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Switched in Thinking

Episode 11 – "Helping Schools Achieve New Levels of Connectivity"

Featuring: Alexandra Méhat and Bryan Turner

Welcome to this latest episode that explores the real-world networking challenges faced by businesses of today and the future.

Schools are becoming more connected than ever before. Changing the way we learn has been a whole new facet for every education facility across the world.

In Episode 11 of the Switched On Thinking Podcast, host Neil C. Hughes is joined by Alexandra Méhat, NETGEAR’s SMB product marketing director, and Bryan Turner, the director of IT at Trinity Pawling School, in Pawling, New York, to learn more about the experiences they’ve faced this year, and how they've worked together to provide students with the networks that they expect as standard now.

Nov 20, 2020

Transcription

Including:


  • The challenges faced by schools across the world now and in the near future.
  • How NETGEAR’s centralised management can help schools to overcome these challenges.
  • How NETGEAR products are driving greater experiences for students and teachers.
  • How NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches helped to transform the learning experience at Trinity Pawling School in New York.

    • A Complete Paradigm Shift


    As Bryan says, “We have really seen a complete paradigm shift in the education space, from interactive learning to this new hybrid solution. And it's been a phenomenal challenge.” Schools have had to adapt to new technology, new processes and new thinking. The online experience has to match up with in-person learning and the only way to succeed is to have a good working infrastructure across all facets of the organisation.

    “These lockdowns have done nothing but show us how important not only the communication is, but how important connection is with one another,” says Bryan.

    In this episode, Alex discusses how NETGEAR works with schools all over the world. Schools with WiFi issues and old, thick walls. Some students are still attending school in person and “they need to be all connected at once… and not have glitches because of networking.”

    Classes are smaller, there are pop up classes, and learning is happening in new areas of schools. “Your network has to help out with this too,” says Alex. At NETGEAR, “we have Instant mesh where you can directly put a WiFi access point without any cables in one of these classes, for example, and have your WiFi right away.”

    “We Wanted to Look at the Future”


    “The wireless experience is very important for NETGEAR,” as Alex says, “and we're trying to bring to market products that will help our schools grow or customers grow… Some of the switches can be fully managed centrally, so Bryan can manage access points from his home.

    “We did an entire site survey not only prior to our deployment, but after,” says Bryan. “And the differences were night and day.” He was able to log in from the beach while on vacation, to reboot and check network connectivity. “It definitely saved me from having to drive four hours back.”

    The Insight platform “unlocks so much more potential for your entire organisation and adds more value than one could really imagine,” he says. “NETGEAR has always shown that they're not just a competing force, but they are a high-end force within this market space to help us grow our infrastructure, and to provide the best backbone for our students.”

    A New Episode Every Two Weeks


    Twice a month, Switched On Thinking will deliver insightful analysis by exploring real-world networking challenges faced by businesses today and in the future.

    Every episode, we will discuss the key role that networking technology plays in driving business success and continuity, so you can spend more time on what matters – growing your business.