Broadband for schools
Core Broadband Free to Schools
From April 2008, KCN will provide the government specified core bandwidth without a school contribution. KCC Primary and Special schools will receive a core bandwidth of 2 Mbps and Secondary and Middle schools 10 Mbps, with subsidised prices for higher bandwidth levels. KLZ accounts for all teachers will also be centrally funded.
See:
- Letter to headteachers (Secondary)
- Security Policy & Bandwidth Options
- Letter to Headteachers (Primary, Special and PRUs)
See also:
The Kent Children, Families and Education Strategic Plan requires excellent ICT infrastructure for schools. The new broadband network was commissioned from Unisys, and installation started in April 2005.
- An introduction: What is Broadband
- Full DCSF Broadband: Frequently Asked Questions
- KCN Primary Overview Leaflet
A broadband request form and further information is available from the EIS website. (See Links below)
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Secondary & Middle Schools
Secondary and middle schools will be connected to the new KCN optical fibre network from July 2005 with a choice of 2 Mbps, 10 Mbps or even higher. These documents describe the new KCN and the implications for your school:
| KCN | If a school is | Charge | |
| Government specified minimum bandwidth (8 Mbps) | 10 Mbps | 15 Mbps | FOC |
| Upgrade (over 100 Mbps connection) | 20 Mbps | 25 Mbps | £5k pa |
| Upgrade (over 100 Mbps connection) | 30 Mbps | 35 Mbps | £9k pa |
Higher bandwidths are available on request. The timing of an upgrade, and charge, depends on the phased installation of 100 Mbps connections. We will apply the cluster host bandwidth from our records.
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Broadband Content
British Pathe Archive
The British Pathé Archive cover 70 years of history from over 50,000 video clips and 12 million images digitised from newsreels and films between 1896 and 1970. KCN provides free access for schools and we have seen British Pathe films used with pupils from KS2 onward. ...read more
The Audio Network
The Audio Network was set up to allow the distribution of music clips to the public. The regional broadband consortium (RBC) signed an agreement with the audio network to allow schools free, unlimited access to all music files for use in film and multimedia projects. ...read more
The British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is part of the Creative Archive License Group with the BBC, Channel 4 and the Open University. The objective is to stimulate creative re-use of digitised film for non-commercial purposes. Overcoming the complex copyright issues has taken considerable time and ingenuity. ...read more
Skype
Skype is a free desktop software application, that allows Skype users to speak to other Skype users for free or call traditional telephone numbers for a fee. Phil Bracegirdle is testing Skype and how it may be used securely with pupils. ...read more
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Starters For Study
Information Packs to Support Learning
Starters for Study are intended to give a brief introduction to a British Pathe film, some teaching ideas and link the film or films to wider resources as well as suggested visits. The first Starter for Study is on the film 'The Shortest Railway', actually the East Kent Railway. The information pack provides information on how the trains on the East Kent Railway were used to transport coal from the coal mines and gives some idea of the difficulty of rail and road transport in the area. It also gives links to web based study material for pupils to explore and suggests visits that are both educational and practical.
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KCN Support for BBC iPlayer Download
The BBC iPlayer service provides BBC programming on demand for 7 days on the BBC website. A download option is available which allows users to download content which will be available for 30 days via an application installed on the client PC.
The BBC iPlayer application utilises Peer to Peer Technology provided by Kontiki. Peer to peer technology (P2P) creates virtual “grids” which connect user’s machines together. Once a user on this “grid” has downloaded a file, any other user on the grid can access it.
The changes required to enable iPlayer download functionality on the KCN would also allow other peer to peer file sharing applications to run within the KCN.
Although the KCN recognises the additional educational benefits of being able to download content for 30 days opposed to 7, we also recognise the possibility of P2P services being misused. Internet safety is paramount within the KCN and therefore the download function of BBC Iplayer will not be accessible or supported.
To summarise
iPlayer uses P2P technology that could be misused
Player content CAN be accessed on demand from the BBC website for 7 days after the program is aired – this is supported
The download function of iPlayer will NOT function inside the KCN - this is not supported
We would be interested in your comments on this new policy, which we will review from time to time
Please accept our apologies if this causes any inconvenience, however the safety of young people in Kent and the security of the KCN must come first.
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