Fast Wi-Fi seen as an academics tool for aging Mo. school district

Computerworld - Public schools in Raytown, Mo., have turned to high-speed Wi-Fi to help boost academic performance for students sharing laptops.

The district serves about 8,000 students, nearly half of them on school lunch assistance, in an aging suburb nearly surrounded by Kansas City, Mo., said Justin Watermann, technology coordinator for the public schools. About 1,500 laptops are used for a variety of subjects, including math, and are often shared by students and transported to classrooms via rolling computer carts where they connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

The transition to faster 802.11n-based Wi-Fi from Aruba Networks Inc. has taken place in the past four months, partly as a result of replacing Wi-Fi equipment from Meru Networks that was connected to Foundry switches. The older Wi-Fi access points and infrastructure, installed only a year ago, weren't delivering consistent connections -- especially near homes with Wi-Fi and businesses with radio dishes that created network interference, he said.

"After a year of trying, we were still having problems finding good coverage," Watermann said in a recent interview. To make the older Wi-Fi network coverage work properly with about 150 access points (APs), the district would have needed to buy an expensive second Wi-Fi controller. That's what prompted Watermann and integrator CDW Government Inc. (CDWG) to switch to Aruba hardware.

For less than $400,000, the district has been able to install about 250 Aruba APs and related infrastructure for 22 buildings serving elementary through high school students. CDWG was able to recoup some costs from the older Foundry technology through a competitive upgrade, he said.

Watermann said he researched several Wi-Fi products and found that Aruba's Adaptive Radio Management technology was useful in adjusting channels and power levels to mitigate the interference experienced on the older system. "When we picked Aruba, we said that if we make this change, it really has to work. And it worked instantly," he said.

A feature in the Aruba technology allows Watermann to import floor plans and maps of buildings to show where APs are located, allowing him to adjust Wi-Fi signal patterns. Another plus from the transition has been the improved signal strength 802.11n offers.

Part of the instigation for the Wi-Fi transition came from a school principal whose office was in the same building as Watermann, he said. She complained whenever the older system failed, noting that the district's academic objectives relied on effective wireless connections to laptops running academic programs, Watermann said.

"Because she was in our building, she would say, 'OK, we've paid for the software and the laptops, and we have the kids sitting in class unable to learn.' She was polite, but very insistent," Watermann recalled.

The district's investment in laptops and wireless networking is designed to help improve math scores and other academic benchmarks, Watermann noted. "If the laptops were just for casual Web browsing, that would be one thing. But we have run a budget deficit this year and still have computer labs and math coaches who are working off a grant to improve math scores. ... We have the Carnegie math program on Mac laptops and incentives under No Child Left Behind for doing more assessments and testing. It became critical to have a good wireless network."

Watermann said he and other school officials view the 802.11n network as "one more education tool. The staffers think it is essential."

While he said the upgrades are "pretty advanced" for a public school district of Raytown's size, he also said the district faces financial challenges and has to make every dollar count. "When I meet with technology vendors, I tell them I have a very limited budget, this is what I'm looking for and it's got to work and be a good value."

Read more about wireless networking in Computerworld's Wireless Networking Knowledge Center.