Aerohive Networks, creators of the cooperative control wireless LAN (WLAN) architecture, says Holly Area School District, located in Holly, Michigan, has deployed Apple mobile devices and an Aerohive Wireless LAN (WLAN) solution throughout its school district.
Among Holly Area School District’s top requirements for Wi-Fi included a WLAN solution that was optimized for voice traffic and one that could seamlessly accommodate a plethora of Apple mobile devices. Holly Area School District located in Holly, Michigan is comprised of four elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and a multi-program campus. Aerohive APs support over 3,700 students, 300 teachers and staff and coverage for 800,000 square feet of facilities.
Holly Area School District realized having mobility and wireless access could help them achieve their goal of creating a 21st century learning environment for its students. This meant providing students with interactive learning tools on-the-go and the applications that run on them with a goal of keeping the kids engaged in a way that old-school practices, such as pencils and paper are not capable of achieving. Mobile devices are at the heart of Holly School’s 21C digital learning environment.
Mobile devices were used by administration and staff, and yet cell phone reception was not available inside the buildings. The decision was made to move from Blackberry devices to iPhone 4s, but the cost of enabling 3G was prohibitive. By deploying Aerohive’s WLAN solution, this problem has been solved.
Administrators now make and receive phone calls via the Skype iPhone application. When outside the schools they utilize the normal 3G wireless signal, then when entering the building they toggle on the Call Forwarding to the Skype phone number and turn on the Skype application.
About 100 iPads have been distributed for the students’ use so far, and there are about 20 iPhones in use by staff with a total of 30 wireless cell phones that are Wi-Fi-enabled. District-wide there are 1,500 computers. As far as its need for enhanced instruction, communication and productivity, teachers are now bringing in their own smartphones and iPads and requesting to be granted access to the Wi-Fi network. To read the full Holly Area School District case study, go to http://www.aerohive.com/resources/casestudy/Holly.html.