tech/media/61f71aed53fd4f32b... · communications solutions, including messaging, web and voice...
TRANSCRIPT
Presented by THE Journal and Campus Technology
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:Voice Transformation:
The Evolution of Voice Communications
Sponsored by
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 2
Today, end users throughout K-12 and
higher education are all demanding
better and more convenient com-
munications services. Administrators
want more efficient and effective systems; faculty
and staff want more productivity and collabora-
tion; and students want flexibility and anywhere,
anytime…everything.
Yet, empowering constituents with the
latest communications services is not always
easy. That’s because most districts and
institutions have a complex mix of multi-vendor
communications solutions, including messaging,
web and voice conferencing, email, and voice
calling — across a large variety of wired and
wireless devices and networks.
“Multi-vendor solutions lack cohesion,”
says Marianne Gedeon, director of unified
communications (UC) services at AT&T, “and it
takes a lot of effort to make them work together.
If you add an aging PBX or key system in the mix,
it can be really hard to employ next generation
communications tools.”
Bringing all these components together in a
cohesive experience, then, is the ultimate goal
in voice transformation — the migration from
disparate legacy services to an integrated, IP-
based infrastructure.
For many schools, voice transformation
begins by converting a traditional telephony
architecture — a legacy PBX (Private Branch
Exchange) or key system utilizing TDM (time-
division multiplex) voice trunking — to voice
over internet protocol (VoIP), a design that
makes it possible to run both voice and data
traffic on a single, converged network.
Today, there are two primary models or
“flavors” of VoIP, each with distinct advantages
over legacy TDM systems:
Hosted VoIP: a network-based voice
solution that offers traditional voice services
while providing access to advanced
applications. In a hosted VoIP environment,
the district or university does not need to own
a PBX or key system. Functions performed by
those systems are provided as a service in the
carrier network or “cloud”, and are delivered
over customer data networks — and in some
cases, over the public Internet.
This hosted model also often delegates
ongoing management of the infrastructure,
including system maintenance, software licenses
and upgrades, and routine moves/adds/changes
— making it possible for an institution to reduce
up-front capital expenses and pay a per-user,
per month fee for voice services. This model
also minimizes the risk of sunk costs tied-up
in unused, excess capacity. Institutions pay
only for the services they need, and enjoy the
flexibility to change the number of end-users
based on actual demand.
CPE-based/SIP Trunking: a traditional
customer-premises equipment (CPE) solution in
which the school district or university owns and
manages a PBX or key system, while a carrier,
such as AT&T, provides some level of IP-based
trunking or connectivity to the Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN).
SIP trunking is a VoIP service that uses
customer data networks to deliver voice
trunking to on-premises PBX and key systems,
thereby converging voice and data traffic onto
one network.
“For many institutions,” says Ben Kruse, lead
manager of education marketing at AT&T, “SIP
trunking is a logical starting point for voice and
data convergence. For example, legacy phone
systems at remote campus locations can be
connected to each other and to the PSTN via a
customer’s data network, eliminating the cost of
dedicated voice services — and in some cases,
offsetting long distance expenses as well.”
When it comes to VoIP, there is no “one-size-
fits-all” solution. An important first step when
considering a move to IP-based voice and
collaboration services is to gather input from
all user groups within the organization. “Bring
together a large number of people across your
constituency groups to help define what you
are looking to improve,” says Bob Zapotocky,
technical sales director for emerging technology
at AT&T. “Their input will help guide a technology
roadmap when making the transition.”
It’s also important to find a communications
provider that can help build a voice transformation
strategy that best fits an institution’s specific
needs. This custom e-book, sponsored by
AT&T, takes an up-close look at the benefits and
challenges of multiple VoIP deployment models,
as described in case studies from Campus
Technology, T.H.E. Journal, and AT&T. Concludes
AT&T’s Gedeon, “Work with a provider who can
recommend an integrated solution that addresses
your requirements, and who can help map out a
path to get from where you are today to where you
want to be tomorrow.”
