7.45am and I’m out the door on a chilly autumn morning to top up on gas before heading to my first school visit for the day. Google Maps tells me that I’m about an hour and a quarter away and I head northwest of Auckland. With a perfectly made BP coffee in hand, it’s time to check in with the boss to catch up and get an update and talk through any concerns.
As wonderful as Google Maps is and does right by me 99% of the time, on the odd occasion it takes me the long way around. I spent an amazing extra 15 minutes on dirt roads to get to my first school visit and with the help of a friendly local I got to the school with 5 minutes to spare.
I met with the Principal and Office Manager of this small rural school who, like many, have had fibre installed but it’s not yet hooked up. They are currently using an ADSL connection and are getting 1Mbps internet speeds on a good day. These days an internet connection of this quality limits the school from moving forward with planning and the implementation of digital technologies into the classroom. Fortunately we were now able to provide a Managed Network for them via the fibre and they didn’t have to enter a plan with a costly provider.
The meeting goes very well… In short: I ask if they would like access to Network for Learning’s fully funded Managed Network? To which a common response is “is this a trick question?” The most common is, “this sounds too good to be true, what’s the catch??” It’s great to be able to say that there is no catch. I can honestly say, hand on heart that this is a great thing for NZ schools across the country.
To be able to sit down and let them know that they are going to go from 1Mbps to 50Mbps in a matter of months makes my day. I then top it off with the fact that we are going to cover the cost to have a site audit done because they use one of N4L’s approved ICT support companies and we also cover the cost of the cutover. Which is just the cherry on top.
The school signs up and, with some great directions from the Principal, I’m off to my next successful school visit for the day.
At some point in the future I look forward to going back to these schools to follow up and see the change in the way they function, with systems which are smoother and frustrations beginning to ease.
In the meantime, the day gives N4L three new schools to connect which is three steps closer to us achieving our goal… all schools connected by the end of 2016.