Enhanced Broadband Solutions for Your Further Education College

Posted by max on 20/05/2024

High-quality broadband is a non-negotiable asset in today’s digital age. Whether you’ve experienced slow speeds at home, in business, or in your educational institution, the impact of a sluggish internet connection on productivity is undeniable. For secondary schools, colleges, and other large educational providers, the stakes are even higher. The number of students and the diversity of their digital needs put immense pressure on your broadband connection, requiring substantial bandwidth to ensure seamless daily operations.

The learning journey of students is the top priority for every educational facility. Ensuring students are well-prepared for their adult lives hinges significantly on the resources they are given when learning, and how well these resources work. A slow connection can lead to distractions, loss of concentration, and missed learning opportunities as online resources fail to load. It’s not just about staying connected; it’s about ensuring you’re your students stay productive and engaged.

Broadband Speeds and Student Experience

The quality of teaching and the overall student experience are crucial factors that influence where students choose to pursue their further education. In an era where interactive and high-quality teaching relies heavily on internet services and applications, the need for fast broadband cannot be overstated.

Imagine a classroom where students are frequently interrupted by the “buffering wheel of doom.” Such interruptions do not just waste time but also diminish the students’ focus and engagement. The modern educational experience is intertwined with digital platforms and resources that demand high-speed internet. Slow learning resources and online platforms can create an environment of frustration and boredom, which inevitably leads to lower productivity and disengagement. Consequently, this impacts student performance, the grades they receive, and ultimately, the reputation of the educational institution.

The Broader Impact of Enhanced Broadband

Faster broadband goes beyond just improving the learning experience; it has a broader impact on the educational environment and beyond:

Facilitating Remote Learning and Collaboration: With the rise of remote learning and hybrid educational models, reliable broadband is more important than ever. High-speed internet enables smooth video communication, access to cloud-based resources, and the use of collaborative tools. This flexibility allows students to learn from anywhere, ensuring continuity in education even in unexpected circumstances like the global Covid pandemic.
Supporting Advanced Technologies: Future-focused educational institutions are integrating advanced technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into their curriculums. These technologies require significant bandwidth to operate efficiently. High-quality broadband ensures that these cutting-edge tools are available and functional, providing students with a futuristic and engaging learning environment.

Ensuring Safety and Compliance

In educational settings, particularly those involving minors, there is a heightened need for protection and filtering. A robust broadband solution must include measures to safeguard students from inappropriate content and cyber threats. This goes beyond the capabilities required in typical commercial or residential settings. Schools must implement internet safety protocols that include content filtering, monitoring, and protection against cyberbullying and other online dangers.

Providers specialising in educational broadband services understand these unique needs. At IcyTea, we offer tailored broadband solutions designed with the safety and educational requirements of students in mind. Our services ensure that students can access educational content securely and efficiently, without exposure to harmful materials.

Enhancing Administrative Efficiency

The benefits of enhanced broadband are not limited to students alone; they extend to the administrative side of educational institutions as well.

Streamlined Operations: Fast and reliable internet connectivity streamlines various administrative tasks. From managing student records and conducting online admissions to coordinating events and communicating with parents, high-speed broadband facilitates smoother operations and improves overall efficiency.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Educational institutions increasingly rely on data to make informed decisions. Fast broadband supports the use of advanced data analytics tools that help in tracking student performance, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing effective teaching strategies. This data-driven approach leads to better educational outcomes and a more personalized learning experience.

Bridging the Digital Divide

In today’s society, access to high-speed internet is a crucial factor in bridging the digital divide. Ensuring that all students, regardless of their background, have access to reliable internet is essential for promoting equality in education. Enhanced broadband solutions help provide equal learning opportunities for all students, enabling them to access the same resources and tools, and ensuring that no one is left behind.

Partnering with Experts

Choosing the right broadband provider is crucial for ensuring that your institution’s needs are met. Specialised providers like IcyTea understand the unique challenges and requirements of educational settings. We offer comprehensive solutions that include high-speed connectivity, safety measures, and ongoing support to keep your institution running smoothly.