IntroductionIntroduction ........................................2
Graceland University: A Campus-based CPE and SIP Trunking Solution for VoIP ................................3
Communicating and Collaborating More Efficiently Through Unified Communications (UC) .......................4
Migrating to a Carrier-hosted VoIP Solution at Georgia Tech ..................5
VoIP at a Glance ................................6
The Evolution of Voice Communications ................................7
School-Centered Community Utilizes VoIP Solution to Reap Benefits Beyond the Classroom ......................8
Sponsored by:
Presented by:
Empoweringthe World ofHigher Education
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 3
Graceland University, located in Lamoni,
IA, is a private, four-year liberal arts
university serving more than 1,100
full-time students and 550 part-time students
The institution offers 35 undergraduate majors,
three master degrees, and a Doctor of Nursing
Practice degree.
In addition to the main residential campus
in Lamoni (about an hour’s drive from Des
Moines), Graceland maintains an urban
campus in Independence, MO, where the
university’s School of Nursing and School of
Education offer both face-to-face and online
programs.
Recently, the IT department at Graceland
realized it was time to upgrade its aging
legacy phone system. “The voice mail
component of our system began to fail,” says
Jim McKinney, director of technology services
at Graceland. “It had a failing hard disk and
every month we would run maintenance
checks and would come up with failures.”
Though technicians could eventually
get the voice mail system to clean up, they
realized it was time to start looking into a new
overall solution — specifically one utilizing
Voice over Internet Protocol. “[VoIP] was
definitely the hot button at the time,” says
McKinney, “so it was almost a given that was
the direction we were going to go. As a result,
we didn’t do an in-depth analysis of ‘why VoIP
versus traditional PBX.’”
Graceland’s legacy PBX system had been
supporting the school’s telephony operations
for nearly 30 years. “We had a Mitel SX2000
Light system connecting both our campuses
through T1 interfaces,” says McKinney.
“Our cheapest solution would have been an
incremental upgrade of the Mitel switch, but
we didn’t feel like that was the best solution.”
In fact, the VoIP solution initially increased
somewhat the school’s costs in a few areas.
“Our data network backbone was not VoIP-
ready when we started the project. We had
to beef up all of our data connectivity to
accommodate the VoIP solution. From that
perspective, it didn’t save money.”
Yet, in the end, says McKinney, even
though there may not have been a direct
cost savings, there were advantages. “We
were able to consolidate all the services we
had been paying for — T1s carrying voice
between our Lamoni and Independence
locations, as well as a separate data network
— into consolidated MPLS (multiprotocol
label switching) connectivity between the
two campuses. We were able to add an
additional dedicated Internet connection to
the Independence campus, as well.”
According to McKinney, they were able
to establish the new network and additional
redundant Internet connection for roughly
the same amount of money that they had
previously been paying for less service. “So
while we didn’t see a direct cost-savings, we
did see an increase in services available to us.”
Today, Graceland is fully VoIP to the
desktop, rather than just to the PBX itself. In
terms of end-user benefits, McKinney says,
everyone seems happy with the migration
— particularly with the increased services
that resulted by migrating to VoIP desk sets.
A SIP Trunking Solution at Graceland UniversityConsolidating voice and Internet over MPLS-based Private Network Transport (PNT)
shutterstock.com
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 4
Faculty and staff like the fact that they can
move their phones easily. “In the past,” says
McKinney, “if someone wanted to move their
phone from office 1 to office 2, we had a
technician who would move the wires.”
With VoIP, that kind of technical expertise
isn’t necessary. “People are just now
understanding and getting excited about
that,” McKinney says. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, you
mean I can just unplug this from the wall
and take it over to the next office, and plug
it in and it will work for me?’ That’s a really
exciting feature around here right now.”1
For other universities thinking about making
the shift to VoIP, McKinney offers this advice:
“Be patient. Make sure you involve all your
constituents and they have an opportunity
offer feedback about what they need or want.
Don’t make assumptions about their needs
for them.”
In the end, he says it’s important to make
sure the solution has the features that both
faculty and staff want.
1 Before relocating IP phones, end users should
consult their system administrator to ensure
applicable requirements for updating 911
registered location information are addressed.
Unified Communications: Communicating and Collaborating More Efficiently“Unified communications (UC) will
change the way daily activities and
processes are conducted in the
future,” says Marianne Gedeon,
director of unified communications
services at AT&T.
