For schools today, internet access is a lifeblood. Internet connectivity is a must-have for the digital classroom as students need it to access information, enhance their digital skills and connect with communities. It’s vital for supporting modern education, allowing students and teachers to benefit from opportunities as we head toward a more digital society.
However, despite the Federal Communication Commission’s 1Mbps bandwidth aim, the digital divide still remains as more than 25 million students still don’t have high-speed, affordable internet access. The situation is made worse as during COVID-19, the rush to online learning from schools resulted in a mish-mash of legacy equipment, leading to IT integration issues.
The 2024 National Educational Technology Plan is a strategic way ahead that advises school districts on how to bridge the three divides of digital access, design and use. The guide strives to enhance student learning through technology and reduce achievement gaps. And at the heart of digital learning is the need for connectivity. To equip today’s students with the digital skills of tomorrow, resilient and speedy connectivity is essential.
To sum up, internet access is now a utility, as essential to us as electricity or running water. And it should be as easy to turn it on and go. But that’s not easy when tech support typically falls on the shoulders of teachers and staff who are already overwhelmed. When students have trouble connecting their iPad or Chromebook to the school network, they naturally turn to teachers for help. But these professionals are already busy trying to build lesson plans, manage classroom behavior and tend to students who need extra support. Not to mention, it takes away from teaching time and adds to the stress and burnout that’s already causing teachers to leave the profession in droves.
The hospitality industry long ago mastered making technology easy and convenient to satisfy guest demands, and it shares many of the same challenges with K-12 schools: the need for simple, reliable internet with controlled, secure access. And just like teachers and school staff, the hotel front desk staff doesn’t have the skills or time to be the IT help desk for every person. Both industries need to work with many diverse groups at all different technology skill sets – from staff and students to visitors, groups, and more.
That means the best practices developed for hospitality can easily be adapted for the digital classroom to solve similar problems on a smaller scale. Here are five lessons K-12 administrators can take from the hospitality playbook for providing modern, digital technology that’s also safe, convenient and economical.
-
- Easy authorization. Much like hotel guests who come and go frequently, school faculty, students and visitors don’t want to have to sign in to the Wi-Fi every time they walk in the door. But admins also need to control access so students can’t hijack the biology lecture or a suspicious character in the parking lot can’t access student data. Obviously, an open network isn’t an option, but a cumbersome log-in process will just force students and staff onto public cellular networks, over which you have even less control. Authentication platforms provide the perfect solution, offering seamless, secure network access in just one or two steps and very little manual configuration. The technology is designed to re-authenticate devices automatically each time they’re within range and block access for anyone not previously authorized on the network. That means teachers don’t have to play tech support for the first 15 minutes of every class so there’s less disruption and more learning.
-
- Balance bandwidth. Perhaps you’ve had the experience of staying in a hotel and everything works great until the conference closes for the day and everyone returns to their rooms. Suddenly, the network becomes as slow as molasses. The same happens in schools. Multiple teachers in one area streaming educational content or dozens of students all simultaneously taking online exams can bog down the network. And there’s nothing worse than queuing up a streaming video to play for a school wide assembly, and it won’t play because there’s not enough internet capacity. Bandwidth provisioning and dynamic bandwidth allocation can help mitigate this drag and balance the traffic. This ensures everyone gets equal or appropriate access to the bandwidth they need. Access points can be programmed to automatically shift more bandwidth to certain areas based on real-time demand. Or, admins can identify “hot zones” where bandwidth needs are greater, and reshape the network for high-demand areas or special occasions like online exams and pep rallies.
-
- Safety online. Network security is an extremely high priority for SLED. Schools have become a top target for hackers who know most don’t have strong security in place. Not only do you need to prevent students from accessing inappropriate content or hacking into the grading system, but you also have to be mindful of the budget. Most facilities rely on separate firewall appliances that add significantly to hardware and licensing cost, not to mention require ongoing maintenance and configuration. These can also introduce lag time that impacts the end-user experience, including potentially interrupting online content and testing platforms. To solve the problem on their properties, the hospitality industry has turned to internet gateways that include built-in firewalls and security features. These eliminate the need for separate appliances, which reduces cost and administrative burden. With these platforms, K-12 IT teams can still leverage granular and flexible management controls to protect students but avoid disruption or lags in service.
-
- Safeguard staff. It’s an unfortunate reality that staff physical safety is a constant concern. Whether it’s from an intruder, a fall, a classroom accident or on-campus violence, having the ability to summon help is essential in today’s educational environment. Hotel staff (such as housekeeping or lone workers) face similar risks and many properties have begun deploying push-button smart badges. These allow employees to request help instantly, similar to a medical alert device. Using low-energy Bluetooth, these devices also provide fall detection and geolocation data so responders can go quickly and directly to where they’re needed. So when teachers are alone in a classroom, or cleaning staff work on campus alone at night, these provide added peace of mind with help available at the click of a button.
-
- Sustainable schools. These days, saving energy is as much about protecting the environment as it is fiscal responsibility. Not to mention, preventative maintenance on essential equipment like HVAC systems is much more economical than major repairs. Hoteliers have come to rely on smart building technology to achieve both their environmental and economic goals. This includes real-time monitoring and controls for lighting and HVAC that automatically shut off lights or adjust guest room temperature when unoccupied or alert maintenance staff when it’s time for a bulb or filter replacement. It’s easy to see how school buildings function in a very similar way, with many rooms that are unoccupied on a predictable schedule. SLED administrators can apply this same technology to reduce lighting and HVAC utilization and cost, as well as dispatch maintenance staff for preventative updates.
School districts face many challenges as they continue to deploy technology, especially when managing costs and safety concerns. Education can learn a lot by adopting the hospitality tech approach, paving the way for fast and affordable connectivity, which is critical for the digital classroom.
If you would like to know more about how we can help the education sector, contact us here.
Speleos Dravillas is Chief Revenue Officer at Nomadix, an ASSA ABLOY company, and is responsible for the company’s go-to-market strategy and revenue growth through the execution of technology integration partnerships, strong channel and customer relationships, and industry alliances. He also is responsible for global sales and channel growth strategies and their plan executions.
This article originally appeared in Today’s Modern Educator