BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has been popular in companies for years. More and more companies are allowing their employees to work with the devices they prefer, and since the pandemic and the popularization of teleworking, this trend has only increased. In fact, some studies suggest that the percentage of Spaniards who have the possibility of using their own personal devices at work is above 60%.
However, it is one thing to make it easier for anyone to choose which PC they want to work with in their company and a very different one, to apply this policy in educational centers. And yet, the debate is already on the table. At a time when many schools are immersed in digital transformation processes, some centers advocate allowing students to use their own computers and tablets within the center, both to consult information and carry out work, and to connect to computer resources. of the organization, such as the an intranet.
For schools, this approach has numerous benefits: the first and most obvious is the economic savings which means not having a series of equipment prepared and ready to use on various occasions throughout the day. In addition, it also represents savings for students, who are not “forced” to rent (and later if they wish, acquire) a specific tablet or PC in order to continue the school year. Most of the time, all they need is a computer with the ability to connect to the Internet in order to meet all their academic goals.
The experts finally assure that there are also pedagogical and learning benefits. Students do not acquire values such as learning to take care of technological resources, but also the 1:1 model (one device for each student) implies that things they are done differently to when several share the same terminal.
But of course, making it easier for all students to work in the centers with their own equipment, not without risk. There is an economic-social component, for example, that can accentuate the class differences between the different families; and secondly, it is not always easy to guarantee that these devices are being used for educational purposes and not for any other (games, social networks, etc.) that distracts the student from their main purpose. Finally, educational centers also have to consider the impact that introducing a number of different pieces of equipment may have on their ICT infrastructure, as well as the possible security threats which from that moment they can face.
Protect the network of your educational center
In this scenario, and once the advantages and disadvantages of this approach have been evaluated, it is worth asking what is the best way to protect the center’s network to, on the one hand, tackle the possible computer threats that can be presented and on the other, getting students to focus on educational content, for example, blocking access to social networks and other inappropriate web pages in this space.
In this free eBook, which we publish with the support of D-Link, we explain step by step how to deploy secure computer networks in schools, schools, academies and other educational centers with access control, web/app filtering, student network segmentation / teachers and high performance.
Throughout it we offer you general advice to improve the center’s connectivity, but also technical guides and video tutorials aimed at IT departments or companies that install networks in this type of center. Specifically, in this eBook you will learn to…
- Define the needs of the computer network focused on the digitization of classrooms.
- Securing access to the network and limiting free access to the Internet.
- Carry out an adequate deployment of the switches and WiFi access points.
- Isolate teacher/admin networks. from that of students.
- Define which web pages and apps can work, even for different groups (primary, high school, teachers, etc.)
- Schedule WiFi access point disconnection times to save electricity consumption.
- Supervise the operation of the network from the school or remotely.
In short, if you are interested in undertaking a digital transformation project in your educational center and improving the way in which students and teachers connect and work, this is an eBook that you cannot miss. Download it here!
