Future Proofing the Provincial Education Network | |
| |
David Stanchuk (right) and Ben Capli operating
a hub which manages the 150 SCN
school terminals.
| |
Future Proofing the Provincial Education NetworkSaskatchewan’s CommunityNet is extended with Satellite Broadband
All Provinces face a difficult challenge in ensuring consistent quality of educational services across their territories. Saskatchewan’s CommunityNet is a broadband, high-speed, province-wide telecommunications network that includes connecting more than 900 schools, colleges and libraries, including those on First Nations reserves. Earlier this year, Saskatchewan became the first to use two-way satellite broadband to systematically upgrade the connectivity of 155 of its “off-Net” schools. Before the end of the 2004 fall school term, all schools in Saskatchewan will enjoy full CommunityNet connectivity, and share equally in the network’s benefits.
“On the old, one-way dial-up system, students and teachers were frustrated with the excessive downtime,” said Jim Swan, technology coordinator for Sask Central School District. “Thanks to the upgrade, downtime has virtually been eliminated, so there is no waiting to access web pages. Even the simplest tasks are easier, like refreshing, and we enjoy far greater reliability. And now teachers and students can upload to build websites, which is a significant improvement.”
Morley Tallon, principal of Crane Valley School, agrees. “With no downtime and access to everything we need, our school is really benefiting,” he said. “We’re excited because even though we are in a remote area, we can now offer more options for classes to our students, using SCN’s E-Learning Network. It’s helping communities like us overcome teacher shortages in remote areas.”
The upgrade means more schools can teach students how to learn and eventually work in a broadband world. Schools in rural and remote areas are benefiting, as are First Nation schools. “The implementation of this system
| | |
Computer lab at Keeseekoose First Nations school.
| |
in Saskatchewan First Nation schools meets goal of maximizing school connectivity under the First Nations Schoolnet Program, said Randy Johns of Keewatin Career Development Corporation (KCDC), the Regional Management Organization for the program. “Our utilization of the new satellite technology, provided through a partnership with Saskatchewan Learning and SCN, also allows First Nation schools to access the benefits of being within the CommunityNet network. This allows better services for students and teachers in the schools.”
Not only is the two-way satellite broadband service meeting schools’ needs today, but it is also fundamentally designed to support growing bandwidth and quality of service needs, while using state-of-the-art technology to reduce operating costs.
The service is managed by Regina-based SCN (Saskatchewan Communications Network), the province’s Educational Broadcaster and provider of Distance Learning infrastructure. ”We chose a system based on an open standard technology called DVB-RCS, built by a Montreal company called EMS Satellite Networks,“ said David Stanchuk of SCN, the project manager responsible for the satellite system. “All of the sites can be further upgraded to higher rates by making modular system additions or replacements, and we can source these from multiple vendors with this technology. In addition, the system transparently supports IP and IP applications, making it easy to integrate into existing networks, including our DVB based televised Distance Learning platform. We wanted a future-proof technology to make sure we could support CommunityNet needs at these remote, rural and First Nations sites for years to come.”
As this article went to press, 139 of the 155 schools were upgraded, with the remainder on track to be upgraded before the end of November.
|
