. ENA first managed the design and deployment of the ConnectTEN network. Since then, ENA, though a number of service contracts, has maintained, upgraded, and used new approaches in networking; delivered customer service to the Tennessee schools; developed customized solutions for districts; and helped the state obtain federal funding to cover a large portion of the networking costs. ENA offers a number of education-focused technologies and solutions as part of the Managed Internet Network Provider model. For example, it pioneered the use of content filtering for the school population on a statewide basis in Tennessee. It provides a customized-for-networks solution that allows high throughput and override capabilities. Another is SNAP, the School Network Amplification Platform. Basically, it's a storage capability that helps schools optimize efficiency, double Internet capacity, and head off network bottlenecks. It works by storing commonly used Web sites and files at a central location on a local network, rather than call out to beyond the network for video, voice, images, etc. that are used repeatedly by the school. The Indiana Department of Education has signed a multi-year contract with ENA, which will start July 1, 2005, for ENA to provide managed Internet services to the state's public school corporation consortium members. While the Tennessee and Indiana networks are on a statewide level, ENA works with districts and consortiums of varied sizes. Telecoms Sprint Sprint has a wide range of networking and voice, data, and video technologies for K-12. These include Sprint ATM (asynchronous transfer mode); Sprint Link Frame Relay; Broadband Internet; security tools; Ethernet Services; 24/7 uptime with PBX (private branch exchange) systems and equipment hosting facilities; and private voice, data, and video transmission services. The Sprint ATM provides for voice, data, and video on a single network. It's a high-bandwidth, fast-switching technology that sends smaller data packets over dedicated routes. The ATM service runs on a fiber-optic network, and Sprint provides a 99.9 percent availability service-level agreement. Sprint's operation center controls and maintains the ATM service nationwide. Sprint Managed IP Telephony Services is a secure and expandable solution to leverage voice, data, and video collaboration through existing LANs, WANs, and the Internet. Sprint's Teknet IP is a system that delivers voice, video, and data access when and where districts and systems need it. Example applications range from integrated PA systems, multimedia systems, and bell-clock systems on a single Web-based management system to a managed network digital video on demand that would allow teachers to integrate media into the classroom. It can bring voice, video, and data access in every classroom. Sprint PCS Wireless is another component of the Sprint networking and infrastructure solutions. It can create a mobile communications product and service for staff and faculty members. In addition to the above, Sprint also has a Managed Services offering that can handle and optimize the design, implementation, and maintenance of data and voice networks. It goes beyond traditional WAN coverage to also include LAN devices such as switches, routers, and servers. The management service will work with virtually any setup, such as frame relay, ATM, dedicated IP, private line, and IP virtual private network. The Sprint service is set up to operate as an extension of an existing IT staff, accessing advanced Sprint and Web monitoring reports. The key components of the managed service are: initializing service, from consultation and design to installation; monitoring and management; providing a Managed Network Service Center to be the online single point of contact for network maintenance issues; and equipment maintenance through support of equipment and software from leading vendors. Verizon Verizon works with schools to develop customized networking and technology solutions. The Verizon Enterprise Solutions Group manages the design, operation, and maintenance of end-to-end total integrated network capabilities. The company designs and implements network models that are multifunctional, sustainable, and economical. Verizon partners with other vendors such as Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, and Alcatel in order to provide end-to-end solutions. The
Verizon Enterprise Solutions group offers various options for schools
comprised of data services, voice services, IP services, managed
services, and customized solutions. Verizon also has a range of IP Services solutions for converging voice and data networks, and it includes Internet access, Internet security, IP Virtual Private Networking, and managed Internet solutions. The IP service has various connection options, a number of service-level options, 24/7 monitoring, usage reporting, and other features. Verizon has built its own portfolio of services by working jointly with varied outside vendors, allowing it to give end-to-end solutions in networking. For instance, its affiliation with Cisco Systems allows Verizon to link its services with multiple areas of specialization such as wide area networking, network management, IP telephony, and advanced security. One example of an enterprise-wide solution is the network-based transparent LAN service (TLS) Verizon and Cisco implemented in the Sherman Independent School District (SISD) in Texas, allowing the district to vastly expand services and technology. Verizon and Cisco worked together with the school district with the objective of facilitating smoother management control and increasing network speeds, availability, redundancy, reliability, and security. Verizon solicited information from SISD staff and teachers and worked within budget constraints of the district. Ultimately, Verizon offered a multi-layered Verizon and Cisco end-to-end solution to meet SISD's networking requirements. The solution incorporated a holistic approach: the WAN was upgraded to the new Verizon TLS Ethernet service while the LAN customer-premises equipment was transformed to Cisco Catalyst switches. This brought about a cost-effective solution that permits SISD to support a wider range of applications that require voice, data, and video on one network. This and other technological upgrades allowed SISD to reduce the district's total cost of ownership (TOC), increase network availability, and decrease management expense. Verizon's
choices on Managed Services permit customers to choose any number
of managed-services options, from a small portion to an end-to-end
solution. The Enterprise Solutions Group has a variety of services
from simple out-tasking and outsourced maintenance to management
of routers, switches, and hubs.