While that may be a bit of
hyperbole, there is no doubt that
UC services have recently captured
the attention of IT professionals
throughout the country — in retail
organizations, manufacturing, state &
local governments, and in education. But exactly what is unified communications?
In general, unified communications refers to the integration of real-time communications
services, such as instant messaging, user presence & availability information, and web or
video conferencing, with non-real-time communication services, such as voicemail or email.
“UC gives you immediate access to multiple communication and collaboration tools that
you’re probably already using today,” says Gedeon, “but using independently.” With UC,
she continues, “you can access these tools through a single interface using the device of
your choice — such as your mobile device, iPad, or notebook.”
Although AT&T provides a variety of unified communications solutions, either on the
customer’s premises or in the AT&T network, Gedeon commented that she is seeing more
and more customers who are adopting UC as a cloud-based service. At AT&T, the cloud-
based service consists of three integrated components: AT&T UC Voice, back-end access
to the PSTN, and a UC client application.
“Think of UC Voice as an IP PBX solution,” says Gedeon. “[But] instead of having it on your
premises, it’s available from the AT&T cloud. It offers IP phone, video phone and soft phone
support in integration with legacy TDM and IP PBX systems, so you can often leverage your
existing voice investments and minimize the expense of costly rip-and-replace migration.”
“The UC client,” Gedeon continues, “is a downloadable application for PC, Mac, and
mobile devices that offers features such as presence/availability, IM, conferencing, and
unified messaging tools — while delivering a consistent user experience across all of these
device platforms. Through the UC client interface, users have access through a single, easy-
to-use dashboard to a rich range of UC capabilities.”
By integrating multiple communications tools together behind a single user interface and
allowing accessibility from a variety of devices, school administrators can fuel productivity gains
for faculty, staff, and students — while helping the entire campus communicate and collaborate
more efficiently. According to Gedeon, that’s what unified communications is all about.
shutterstock.com
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 5
The Georgia Institute of Technology,
located in the heart of Atlanta, GA,
is one of the nation’s top research
universities — serving more than 20,000
undergraduate and graduate students who
receive a technology-based education.
Founded in 1885, Georgia Tech is today
organized into six colleges, offering degrees in
architecture, computing, engineering, science,
and business.
The Office of Information Technology
(OIT) at the university provides information
technology and telecommunications support
for all Georgia Tech students, faculty, staff,
and researchers. OIT is committed to
providing campus-enabling technologies
that are easy to use and that deliver a
competitive advantage in nearly all aspects
of university life.
“One of the things I look for in bringing
technologies onto the campus,” says Ron
Hutchins, OIT’s Chief Information Officer, “is
how they fit together, how they integrate. How
we can utilize services from one to augment
another. For example, if we bring a calendar
system onto the campus, it needs to integrate
with our e-mail solution as well as some of our
other web applications.”
Consequently, Hutchins and his team
viewed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
the same way, as the institution started
investigating alternate voice connectivity
options a few years ago. “The fact that it used
IP protocol,” he says, “meant that it could
integrate into our other products and tools.”
According to Susan Campbell, director of
telecommunications for OIT, the move away
from a traditional voice services environment
at that time was also influenced by the fact
that overall landline use is declining, “not
only for Georgia Tech,” she says, “but in the
industry in general. We (Georgia Tech) have
gone from 14,000-15,000 landlines in 2008 to
fewer than 11,000 today.”
At the same time, according to
Campbell, the number of wireless devices
is increasing. “The decline in the number of
landline users combined with the increase
in mobility services,” says Campbell, “led
us early-on to think that reinvesting in the
traditional PBX environment probably wasn’t
a smart way to go.”
In 2009, the institution adopted SIP
(session initiated protocol) trunking, a popular
delivery option for VoIP. Georgia Tech’s PBX
environment, enabled with SIP trunking,
“worked okay,” according to Hutchins. But
then the university’s PBX manufacturer went
bankrupt and was acquired by another who
no longer supported the platform.
That left Georgia Tech at a crossroads:
forklift and invest in a whole new CPE-
based solution, or outsource to a hosted
solution. Ultimately, they decided to migrate
to a hosted VoIP solution with AT&T or, as
Hutchins says, “to put it out in the cloud.”
