Preparing for Online Testing, Spring 2015

March is a big time of year for testing. IT has been preparing our network and devices for the increase in traffic. Below is information you can use to help create the most ideal environment for students taking online assessments.

Preparing your devices

Our field technicians have been visiting all schools to ensure that computers are ready for testing. If you have any concerns about specific devices, please don’t hesitate to submit an IT Service Request or call IT at x5065. 

Only BVSD devices can be used for testing. To verify that you have a BVSD device, look for the blue asset tag on the back.

Managing your bandwidth

We have plenty of bandwidth for testing as long as we are conscious of how we use it. To conserve the bandwidth in your building on testing days, limit streaming video and turn off the wireless on personal devices (phones, tablets, etc.)

We also have other measures in place to save bandwidth. The assessments are downloaded to the student devices from a server rather than directly from the Pearson site. Chromebooks are also prevented from receiving updates during the testing period. Both of these measures will reduce the strain on our internet pipe.

Using the wireless

Our new wireless infrastructure was designed to handle all the testing devices connecting to the network. Also, student Chromebooks have recently been moved from the BVSD-Guest or BVSD-Guest-Fast network to the BVSD (secure) network; not only does this strengthen the wireless connectivity, it also eliminates the “use of this network” pop-up that students used to see when they logged into Chromebooks. 

However, if you still notice any issues with wireless, please submit an IT Service Request immediately or call IT at x5065.

I hope that your assessments go smoothly in March. Please let me know if you have any concerns. As always, I appreciate your comments below. Don't forget to log in to post a comment.

Andrew

Internet Bandwidth in BVSD

The transition to online assessments is a journey for everyone. Here in IT, we know that online testing during PARCC, CMAS, i-Ready, and i-Station not only causes stress to you, but to our internet bandwidth as well.

Bandwidth in BVSD

Less than a year ago we had only a 700Mbps connection from the internet. Last April 2014 we increased that capacity to 1Gbps because we were bumping up against that ceiling. And now, just 8 months later, we are again exceeding our new 1GB ceiling.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as calling our Internet Service Provider (ISP) and telling them to give us more bandwidth; we have to upgrade the equipment and software that runs our network, and that is a big project.

With resources made available from the bond, we will spend this spring and early summer designing and implementing a bigger pipeline that will accommodate our needs for years to come. By the start of the 2015-16 school year we will have at least double, and up to quadruple, the internet bandwidth we have today.

Short-Term Solutions

Until we have a long-term solution to our bandwidth constraints, we may use several temporary measures to ensure that testing goes as smoothly as possible. These could include:

• Rate limiting—restricting the amount of bandwidth that any one person can use.

• Traffic shaping—limiting the type of traffic that bogs down our internet, such as smartphone updates.

• Quality of service—giving priority to certain types of traffic, such as PARCC testing

What can you do?

Based on our analysis of traffic coming into BVSD from the internet, we know that a measurable amount of it is not directly related to instruction or school district business. March Madness is one example of a time when it might be tempting to check the game during the day, but when many people stream video simultaneously it can use a lot of bandwidth, to the detriment of instruction and testing.

I ask that we all be considerate of our personal internet browsing and limit it to what is essential during school hours.

Our network is indispensable to the education mission of BVSD—it’s a responsibility that IT takes seriously. With your help, I’m confident we can maintain a stable and responsive network environment now and in the future.

Comments?  Please log in to chime in below.

Andrew

Streaming Audio and iBoss

By now, many of you have encountered our new web filter, iBoss, which I introduced in the May Technology Blog. If you are frustrated because your favorite site is newly blocked, please read on.

BVSD uses a web filter to comply with the federal Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA). While our previous filter was marginally adequate, it didn’t provide the level of service that we required. 
Our filtering is most restrictive at the elementary level and more open in grades 6-12. Staff members have the option to temporarily override iBoss using their BVSD credentials. If you feel that a website should be permanently unblocked for all staff and students, please submit an IT Service Request and the site will be reviewed. To date, approximately 25 websites have been unblocked. It is important that you submit IT Service Requests so we can tailor iBoss for our district’s needs while meeting the requirements of CIPA.

The elephant in the room - why did we block streaming audio such as Spotify, Pandora, and iTunes radio?

The district has limited resources to procure Internet services. During the last school year we paid to increase district bandwidth from 750 MB to a maximum of 1 GB. At the end of last school year, roughly one-third of our Internet bandwidth was being used by streaming audio services. Now that many of our educational tools and assessments are online, it is critical that our bandwidth is available for these services.

I realize that many of you use streaming audio sites throughout the day, and while it is inconvenient to find work-arounds, doing so benefits everyone. Staff members can override the block on streaming audio sites for two hours at a time. This prevents “runaway streaming”. If you need uninterrupted streaming for longer than two hours, you can use your personal data plan or download music to an mp3 player and connect it to your classroom’s audio-visual (projector) system.

The long-term solution to our streaming audio issue is to upgrade the equipment, thereby allowing us to increase our bandwidth. The barrier is a 6-figure price tag. Funding to make this improvement is included in the facilities masterplan that will go to the voters in November. Once we can upgrade our equipment and increase the bandwidth, we will revisit the streaming audio block.

I hope this sheds some light on the current state of the iBoss web filter, its challenges, and our expectations for the future. Please log in to chime in with your comments below.

Andrew