Our expertise in the education sector means we can offer tailored advice and solutions that go beyond standard commercial or residential services. We are dedicated to helping schools and colleges create an optimal learning environment where technology enhances the educational experience.

Conclusion

High-quality broadband is a cornerstone of modern education, impacting everything from student engagement and performance to administrative efficiency and safety. By investing in enhanced broadband solutions, educational institutions can ensure they are providing the best possible environment for their students to thrive.

At IcyTea, we are committed to supporting schools and colleges with broadband solutions designed to meet their specific needs. Whether it’s facilitating remote learning, supporting advanced technologies, or ensuring safety and compliance, our services are geared towards enhancing the educational experience. Don’t let slow broadband hold your institution back.

Home Working and Remote Learning

Posted by max on 18/05/2024

The New Normal of Home Working and Remote Learning

In the ever-evolving landscape of education and work, one thing has become clear: the need for robust, secure, and fast internet connections is paramount. As more schools adapt to remote learning and home working, ensuring that devices remain secure regardless of their location is of central importance. With hacking attacks on the rise, particularly targeting those working from less secure home networks, schools must be more vigilant than ever.

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of securing remote devices, the tools available to achieve this, and how enhanced broadband can make all the difference.

The Importance of Security in Remote Work and Learning

The shift to home working and remote learning has brought about many benefits, such as flexibility and accessibility, but it has also introduced new security challenges. Hackers are increasingly targeting remote workers and students, exploiting the relatively weaker security measures often found in home networks compared to those in professional or educational environments. This trend underscores the need for schools to implement stringent security protocols to protect sensitive information and maintain the integrity of their educational activities.

Securing home working devices involves more than just installing antivirus software. It requires comprehensive solutions that can ensure data privacy, protect against cyber threats, and maintain a seamless user experience. This is where technologies like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) come into play.

The Role of VPNs and RDS in Ensuring Security

To bolster security for home working and remote learning, utilizing VPNs or RDS is essential. These technologies provide a secure conduit for data transmission, shielding sensitive information from prying eyes.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): A VPN routes your device’s internet connection through a private server rather than your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This means that when your data is transmitted to the internet, it appears to come from the VPN server rather than your actual device. This intermediary process hides your passwords and IP address, making it much harder for hackers to intercept and exploit your data. Think of it as your personal “cyber cloak of invisibility”—perfect for keeping your digital secrets safe.

Remote Desktop Services (RDS): RDS works similarly by allowing users to access a computer remotely over a network connection. This means that sensitive data never leaves the secure environment of the school’s network, even when accessed from a remote location. Both VPNs and RDS rely on a strong, fast, and consistent broadband service to function effectively.

The Crucial Role of Enhanced Broadband

The effectiveness of VPNs and RDS in securing remote devices is heavily dependent on the quality of the broadband connection. Slow or unreliable internet can disrupt these services, leaving users vulnerable to security breaches. Therefore, investing in high-quality broadband is not just a luxury but a necessity for modern educational institutions.

At IcyTea, we understand the critical role that robust internet connectivity plays in securing remote learning and working environments. This is why we offer a leased line option as part of our broadband services. A leased line provides a dedicated, high-speed internet connection that ensures your broadband speed and strength are not compromised. This dedicated connection is crucial for maintaining the performance of VPNs and RDS, ensuring that your teachers and students can access digital school resources securely and without interruption.

The Benefits of a Leased Line for Remote Learning

Leased lines offer several advantages that make them an ideal choice for educational institutions:

Consistent High Speed: Leased lines provide a consistent and symmetrical internet speed, which is essential for the smooth operation of security tools like VPNs and RDS. This ensures that users experience minimal lag and disruptions, facilitating a more productive remote learning environment.
Enhanced Security: With a dedicated connection, leased lines offer enhanced security compared to shared broadband connections. This reduces the risk of cyber attacks and ensures that sensitive educational data remains protected. It’s like having a personal bodyguard for your internet—always on duty, never taking a tea break.
Reliability: Leased lines are known for their reliability. Unlike standard broadband connections, which can suffer from slowdowns during peak usage times, leased lines maintain their speed and performance regardless of the time of day or the number of users online. It’s the internet equivalent of a trusty old friend who’s always there when you need them—no ifs, ands, or buffering.