BEST PRACTICES :
ConnectTEN Education
Networks of America ConnectTEN is a statewide K-12 network in Tennessee that provides access, networking infrastructure and services, and ed-tech solutions to school districts and local education agencies across the state, serving 1 million students and 60,000 teachers and administrators. The state first established it in 1996 because it was seeking to make sure that every school in Tennessee would have Internet connectivity, explains Dr. Tim Webb, an assistant commissioner for resources and support services in the Tennessee Department of Education. It was one of the first states to establish such a network. Since the mid-1990s, ConnectTEN has developed into a much more complex program that has implemented and enhanced school systems' network connections and provided a range of technologies, including 24/7 proactive network monitoring, management of network resources and use, content-filtering abilities, and other tools and services to Tennessee schools. ENA, a company based in Nashville, Tenn., helped to construct the original ConnectTEN network as general manager and has been closely affiliated with ConnectTEN since then. In late 2001, it won a five-year contract to provide ConnectTEN services until June 30, 2007. Eight Principles. As a statewide network, ConnectTEN is a huge endeavor, one that is much larger than that of regional consortiums or local districts. Though it's larger, we're examining it as a Best Practices example for consistently enhancing its network infrastructure for today's needs and technologies. Plus, it exemplifies the 8 Principles of building, improving, and maintaining a network that will fully support educational delivery, as discussed in the Theme - concepts that should be present in any excellent network. Having a network and IT solution such as ConnectTEN creates more enterprise planning, rather than making network and tech improvements one building at a time, in Webb's view. MISP Model. Secondly, ENA is a Managed Internet Service Provider (MISP), and we look at ConnectTEN because it's a model of using an MISP as a one-stop point-of-contact with full responsibility for the K-12 schools' network. Having a MISP is like hiring a general contractor to build a house. It's the single service provider responsible for making all of the networks and technology work together. As such, ENA does the following:
ConnectTEN provides Internet connectivity and networks more than 200,000 computers across Tennessee's schools and local education agencies. Webb says ConnectTEN is a robust infrastructure and backbone that has "put Tennessee way ahead of the game" as it takes the next major step using technology to improve student performance. It not only enables very fast and reliable connectivity, but links together schools and universities throughout the state. The next major step Tennessee is taking: a Statewide Student Management System (SSMS) in a Web-based environment, which will seek to standardize and interconnect all reporting of student data. Previously, the state's student data reporting has been plagued by a silo effect, with information collected in redundant ways to different departments, some 80,000 duplicate student accounts, and vendors who couldn't talk to each other, Webb explains. School districts have the option to participate in the SSMS; 114 school districts (out of 136 statewide) are participating. By June 30 of this year, the state will have 74 districts live with the SSMS. As to the districts not participating, several had already made sizable investments in Student Information Systems, and they did not want to make the conversation at this point, Webb says. Some of them have indicated that once the SSMS is established and successfully operating, they will participate. Funding. ConnectTEN is funded through state and federal funds (e-rate), Webb notes. Concerning the SSMS, the state will offer the student-management system software and training to participating districts, but the districts must have a secure, reliable network to transmit information. Because of this, districts are upgrading and must ensure that they have networks that will allow them to transmit data quickly, reliably, and safely in a centralized, Web-based system. In addition, ed-tech software and services are available through ENA that schools can choose to purchase through the ENA statewide consortium. This saves money because of the economies of scale and can allow smaller districts to purchase services they would otherwise not be able to afford. These ENA consortium offerings include Atomic Learning, Web-based software training through online tutorials; netTrekker, the academic search engine with access to online resources aligned