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Q. What is EDUNET?
Q. Who owns the network?
Q. What area does the EDUNET cover?
Q. Who will design and construct the network?
Q. When will EDUNET be operational?
Q. How secure is the traffic that passes through the network?
Q. What is the Internet bandwidth I can get with this network?
Q. How does it work?
Q. How fast is the wireless network?
Q. What do I need to do for my school district to participate in the EDUNET?
Q. Our school district has high speed Internet access for free through our local telephone/cable company. How would EDUNET benefit our district?
Q. How reliable is the network?
Q. Will extreme weather conditions affect the network?
Q. Who do we call if there is a problem?
Q. How do I get this network into my school building and other buildings in my district?
Q. Why Wireless?
Q. Does this network qualify for e-rate reimbursement?
Q. Why should my school district invest in EDUNET?
Q. What does my school district need to participate in distance learning?
Q. What is WebCT?
Q. What other districts have joined EduNet?
Q. What's in it for Carl Sandburg College?
Q. How solid is the price offered to our district?
Q. My district plans to wait a year before joining EduNet. Would that change our monthly partnership fees, and/or the length of contract?
Q. What are the advantages to joining EduNet?
Q. What equipment is provided to set up the EduNet system and integrate it with our internal network? What will be the costs associated with this equipment?
Q. Who is the point of contact at the College for EduNet related questions?
Q. What is EDUNET?
A. EDUNET is a broadband wireless wide area communication network designed for the purpose of transmitting/receiving Data, Internet, Audio and Video traffic.
Q. Who owns the network?
A. Carl Sandburg College in partnership with the K-12 school districts within its district will own and operate the network.
Q. What area does the EDUNET cover?
A. EDUNET covers the 3000 square mile Carl Sandburg Community College District 518 and provides connectivity to the twenty six K-12 school districts within the College district.
Q. Who will design and construct the network?
DerbyTech Computer Works of East Moline, IL. DerbyTech has been in business for over 20 years and bring a wealth of experience and expertise in the field of wireless networking, computer technology support and intelligent network design.
Q. When will EDUNET be operational?
A. EDUNET is expected to be operational to deliver the basic services by August 2005.
Q. How secure is the traffic that passes through the network?
A. Links between connectivity points are encrypted and are tunneled to ensure maximum security of the traffic that passes through the network.
Q. What is the Internet bandwidth I can get with this network?
A. The network will pass through to the school districts, baseline bandwidth allocated and provided to them by the Illinois Century Network (ICN)
Q. How does it work?
A. The wireless network uses RF Antennas to send and receive data. Wireless networks take digital data (1's and 0's) and convert it into radio waves. This digital-to-analog and vice-versa technique allows radio waves to transmit data in open air. 802.11a networks use radio frequencies in the unlicensed 5 GHz range.
Q. How fast is the wireless network?
A. 802.11a supports data rates up to 54 Mbps (megabits per second)
Q. What do I need to do for my school district to participate in the EDUNET?
A. The Superintendent of the school district needs to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement (IA) with Carl Sandburg College that states their intention to join the network and commit to the subscription fees(please see attached) for a period of five years.
Q. Our school district has high speed Internet access for free through our local telephone/cable company. How would EDUNET benefit our district?
A. EDUNET offers a whole lot more than just high speed Internet Access. Through the EDUNET,
1.School districts with IP based video conferencing systems can share live courses/classes with other school districts.
2.They can take advantage of live dual credit courses offered via distance learning from Carl Sandburg College
3.They can take advantage of the WebCT hosting service offered by Carl Sandburg College.
4.They will be able to receive the Educational Cable Access channel through which Adult Education programs, ESL and a variety of educational programs are broadcast 24 hours a day.
5.They can take advantage of the Voice over IP services, data bureau services, disaster recovery, e-mail and Web hosting, Technology Support services that are offered through the network.
Q. How reliable is the network?
A. In the past few years, wireless networks have emerged as a low cost and reliable alternative to wired networks. The design proposed by Derby Tech Computer Works, calls for redundant routers, power supplies and Hot Standby's which will ensure that traffic passes through the network uninterrupted and seamless in case one of the antennas or routers fail.
Q. Will extreme weather conditions affect the network?
A. In most cases, studies and experience of the vendor indicate that while the throughput might be affected slightly, communication breakdown seldom occurs.
Q. Who do we call if there is a problem?
A. The College has contracted with Derby Tech Computer Works to maintain the network and ensure 24/7 service. In case of a failure, you will need to place a call to Derby Tech who will either remotely fix/re route the traffic and/or dispatch service personnel to the site.
