TeacherNet

A presentation on TeacherNet, a wireless Internet pilot project at Prince Street School in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, proposed, funded, installed and managed by parents.

1. TeacherNet Prince Street School Wireless Pilot Project
2. Connect for 24 Hours Connect to SSID TeacherNet Enter Voucher Code openhouse
3. Broadcasting Live http://www.ustream.tv/channel/teachernet (Say Hello!)
4. Rationale • High cost of “network drops” for Ooka Island project prompted a conversation. • IT Shared Services is planning for wireless infrastructure, but not in the short-term. • Premier Ghiz says innovate through creativity and thrift.
5. Infrastructure • Open Mesh OM2P • $75.00 each • Cloud-managed • Easy to install
6. Bandwidth • Bell Aliant offers 6 months of FiberOP. • Donates services and installation. • 20 Mbps of bandwidth.
7. Permission “IT Shared Services will be the sole provider of design, specification, installation, operation, maintenance, and management services for all wireless infrastructure devices which are owned and operated by the Government and which reside on the Government’s data communication network.” – IT Shares Services Policy ITSS-POL-001
8. Exception • Granted March 21, 2012 • Eastern School District • Department of Education • IT Shared Services
9. Exception Details • ITSS won’t maintain the network. • ITSS won’t support the network. • For use by educators only. • Access controlled by voucher. • No interconnection to wired network.
10. Planning • Obtained a map of school. • Consulted with principal and educators. • Developed a plan for siting the wireless routers.
11. Second Floor
12. First Floor
13. Tools Cable Pusher Wire Snips Ethernet Crimper Ladders Ethernet Cable Ends
14. 1000’ of Cat5e Cable $164
15. 7 OM2P Access Points On Loan from Ken Williams Donated
16. Installing • Drop ceiling allows cables to route between rooms. • Classrooms with LCD projectors have a plug already installed.
17. Site Tour
18. Second Floor
19. First Floor
20. 7 Access Points Locations Marked on Ceiling
21. http://cloudtrax.com/ Node Setup
22. http://cloudtrax.com/ User Setup
23. User Login
24. Content Filtering • Exception required filtering, even though network only for teacher user. • Using “OpenDNS Family Shield” during the pilot. • No cost. • Simply change of DNS server in router.
25. Analyzing Coverage • Used the free NetSpot app for OS X to walk to a wireless signal survey. • Green means “strong” and red means “weak”.
28. Analyzing Bandwidth • Used the free Speedtest.net site to measure throughput. • 20 Mbps down and 4.9 Mbps up on average.
29. Costs Out of pocket costs to Prince Street Home and School were $164.
30. User Support • School office manages vouchers. • TeacherNetPEI@gmail.com Email • @TeacherNetPEI on Twitter • A single OM2P node has needed to be replaced so far.
31. Usage 2 Hours 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month
32. User Stories