SchoolWeb Internet Caching Pilot Project

This storage system makes it faster and more reliable for teachers and students to use the Internet in their classrooms and libraries. Downloading the information is accomplished by broadcasting the Internet data via satellite or cable TV. Pilot project results show this combination of broadcast and caching results in performance increases of 5 to 15 times that of a T1 high-speed telecom line, at less cost.

Teachers using the SchoolWeb Internet Caching System request web sites ahead of time from the Internet. The requested sites are then broadcast and downloaded onto the SchoolWeb server in the school. Teachers receive faster and more reliable access to these web sites because they aren't relying on an overloaded telecom connection or an unstable Internet site.

Cached web sites are frequently updated to stay current and can be 'managed' to be available when required by the teacher. The SchoolWeb caching system allows each school to set up a "virtual" Internet library.

Immediate Internet response encourages teachers to use the technology in the classroom. Instant access to sites from the cache means teachers engage students in learning by capturing their attention right away, rather than wasting class time waiting to download a web site.

At Burnaby South Secondary School, BC's largest secondary school, network connections are slow during the day simply because of the high volume of use in the school. The school agreed to pilot this new technology and is absolutely thrilled with the results.

"This technology provides capacity and opportunity," says Mike Greenway, principal of Burnaby South Secondary School. The school's technology coordinator, Jeremy Meharg, agrees. "For us, this solution is a real enabler. It has led to improvements in using technology for teaching."

The SchoolWeb Librarian search engine catalogues and indexes web sites as they are added, using the Dewey Decimal system. Students and teachers can search the websites stored in the SchoolWeb cache, often to find the information is available immediately from the cache at LAN speed. SchoolWeb also provides e-mail and personal web hosting for each student and teacher.

Pilot testing is taking place in 19 schools around the province over a two-year period. In addition to Burnaby South, schools around the province involved in the project include: Revelstoke Secondary and Big Eddy Elementary in Revelstoke; Boundary Central Secondary and John A Hutton Elementary in Boundary School District; North Peace Secondary and Dr Kearney Junior Secondary in Peace River North; Fort Nelson Secondary and R L Angus Elementary in Fort Nelson; Port Hardy District and Fort Rupert Elementary in Vancouver Island North; Fulford Elementary in Gulf Islands; Nakusp Secondary in Arrow Lakes; Robson Community School in Kootenay Columbia; Gladstone Secondary in Vancouver; Burnaby North Secondary in Burnaby; Westview Secondary in Maple Ridge; Topham Elementary in Langley; and Mountain Elementary in Abbotsford.

This technology is also a good news story for British Columbia's Information Technology sector. SchoolWeb Systems Inc., in partnership with Advanced Interactive — the made-in-BC companies that developed and designed this technology — are marketing SchoolWeb to schools in North America and around the world.

Visit their website at: www.advancedinteractive.com/SchoolWeb