Q. How do I get this network into my school building and other buildings in my district?
A. EDUNET will provide one high speed Ethernet connection to each school district. From there, the school district can plug that into their existing network. Districts can also transmit that signal to other school buildings within their district through wireless antennas.
Q. Why Wireless?
A. Carl Sandburg College covers a 3000 square mile service area in West Central Illinois. There are twenty six school districts located within the College district. It is the mission of the College "To provide accessible, quality education in a caring environment by keeping the learner's needs at the center of decision making and by working in partnership with communities of the College district"
The College believes that its district's residents should have the access to rich, diverse and high quality learning opportunities regardless of the location of the district they have chosen to call home.
The College has over the years tried to establish communication networks to communities within its district for the delivery of educational services. However, due to the multiple telecommunication providers located within the district, land lines crossing Local Exchange Carriers (LEC) territories incurred significant recurring monthly charges making it practically unaffordable for the public schools to take advantage of services offered by the College.
In 2002, the College birthed the concept of the Wireless Network and presented it to its Board of Trustees at their regular meeting in October with a recommendation to commission a feasibility study. The study results came back affirming the feasibility of the network to offer reliable and high speed district wide connectivity. Combined with the fact that wireless technology has progressed rapidly and is the modern reliable and low cost alternative for wired networks, the College chose the wireless option.
Since this network will be owned and operated on a breakeven basis by the College District in partnership with the K-12 School Districts, costs of participating in the network will be significantly lower than what telecommunications providers across the district can offer. At the same time the network offers an array of managed services that cannot be duplicated by any one entity in the constituent geographic area.
Q. Does this network qualify for e-rate reimbursement?
The College is in the process of filing to be a service provider. Once that process is complete, schools will be able to get e-rate reimbursement as long as they file the necessary paperwork within the established timelines.
Q. Why should my school district invest in EDUNET?
Construction of the EDUNET is equivalent to construction of a private expressway for the flow of information. Once this infrastructure is in place, school districts will be able to take advantage of a variety of applications. The EDUNET cost structure reflects a capital component and maintenance components spread over five years. The initial applications offered will be High Speed Internet, Educational TV Channel, WebCT and Distance Learning. However, new applications such as Voice over IP, Managed Hosting, and a host of other cost saving applications will emerge for the benefit of the districts. Once the highway is built, the possibilities become endless.
Q. What does my school district need to participate in distance learning?
Each district will need an IP based distance learning system such as Polycomm. The approximate cost to setup a distance learning classroom is $11,000.
Q. What is WebCT?
WebCT is a web based course management system that will allow teachers to supplement their classroom instruction with online assignments, quizzes, discussion boards, office hours, grade books and a variety of activities that their students can participate in. As a part of the EDUNET subscription Carl Sandburg College will host and maintain the WebCT servers on its Galesburg campus and make available training for teachers who would like to use WebCT in their classroom.
Q. What other districts have joined EduNet?
A. So far there are Ten - Abingdon, West Central, United, Monmouth/Roseville, Knoxville, Avon, Galesburg, Yorkwood, Spoon River and Williamsfield. Western Illinois University has decided to join EduNet. Several other districts are considering EduNet at this time.
Q. What's in it for Carl Sandburg College?
A. CSC realizes that its K-12 feeder districts are going through some tough times financially. While K-12 and four-year universities have received less than they need from the State the past few years, the junior college system has avoided the same trauma. CSC is in a position to help and understands that it helps itself when it helps its feeder districts. EduNet helps tie the feeder schools to CSC and allows high school students to better utilize distance learning and online courses offered through both CSC and WIU.
Q. How solid is the price offered to our district?
A. It is locked in for five years. CSC is taking the risk for any unexpected costs. If grants are written, the cost to the district could actually go down … or additional services could be added.
Q. My district plans to wait a year before joining EduNet. Would that change our monthly partnership fees, and/or the length of contract?
A. For districts unable to join during the summer of 2005, the five-year agreement would begin from the date both sides sign the contract and the fee structure would remain in place and be guaranteed for at least the first four years of the agreement. An adjustment could occur during the fifth year depending on circumstances at that time.
Q. What are the advantages to joining EduNet?
Q. What equipment is provided to set up the EduNet system and integrate it with our internal network? What will be the costs associated with this equipment?
A. Each district will receive all the basic equipment necessary to establish a working link to its internal network – an upgradeable router, two ports and DerbyTech VPNs. There are no additional costs for this equipment as these are included in the monthly fee.
Q. Who is the point of contact at the College for EduNet related questions?
A.
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