“It’s not a public [model],” explains
Hutchins, “but a private, hosted solution
through AT&T for our region.” Georgia Tech
is a participant in the regional education and
research network Southern Crossroads (SoX),
a consortium for which Hutchins serves as
President. While evaluating various VoIP
architectures, it was important for Hutchins
and his teams representing both organizations
to identify a solution which would meet the
needs not only for Georgia Tech, but for other
SoX participants as well.
Migrating to a Carrier-hosted VoIP Solution at Georgia TechProviding flexible and robust VoIP to the Georgia Tech end user community
shutterstock.com
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 6
According to Hutchins, that regional
perspective was a key component of their
decision. “We got a regional solution, so we could
get the power of scale in order to drive the cost
down. We have the integration capabilities of IP
and we’re working with a major telecom vendor
who will give us the opportunity to integrate with
our mobile solutions. So we’ve gotten the best of
all worlds.”
Converged networks. While a converged
voice and data network is one of the recognized
advantages of VoIP, not all technology leaders
agree on the ideal level of network integration.
At the moment, Georgia Tech is still operating
separate voice and data networks.
Campbell believes that a fully converged
network could offer a huge cost savings in the
future. Hutchins, on the other hand, is not so
sure it’s worth it. “We’ve done well by having two
infrastructures,” he says. “If we have a problem
with the voice infrastructure, we still have e-mail.
If we have a problem with the data infrastructure,
we still have voice. People appreciate that. We’ll
see what the need is for a separate infrastructure
over time.”
These two different perspectives are not
uncommon. “Each school needs to conduct its
own cost/benefit/risk analysis,” says Ben Kruse,
lead manager of education marketing at AT&T.
“Do the potential savings from a converged
infrastructure outweigh the potential risks, in the
event of a catastrophic failure?”
With a converged network, there is only one
communications cabling system to maintain in
existing buildings, or to install in those under
construction. That can present huge cost
savings. At the same time, says Kruse, schools
need to consider whether or not they have
enough failover components in place to support
continuity of operations should a fully converged
network go down.
Advantages of a hosted solution. According
to Campbell, another advantage of a hosted
solution, in addition to cost savings, is that
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) at a GlanceHOSTED VOIP SIP TRUNKING
What it is. A network-based voice solution
that delivers communications tools
over a carrier data network, such
as the AT&T Global IP Network.
SIP Trunking (or Session Initiated
Protocol Trunking) is a VoIP service that
uses customer data networks or the
Internet to connect IP-enabled PBX and
key systems to the traditional public
switched telephone network (PSTN).
How it works. District or university delegates rou-
tine management of the infrastruc-
ture, including maintenance and
software upgrades, and does not
have to own a campus-based PBX
or key system.
District or university owns and manages
its own on-campus PBX or key system
hardware, software licenses, and main-
tenance agreements. The carrier, such
as AT&T, provides transport.
Benefits One platform for voice and data
(no need to manage separate
networks requiring separate
skills and staff).
Eliminates the need for capital
investments in a PBX or key
system.
Simplifies operations since
AT&T manages the infrastruc-
ture
Provides for easy scalability, in
a per-user subscription based
pricing model.
Offers a full range of advanced
calling features.
Easy to use administrative
interface lets end users handle
many of their own changes.
One platform for voice and data (no
need to manage separate networks
requiring separate skills and staff).
Delivers integrated access for PBX
and key systems.
Improves efficiency by maximizing
the use of customer data network
capacity.
Can support existing on-premises
equipment.
Scales up and down easily in re-
sponse to changing demands.
Overall VoIP Benefits
Potentially decrease total cost of ownership (TCO), whether using your
existing network, creating an on-premises solution, or installing a new
hosted solution.
Increase productivity, access and flexibility — Providing integration
with smartphones and PCs, VoIP services can help streamline and unify
multiple communications platforms.
Simplify management — Free internal staff from voice services manage-
ment, so they can focus on other campus projects.
