The Department of Education is building a new data network that will enable all schools to access internet information, on average, 33 times faster than they could before.

Education Minister Mildred Dover advised that the increased bandwidth capacity has many benefits for students, teachers and communities. “Students now have quick access to a wealth of information to improve their learning. Many students can now use the Internet at once whereas, in the past, limited speed made this experience frustrating and often prohibitive for some students and teachers,” she said. “The ability to gather and interpret information using technology is now an essential skill. We are pleased to provide students with these new opportunities to improve their computer literacy skills.”

The Department of Education is leasing data network services from EastLink to connect 45 schools to the network. To make this possible, EastLink laid over 475 kilometres of fibre, nearly enough to span PEI end-to-end and back again.

EastLink’s investment in the network infrastructure will give more communities access to high speed internet for the first time, making it possible for rural Island businesses to compete with those in urban centres. “Eastlink is proud to work in partnership with the Department of Education to deliver new technologies to students across the Island,” said Dan McKeen, Co-CEO. “The capability and flexibility of this network will mean Island students will have access to the latest technologies and this will ultimately increase their ability to be competitive in the job market upon graduation.”

At a demonstration of the new technology at Morell High School today, teacher Randy Cheverie said the network helps teachers to make classes more interesting and relevant through access to graphic-intensive material and interactive web-based applications. “The improved service gives Morell Regional High School and many other rural schools the same access to technology that urban schools have had for some time. This capability is very much appreciated by both students and teachers,” he said.

In addition to improved student learning, the network is improving services in many ways. If a school has a network problem, technical support staff have the capability to diagnose and fix the problem from a remote location without travelling to the school.

Several schools can now share a server instead of having a $10,000 server in each school. With the new network, École St Augustin and the Eastern Kings French school will soon be sharing the server and software at École François Buote in Charlottetown. This also reduces the cost of licenses and maintenance of servers.

The network has been designed so that capacity can be added over time to allow for new learning applications such as distance education and video on demand.

Other government departments will also have the opportunity to improve their services as a result of the increased capacity created through the education network. Access PEI sites in Montague and Souris will soon become the first government sites to share the education network. Other government services are expected to follow soon.

The dramatic improvements made to the network through this partnership with EastLink will not result in increased costs for government.