Shady Side Academy
Shady Side Academy adopted a simplified unified network to improve connectivity and support new in-class technologies, as well as the 1:1 BYOD initiative.
- Country: United States Of America
- Industry: Education
- Solution: Connected Solutions and Devices
Shady Side Academy is one of the oldest independent schools in Western Pennsylvania. Shady Side enrolls more than 940 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 on three unique campuses: Senior, Middle and Junior schools, including a 7-day boarding option for Senior school students.
We’ve effectively removed the technological barriers to change at Shady Side. Teachers don’t have to worry about technology failing them anymore and that makes all the difference. They can fully embrace new teaching tools to take student learning to the next level.
Challenges
- Shady Side wanted to replace its aging multivendor environment with a robust and scalable unified wired and wireless network from a single vendor.
- The school needed to ready the network for anticipated communications and security needs, while increasing WiFi density and coverage to close “dead spots,” fixing bandwidth issues, and supporting both 1:1 and BYOD student environments immediately.
- Spotty network performance had hindered the use of new technologies, making teachers reluctant to try them. The solution needed to support these technologies in order to regain teachers’ trust and encourage innovative teaching methods.
Results
Technical benefits:
- The unified access network supports Aruba AirGroup feature which allows Shady Side to make full use of inexpensive classroom projection (e.g. AppleTV) with a high degree of control.
- The right sized OmniSwitch core network gives Shady Side great performance and high reliability, while remaining highly scalable.
Financial benefits:
- Ongoing maintenance costs were very high; the new solution offers a much more affordable alternative.
- The entire network was replaced within the school’s budget.
User experience benefits:
- The new network has allowed Shady Side to hire a full time staffer dedicated to classroom innovation, working with teachers to create a better and more innovative learning experience for students.
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Shady Side Academy's Success Story
DownloadRead about how Shady Side Academy improved wired and wireless network performance to support student learning via new technologies in this short case study.