Posted on 08.29.2019

No School Left Behind: Leveraging the Power of Fiber Optic Networks for Education

The first day of school is right around the corner. Already, supply stores are running television spots, advertising the latest and greatest in tablets, laptops and other mobile devices that will improve students’ learning abilities. As well, professors, teachers and other educators are busy lesson planning – wondering if its possible to incorporate innovative technological advancements into their classrooms.

The bottom line is this – use of technology in educational settings is on the rise. EdTech Magazine recently completed a global survey, which found that nearly half of students use a computer in the classroom, 42% use smartphones, 33% leverage interactive whiteboards and 20% work on tablets. As a result, today’s educational institutions are increasingly in need of high-bandwidth, high-capacity network solutions to bring educational programming, testing and collaboration into the digital age.

Here are just some of the key trends driving demand for fiber optic networks for school districts, universities and other learning institutions:

• eLearning Applications
• Learning Analytics
• Online Testing
• Cloud Computing
• Real-Time Collaboration
• Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G Utilization
• HD Content Streaming, Virtual/Augmented Reality

All these are data intensive and require fast, robust, reliable networks. Unfortunately, many educational institutions still rely on legacy network solutions like copper-coax cable and even wireless architectures. Fiber-based networks are a cut above these alternate solutions, offering users higher bandwidth, faster internet speeds, high security, lower latency and even better signal strength.

Think about it. With teachers and students increasingly interested in cloud collaboration, online discussion forums, virtual/augmented reality, video streaming and other applications, educational institutions need the advantages that fiber optic internet provides. Here at DQE, we have plenty of experience helping educational institutions upgrade their legacy network infrastructure. In fact, earlier this year, we partnered with ARIN Intermediate Unit 28 to establish a purpose-built, fully owned, operated and maintained fiber-optic network for the district. This type of solution enables educational institutions to deliver enhanced education that accommodates emerging technologies now and into the future.

Of course, educational institutions require reliable providers of fiber optic network solutions in order to remain on-budget and on-time. To learn more about how we can help modernize your networks, download our data sheet here. Then contact us to speak to one of our experts!

Tags: EdTech, Education, Elearning, K-12, University