Only occasionally in the world of technology does a confluence of events occur that creates truly a “game changing” opportunity for an entire market. It is ABS’ opinion that we are seeing such a confluence of events in the education space with the advent of high quality, affordable and soon to be ubiquitous handheld 802.11 devices, the development of Web 2.0 applications, and the emergence of high speed wireless mesh networks. The combination of these three technologies has the potential to dramatically change the education space as we know it today. However, the challenge for all of us is to plan, manage, and leverage this education revolution. Failure to recognize and plan for this intersection of technology and educational opportunity will, at best, result in a missed opportunity and, at worst, devolve into educational confusion.
We can try to deny it, but the day of the 802.11 capable PDA’s, telephones, iPods, and the next-cool-thing is here. It may not happen this year, but by the end of 2008, it is not only possible, but very likely that most students in middle school and higher will show up at school or on campus with some flavor of hand held 802.11 device. This can either be an educational godsend or an educational nemesis depending on your plans to make these devices a leverage point in the school curriculum.
If you have not seen Karl Fisch’s YouTube video Did You Know 2.0, ABS recommends that you view it. While there are some quibbles about the accuracy of some of his statistics, the macro-level message is clear. Rapidly advancing cultural, demographic, and technological change is creating an educational whirlwind that we need to embrace, or we could face dire consequences. The clear and undeniable expectation for students today is to be connected; to be “on,” to be reachable every minute of every day. The expectation is that they are connected to almost limitless resources through the internet, and that communication over what we see as a traditional telephone call with a wired phone, is essentially a marginal technology of limited use.
Not convinced of the coming tidal wave of the 802.11 PDA? Consider that it took Apple over 18 months to sell the first one million iPods. That is almost 600 days. Apple sold one million iPhones in just 74 days. The iPhone has brought 802.11 access into the mobile, handheld mainstream. This cat is out of the bag and is not going back in. The ramifications for education are enormous as applications that leverage that capability of the iPhone and other knockoff devices grows rapidly.
ABS also strongly believes in the rapid development and rapid use of Web 2.0 applications… software as a service…ad hoc, high quality, interactive collaboration tools. It is our opinion that the day of canned, information “push” material in both the business and educational world is beginning its decline. Static content, non-interactive web experiences are going to become less relevant in our daily business lives, and will be boring and ineffective as an educational tool. It is ABS’ view that dynamic educational content, accessed anytime, anywhere across a school division is going to become part of the educational Web 2.0 experience.
Collaborative JIT (Just In Time) cram sessions between students at opposite ends of a campus using handheld 802.11 devices, quizzing each other interactively and posing questions is easy to envision. These students could then easily reach a teacher or teacher’s aid using their own 802.11 device, and, using WebEx or some variant of WebEx, set up an ad hoc, interactive review session…where no one is constrained by physical space, location, or network jacks. It is easy to envision a high school student working outside or sitting in a study hall, listening to a lecture from a Stanford professor on An Evening with Jefferson, on iTunesU as they prepare for a project on Colonial America.
In the Web 2.0 world, content is fluid throughout an entire school division and even between school divisions. Collaboration is a part of everyday life, and external research content accessed anywhere, anytime is an expectation versus a luxury. Teacher and classroom blogs are the standard for students in a Web 2.0 environment and Wiki’s are a part of the educational process. Each of these tools is expected to be accessible from anywhere in the school division and shared between students, teachers, and parents. All of these tools are here today. The expectation from students is that they will be part of their educational and business lives. The hand held 802.11 device is going to make access better, and educational possibilities limitless. However, it is imperative that we have planned to make these tools a cornerstone of the educational process.
The foundational technology that makes hand held 802.11 devices and Web 2.0 applications relevant is high speed wireless technology. Specifically: indoor and outdoor wireless mesh. It is that simple (or daunting depending on your role). When ABS discusses wireless capability with our clients, we are talking about wireless access literally everywhere in a school division or college campus: Academic buildings, administration buildings, dining halls, maintenance facilities, center field, twenty-five yard line, everywhere.
The development of wireless technology is the third leg of the stool that is creating this academic revolution. Hand held devices and collaboration applications are great, but if there is not high quality, high speed, reliable access, they become an annoyance instead of an educational asset. Wireless mesh technology is the glue that holds everything together. There are not many “foundation” technologies that we see across a specific market, but this is truly one for education.
It is ABS’ opinion that high speed access everywhere is going to be a “must have” for both K-12 and higher education. It is our experience and strongly held opinion that despite what vendors may have said, this technology has not been a practical reality for our clients for more than 24 months. What is new about wireless mesh is that:
- Now it is a routed technology using AWPP.
- It is a technology that continues to get faster.
- Indoor/outdoor wireless mesh can now be deployed, accessed, managed, and secured across an entire multi-site school division or college campus as a singe network.
We believe that these three developments in wireless technology make it a viable and necessary technology for all of our education clients. When combined with the viability of handheld 802.11 devices and Web 2.0 applications and content, indoor/outdoor wireless mesh becomes a requirement for education moving forward. Finally, while we always expect to see a lag between the Quality of Service capabilities of the wired versus the wireless network, the advances made in wireless QoS enable us to confidently deploy advanced applications across a wireless infrastructure.
ABS is excited about what we see on the horizon for the education space. The opportunity for educational advancement before us is immense. It will not only be possible, but practical, to engage students fully in the educational process in ways that make sense to them, and leverage the tools they use in everyday life. The risk we run is that our educational messages are lost not because they are ineffective or irrelevant, but because they are not packaged and presented in ways that are meaningful to the target audience. The opportunity is at hand; the technology not only exists today, but is mainstream and cost effective. It is our job to help our clients deploy the foundational technology they will need to serve their students today and tomorrow.
-David Rayner, Vice President of Sales
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