with state standards; and the Gaggle e-mail system designed for schools. Here is how ConnectTEN exemplifies the important principles in creating and maintaining a network. Reliability Another indicator: Most trouble tickets are resolved prior to the district knowing there is a problem, Webb says. Planning networks from the foundation up also requires working with a reliable vendor who's involved in the entire process and has a stake in continually looking for ways to improve the network and educational delivery. One example of this within ConnectTEN is Maury County Schools in Tennessee, which was able to upgrade from a T1 line to a fiber-optic network over the summer of 2004. After conducting an evaluation of its existing network, ENA network engineers worked with the district to implement a new, state-of-the-art network that is far more efficient and reliable than its old one. Capacity The SNAP server, a special computer server linked to the district's Local Area Network, decreases total bandwidth use between the LAN and the Internet, permitting more bandwidth for users summoning fresh content from the Net. Schools in Tennessee have the option to purchase the platform as part of their ConnectTEN services. Scalability
Redundancy Interconnectivity Safety
and Security Through ConnectTEN, ENA can manage a district's firewall services, including all hardware, software, and support, and virus screening. Tennessee's schools can consult with ENA engineers on firewall devices. The service provider also helps districts customize the firewall to a specific network configuration. The MISP constantly monitors traffic and can tell if what is going over the routers is legitimate school traffic or something being generated by attacks. On a network of 1,900 sites, there are a couple of million attacks repulsed daily, according to ENA President David Pierce. ENA pioneered the use of content filtering statewide, in Tennessee. In the summer of 2004, it implemented a new content-filtering solution for the entire ConnectTEN network. It's integrated into the core of the network backbone and has a capacity to filter 15,000 Web requests per second. It is an enterprise-class solution that would probably be prohibitive for many districts if they were going it alone. School districts have local choice of what gets filtered and what doesn't, and can select from nearly 40 different categories of what they would like blocked and unblocked. Hickman County Schools, for example, uses the content-filtering service to block Web access to free e-mail and similar e-mail offerings, which prevents students from passing e-mails on servers that the school can't control. The system also employs the filtering to block sites that are known spyware intruders. Cost
Efficiency While ConnectTEN is state-funded, districts have the ability to purchase additional products and services. In Maury County schools, for instance, when the district purchased the netTrekker online-learning tool through ENA's statewide consortium, it was able to do so at a significant savings. Monitoring
and Maintenance
CONFERENCES: Following is an annotated list of educational conferences that you may want to attend in the coming months (complete with links to information). 14th
Annual edACCESS Conference NECC
2005 ED-MEDIA
2005 Savvy
Cyber Teacher Summer Institute American
Association of School Administrators: Summer Leadership Conference Building
Learning Communities 2005 Mid-America
Technology in Education Conference Washington
Interactive Technologies Conference ASIS
51st Annual Seminar ACET's
41st Annual Conference Online
Learning: Fall Conference and Expo
NSBA's
T+L2 Conference
* *
* Let
us know if the SuperTECH NEWS
newsletter is helpful to you and what you would like to read about
in future newsletters. Let us know if there are good practices and
people we should write about... Call us if you want to know more
about the CIO-Time Share Service. E-MAIL:
eliot@blegroup.com BLE
GROUP
SUPERTECH
NEWS © 2002-2005 BLE GROUP. All rights Reserved. Do not copy
or reproduce without written permission. |
Eliot
Levinson is the founder of the BLE Group. Levinson launched
the BLE Group (
In
this month's newsletter, we focus on networks. Your network is the
foundation of your school system's educational delivery. You cannot
do educational delivery without technology, and your technology
depends 100 percent on your network. In the most basic terms, if
your network doesn't work, your delivery of education won't work.
Without a stable, reliable, efficient, and scalable network,
a school system's ability to meet accountability demands, deliver
quality instruction, and run your administration - not only today
but also 3-5 years from now - is impossible. 
