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As Schools Prepare for Onslaught of Smartphones in the Classroom,
Secure Web Gateway Company Cymphonix Highlights Network Challenges
SALT LAKE CITY, September 8, 2009 -As students head
back to school, education administrators are busy handling numerous duties to
ensure the new year gets off to a good start. In addition to preparing
schedules and materials, schools are tasked with a new, monumental undertaking:
Managing the large number of computers, devices and smartphones that will soon
run on their networks and consume large amounts of Internet bandwidth.
According to a recent study by the Pew Internet &
American Life Project, more than 70 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds own a
cell phone, smart phone or mobile device. Because many use their devices during the
school day to log on to Web 2.0 and social networking sites like Facebook,
school administrators are concerned about limited bandwidth and network
overload, which could potentially interrupt other mission critical Web access.
With cutbacks in staff and little budget for technology, many schools are
forced to either block Web 2.0 content altogether, or ban cell phones and other portable electronic devices, despite the value
they can bring to education.
A recent Project Tomorrow survey of 319,223 students, 25,544 teachers,
19,726 parents, and 3,263 school and district administrators across the country
found that:
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52 percent of respondents think mobile devices (such as cell
phones, smartphones and other mobile technology) can help engage students in
learning
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43 percent believe that mobile devices can help extend
learning beyond the school day
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More than 50
percent of the students polled said they would use technology more easily
at school if they could use their own laptop, cell phone or mobile device to
work on projects, access related software applications and the Internet, and
communicate with classmates
While the growing
deployment of wireless networks in schools does present challenges, banning phones and blocking content doesn't address the key problem.
Cymphonix believes the solution lies in a school's ability to manage the
content running on its network.
"Many of our
nation's K-12 schools clearly recognize the advantages of technology in the
classroom, however there is a lack of solutions available for letting educators
embrace emerging technologies to enhance student learning and fully prepare
today's students for future success," said Brent Nixon, president of Cymphonix.
"While schools are eager to embrace technology in the classroom they face a
triple threat due to the rise in Web 2.0 content, increasing popularity of
smartphones and a lack of technology that can truly complement traditional
learning methods. Schools that want to meet
the needs of a 21st century learner must be able to
do more than ban phones or block Internet content."
Cymphonix® supports the incorporation of Web 2.0 into the learning environment by providing
technology capable of automatically detecting and discerning education
and non-education focused websites. The company's Network Composer
product gives school administrators the power to shape bandwidth and reveal
important information on network usage, while prioritizing Web content and improving
the overall performance and security of the school's network.
For details on how
Cymphonix provides Internet content control and bandwidth management for
educational institutions, please visit http://www.cymphonix.com/Solutions.html.
About Cymphonix
Cymphonix
Corporation, headquartered in Salt Lake City, uses award-winning patent-pending
technology to reveal, optimize and automate Internet security. With deep-packet
scanning technology, Cymphonix solutions address the issues created by evolving
content - including web applications and bandwidth-intensive websites.
Cymphonix products seamlessly integrate network protection, application
performance, and traffic visibility into a single, easily managed solution.
Leading the Cymphonix product line is Network Composer, a smart gateway
appliance that helps organizations understand at a glance who is abusing
network resources and with what applications - enabling problems to be
corrected instantly through a clear, easy-to-manage interface. More information
about Cymphonix can be found at www.cymphonix.com.
Follow conversations at www.twitter.com/cymphonix.
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