Supporting Remote Education in Uncertain Times

The shift to remote learning and home working presents both challenges and opportunities. Ensuring that students and teachers are connected securely and reliably is crucial for maintaining the quality of education. At IcyTea, we are committed to supporting schools through these uncertain times by providing seamless, protected, and cost-effective broadband solutions.

Our tailored broadband services are designed to meet the unique needs of educational institutions, providing the speed, security, and reliability required to support remote learning and working. Whether it’s through the implementation of VPNs and RDS or the provision of a dedicated leased line, we have the expertise and solutions to keep your digital school environment secure and efficient.

Stay Secure with IcyTea

In the modern educational landscape, ensuring the security of remote working and learning devices is more important than ever. By leveraging technologies like VPNs and RDS, supported by high-quality broadband connections, schools can protect their sensitive data and provide a safe digital environment for students and staff.

At IcyTea, we are here to help you navigate these challenges with our comprehensive broadband solutions. If you believe in the importance of secure, reliable internet for your school, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Together, we can ensure that your remote learning and working environments are protected and efficient, allowing you to focus on what matters most – providing a high-quality education.

With IcyTea, your internet connection will always be as cool and reliable as a refreshing iced tea on a hot summer day. So, reach out and let’s book in a digital cuppa!

How to Improve Internet Speeds with A Leased Line for Your School

Posted by max on 18/05/2024

Are you looking to improve your school’s broadband speeds?

Symmetrical download and upload speeds. Uncontended internet usage. Priority fault fixes… What’s the catch?!

Well, often the answer to the above is the sheer cost of the connection. Here at IcyTea, however, we offer schools the fastest leased line options without breaking the bank. We are an agnostic supplier, and have access to an ever-increasing number of different providers. The best part? Alternative networks are often MUCH cheaper than your core network carriers.

Heard enough? Click here! Want to learn more? Read on…

So, what is a leased line?

A leased line is a private telecommunications circuit between two or more locations. It is sometimes also known as a private circuit, but whichever way you look at it: this connection is bespoke to you. A leased line is the highest grade internet connection you can obtain and, because of this, you get: upload speeds that match your download (from 100Mbps to 10Gbps+!), business-grade Service Level Agreements (SLA) that ensure you get any issues fixed fast, and sole-access to the connection.

All other wired internet options (SOGEA, FTTP etc.) will provide a contended connection, meaning you share the main internet ‘pipe’ that services your area. If you have a heavy internet user nearby then you will see your speeds impacted as a result, and there isn’t anything that can be done in this situation. Leased lines could be an answer if this is your situation, but is this the answer for you? Read on to learn more.

Broadband and leased lines connect to your business premises in different ways. They both still come through a cable, but the difference is to do with how they get to you. With a regular broadband package, you get your internet from the local cabinet, one of those green boxes that you would see on the side of the road. The cabinet contains many different cables, copper-wire or fibre that deliver internet to your area. The difference comes with how cables are split as the internet gets to you. With regular broadband, the cable gets split between all the premises on your street using that broadband but with leased line, you will get a dedicated circuit that’s only used for you. No sharing = faster speeds.

Schools face the challenge of large numbers of users which stresses most broadband systems leading to slower speeds. With a leased line, however, this won’t be so much of an issue. Your school’s leased line is only there to provide your users with internet, giving you the maximum possible speed for your school. The only question: what speed do you need?

As with all connections, leased lines need to be paired with effective security solutions. IcyTea’s broadband package offers: filtering for every device (even for pupils at home), reporting, monitoring (to alert against any reduction in students’ wellness levels) an industry-standard firewall, a Service Level Agreement in the event of any faults, and safeguarding training to ensure all staff are on the same page. These are all features directly tailored for schools, and keeping pupils safe within the school environment. A great all-round package for quality learning and safety.

If you would like anymore information regarding leased line broadband, please get in touch.

7 Tips to Help Your School Staff and Students Work Securely From Home

Posted by max on 01/05/2024

Working from home isn’t just a new fad, it’s now considered standard for many people to work from home at least some of the time. Lockdown measures around Covid certainly encouraged the change in thinking for businesses and schools around this, forcing many people to work from home, but this has since become the new normal.