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 7
hosted services offer a lot more self-service
capabilities. At many institutions, one of the
most difficult challenges in managing any
premise-based application is MACs (moves,
adds, and changes) — setting up new users,
making changes to existing user profiles, and
updating features. “We no longer have to
pay a vendor for moves, add, and changes,”
Campbell says. “With a hosted solution, all
administrative and management tasks are
centralized.”
The move to a hosted solution, however,
doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction
in IT department staff. Instead, as Bob
Zapotocky, technical sales director for
emerging technologies at AT&T, explains,
institutions may instead realize a “headcount
optimization.” The number of bodies
doesn’t necessarily change, he says. Rather,
employees may be reallocated to specific
projects that can further or enhance other
key technology projects on campus, such as
mobile learning and wireless networking.
As far as advice for other institutions that
are considering a shift to VoIP, Campbell says
that every situation is different. “It just depends
on your environment. You need to look at what
you’ve got in place today and where you’re
trying to go with your technology.”
As an example, Campbell points to the fact
that at Georgia Tech about 60 percent of the
institution’s wired phone lines serve things
like elevators, alarms, and emergency call
boxes. “We found a very cheap solution to put
those on VoIP so they could utilize our hosted
solution. There are a lot of different pieces
out there you need to take into account when
migrating to VoIP.”
As Georgia Tech moves toward its hosted
VoIP model, it will briefly maintain the legacy
equipment during the cut-over. “There are
approximately 200 buildings on campus,”
says Campbell, “so we’re doing a phased
implementation. Once completed, we’ll no
longer have the legacy infrastructure.”
Thinking about their migration, Campbell
adds, “The evolution of technology is just a
technical issue. People don’t care. They just
want to be able to get the video, or make
a call, or have a chat. But I think all that
technology is also going to make our lives
easier on the technology side — helping
us to implement so it’s seamless for users,
whether they are students, faculty, or staff.”
The Evolution of Voice CommunicationsFrom the oldest and most basic voice communications, to VoIP, to full-blown unified
communications, here is an abbreviated overview:
Legacy TDM (time division multiplexed) voice trunking into a customer-owned phone system
Customers have trunks (or lines), generally provided by a carrier over a T1 interface,
which run into a premises-based PBX or key system.
Solution requires the customer to “be in the phone business” and manage their own
equipment, as well as the capacity of the trunking coming in.
Legacy hosted voice service (often called Centrex or Plexar)
A TDM-based service, hosted within a carrier network.
Customer doesn’t have to operate a premises-based phone system.
Customer only has to purchase individual desk sets. No additional on-premises
equipment is required.
SIP Trunking
A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution.
Virtual voice trunks are provided by a carrier, and traverse a customer’s data network
into their premises-based phone system.
Customer leverages existing data network connections, allowing voice and data to
run over a converged network.
There are no separate voice trunking/lines to be maintained.
This type of solution still requires the customer to “be in the phone business” and
manage premises-based equipment and the capacity of the trunking coming in.
Hosted VoIP
A hosted service provided within a carrier network.
Customer doesn’t have to operate a premises-based phone system.
Customer only has to purchase individual desk sets, PC/Mac-based soft phones,
or mobile device clients.
Customer leverages existing data network connections, allowing voice and data to
run over a converged network.
There are no separate voice trunking/lines to be maintained.
Unified Communications
UC services may be part of a premises-based or hosted solution.
UC combines VoIP with enhanced collaboration features/functionality, such as email,
instant messaging, and video/web conferencing.
UC can integrate assigned desk sets or PC/Mac-based soft phones with a mobile device
client, for end-user presence/availability and single number reach capability.
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 8
About Hancock Place School District
Located in south St. Louis County, Hancock
Place School District includes three schools
with 135 certified teachers, 11 administrators
and 56 support staff serving students in
preschool through grade 12. The small
community faces sizeable economic
challenges — more than three-quarters of
its students qualify for free or reduced price
lunches. Despite financial hardships, Hancock
Place was one of the first districts to be rated
“AAA” by the Missouri State Department
of Education, a distinction the district has
maintained ever since.
Situation
The district used a hodgepodge of aging
phone systems that were in need of repair but
out of warranty, making it difficult for its three-
person technology staff to manage. Although
federal and state funding for education was
cut dramatically, Hancock Place wanted to
upgrade its phones to keep classrooms safe
for teachers and students. Because parent
involvement is a vital component of education,
the district also wanted to make it easier for
parents to communicate directly with teachers.
