Mutiny Blog

Educational establishments such as schools, colleges and universities are constantly looking for ways to improve the student experience, and technology is playing an important role. Educational software and tools are constantly developed to support teachers, and more than ever there is a need for students understand technology and the internet if they are to be prepared for their futures.

With an increasing number of IoT devices and that number increasing on a daily basis, understanding behavioural patterns and the types of hardware and software in use can help admin staff optimise and secure networks to optimise performance and protect students.

Here are just some of the benefits network monitoring can deliver in education:

Visibility

Monitoring enables you to see activity across your network. Setting up alerts will tell you when thresholds are exceeded, for example load, licenses and number of users, when network performance drops below standard, and where the issues are so that you can resolve them quickly.

Monitoring can also help you to understand student engagement and what applications are being used, on what terminals and when. You can identify any issues encountered by your users, such as unreliable hardware and software, which could lead to disgruntled staff or students, and rectify them with minimal disruption.

Network monitoring software can also generate regular automated reports so you can look at your usage (applications in use/user/device/location/time of day) and identify any potential failure points, allowing you to schedule maintenance and upgrades for better performance and security.

Keep students safe

Cyber-attacks are a known threat in today's connected world. By monitoring usage and analysing traffic you can track and detect potential threats from both inside and outside sources and block damaging IP addresses. By scheduling regular malware scans and carrying out security threat analysis, you can also identify potential security risks before they cause damage to your network.

Getting to know how your students operate online will provide you with insight into potential flaws in your network. Track social media usage and attempts to circumvent restrictions and scan for students visiting restricted websites. Understand how they are achieving it and block any holes in your filters.

Save money and time

Monitoring enables you to track the use of expensive software licenses and understand how many copies of a product are in use at peak times. This level of visibility means you can monitor power usage and shut down devices that are not in use, saving money which can then be re-allocated to educational materials.

Top tip: When it comes to licenses, monitoring allows you to buy just those you need; invest in just the number of concurrent ones you need for peak times.

Ensure network performance and the best experience for your users

Monitoring means you can ensure quality of service and that network response times are within acceptable limits. Make sure you understand, plan, and optimise network traffic to ensure adequate bandwidth to classrooms, lecture halls, and other facilities. Allocate resources based on requirements, not guess work, and only when needed.

Understand behaviour attributed to success

Finally, monitoring can be used to model student behaviour and their journey. Analyse these patterns and the results to understand the behaviour that leads to the best results and highest performance. Tweak the applications and facilities available to the students to ensure they get the most from it.

If you would like to see a live demonstration of the Mutiny monitoring product and discuss the options available, please get in touch.

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