Most businesses now offer a hybrid or WFH (Work From Home) policy whereby staff can do a portion of their work from home, and so there are more people now working from home than ever before (if we exclude the anomaly that is of course the Covid period!). It is therefore crucial that security is properly considered by schools as business, because your organisation’s security stance is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Think of it this way: you wouldn’t install a reinforced, super-safe front door on your house but then leave the backdoor unlocked!

So, now we’re on the same page, let’s look at 7 simple tips that can help you improve your staff’s security when working from home:

Below are 7 quick tips to help staff, pupils and parents work securely from home:

Find a private space to work from. First comes first, where you choose to work when not in the office makes a big difference. If working in a public space, there’s a big risk that people might overhear conversations, or ‘shoulder surf’ and see things on your screen that could compromise your security. If you had a password-sharing system open (e.g. LastPass or IT Glue etc.) then they might be able to directly view passwords, but even overhearing you complaining that your team still haven’t activated Multi-Factor Authentication is a good sign for a cybercriminal that your system is an easy target.

Ensure that all devices have the same security standards. As mentioned, your security is only as strong as it’s weakest link. If a staff member decides to use a personal laptop to log into their emails at home, this represents a device that might not have adequate security measures implemented. Is this device in enrolled in your MDM system? Does it have up-to-date antivirus, and does their laptop have a safe password on it? If the user clicks ‘remember for next time’ on any portal/account logins, it doesn’t matter how strong this password is – especially if their laptop has a password of 1234!!

Passwords. Passwords. Passwords. We all struggle to remember them from time to time, but this would not be a complete list without advising that EVERY device and account needs to have a secure password. Password best-practice has changed in recent years, but the best guideline is that they should be: minimum 8 characters, use a mix of numbers, letters and special characters, don’t use common or personal words (make it random!), user uppercase and lowercase. Note: better still, use biometric login for 2-factor authentication; after all, it’s much harder for a hacker to steal your face or fingerprint!

Keep everything updated. By having regular updates of equipment, software and passwords it minimises security risk as hackers have much less time to figure out ways of hacking the system. Think about it: if you have a 5 to a 6-year-old router which is outdated, hackers will have had that time to work out how to hack that specific router. With regular hardware updates, it dramatically reduces the time hackers have and the software won’t be outdated – or even unsupported. The same goes for software, as by using the most updated versions any previously discovered risks will be patched.

Turn on encryption. These days every router on the market includes encryption. It’s one of the simplest ways to make your internet connection even more secure. If you go onto your router’s settings and find the security options and find WPA2 personal setting if there isn’t a select WPA personal setting (if this is the case, your router may well be out of date. Once you have found this set the encryption type to AES. You then use another password, which is different from the one used on the router, and is used to connect all devices to your Wi-Fi network. Use a strong password as suggested before.

Use a VPN (virtual private network). A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is one of the best ways to secure your internet connection. It acts as a middleman between your connected device and the internet. It hides your activity so that no one (even online advertisers) can see what you’re doing online. You can find free browser-based VPNs or subscribe to a monthly VPN service. This tool is a must-have for when you’re on a public network, but it’s also a smart way to add an extra layer of security to your home Wi-Fi.

Make use of MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication). This is a must for any security list, as it massively reduces the attack surface which hackers use to gain access to your system. If you are required to not only enter your password, but also have an allocated device give you a code to enter, this makes a rather difficult job for hackers to bypass. Microsoft are asking everyone to use MFA, and it is proven to reduce the number of cybersecurity attacks by a huge amount – so make sure you use it at home too!

If you are an IcyTea customer, our filtering package also covers all pupil devices whilst outside of the school network, meaning you can filter your pupils’ online content both at school and from their homes. This is great for added security and safety for pupils, because threats don’t stop when they go home!

In Summary

As you can probably tell, we at IcyTea are really passionate about keeping you safe when using a broadband connection, especially at schools. Contact us to find out more on what we do and how we can help secure your network and connectivity further.