ICT in schools is evolving almost on a daily basis - fibre optics, Wi-Fi and network security are essential elements of any connected establishment

ICT in schools is evolving rapidly and what is considered the norm now wasn’t always so, even a mere five or so years ago. The emergence of laptops and hand held devices as elements of the learning features of ICT in schools has created the need for wider Wi-Fi usage, faster fibre optic connections and enhanced security.

The security elements may include but are not limited to:

• ·         Secure access servers
• ·         Hardware and software firewalls
• ·         Antivirus tools
• ·         Network monitoring tools

Not only does enhanced network security protect the infrastructure of the entire network, it also protects the hardware and software used on that network. You cannot begin to understand why anyone would want to hack into a server, computer or other hardware let alone create a malevolent virus to attack hardware and software. However, it does happen and network and hardware managers in schools and other educational establishments have to be on their toes at all times.

Not only is security an important issue in schools so too is the protection of the network from advanced redundancy. That is to say, any network or hardware supplied to run a network or operate software applications upon it should be future proofed against early redundancy. 

The rapid advances being made in computer hardware and the architecture upon which it is built plus the software which is designed to run on it, can and frequently does render equipment obsolete before its time. By strategically planning for advances and innovations it is possible to efficiently and cost effectively create an ICT environment which will be safe from advancing technology for many years to come.

One of the biggest changes in recent years to the application of ICT hardware is the use of voice communication and other bandwidth hungry applications. These may be computer aided design (CAD) applications, server based web design suites or video conferencing. These specialist applications are ‘bandwidth hungry’ and will slow down an inefficient or poorly designed network exponentially.

 

In order to create the most efficient infrastructure, with the most advanced equipment laid out in an efficient teaching layout, you would be best to obtain the advice of an expert. Whatever your current set up or intended set up, it is far better to get it right first time than have to keep spending money on future upgrades which could have been avoided. 

For more information about future proofed ICT in schools and other educational establishments, log on to the website of NetCom ICT today, the address of which is  www.netcomict.co.uk