Solution
AT&T Voice DNA®, a network-based Voice over
Internet Protocol service, gives Hancock Place
schools affordable, advanced communication
tools. A phone in each classroom enhances
school security and makes it easier for parents
to reach their children’s teachers. Because the
system is hosted by AT&T, it requires virtually
no maintenance from the district’s busy
technology team.
From Books to Booster Shots
Hancock Place Schools began as a one-room
country school house in a small neighborhood
in St. Louis County. While many surrounding
communities have become part of the giant
St. Louis school district, Hancock Place has
maintained its independence. Today the district
consists of an early childhood center, an
elementary school, a middle school and a high
school, all dedicated to students’ academic
achievement. Its classes are relatively small,
enabling teachers to form solid relationships
with students and develop a strong stake in the
educational success of each child. The teacher
turnover rate is very low, and the staff is made
up of mostly veteran educators who have been
with the district for a number of years.
Hancock Place schools have always
played a vital role in their small community,
but education is sometimes a low priority
for people who are struggling to put food on
the table. “Many of our students don’t have
parents who have graduated from high school
themselves or they’ve just graduated from high
school and don’t have any further degree,”
said Michelle Dirksen, the district’s Director of
Technology.
For that reason, Hancock Place offers
continuing education for people who want
to earn a GED or learn other skills, along
with family reading nights that highlight the
importance of education and nurture a desire
to read. These are part of an amazing array of
free programs that benefit families: pre-school
and full-day kindergarten, tutoring, summer
school, before-school reading programs and
after-school homework time.
The school district has even become
the healthcare provider for many families.
Recognizing that getting medical care was
a problem for many students, the district
opened Hancock Health Center, the first
on-campus medical office in the St. Louis
area. “We found that families couldn’t get
their kids to the doctor or they didn’t have
insurance so they wouldn’t go, so now we
do all their physicals and other healthcare
here on the grounds,” Dirksen said. The
clinic is also available to students’ families.
It accepts medical cards and most private
health insurance. For families without health
insurance the visits are free.
“Hancock Place is really a school-centered
community,” she said. “Our parents and other
residents are very supportive of the schools –
we’ve never had a bond issue denied – and so
we try to do everything we can to help them.”
School-Centered Community Utilizes VoIP Solution to Reap Benefits Beyond the Classroom
Hancock Place School District Facts Needs
Improve teachers’ ability to communicate with parents, strengthen classroom safety
Networking Solution
Hosted Voice over IP (VoIP) delivers advanced tools to keep teachers connected
Value
Stronger bonds between parents and teachers; increased school security
Industry Focus
Public Education
Size
Three schools serving 1,800 students
shut
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Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 9
Making Connections with Parents
There aren’t many businesses in Hancock
Place, which means the school district has a
limited tax base; most of its funding comes
from the federal and state government. Like
many school districts, Hancock Place has
struggled as government education funding
has been curtailed. Because so many of
its students come from families without
much money, the budget cuts hit the district
especially hard.
The district has so far kept community
programs running by carefully weighing
student, teacher and community needs against
available resources. This balancing act meant
that every purchase had to be considered
carefully. When officials began some necessary
renovations to its school buildings, they saw
an opportunity to enhance student and teacher
security in the classroom and develop stronger
connections with parents by strengthening the
district’s communications network. “We had a
phone system that was so old it wasn’t under
warranty and nobody serviced it,” she noted.
“And we were at our capacity for phone lines.”
As she studied how best to address
the issue, Dirksen called on her years of
experience as a third grade teacher in
Hancock Place schools, which gave her a
deep understanding of teachers’ technology
needs. “Many of my counterparts in other
school districts have business backgrounds,”
she said. “It’s nice that I have an education
background, because I feel empathy for the
teachers and understand what they need to
do their jobs.”
Dirksen knew that the system had to be
cost-effective because of budget limitations
and easy to deploy and maintain for her small
technology staff.
A Clean, Simple Solution
AT&T Voice DNA is a cutting-edge, fully
hosted, network-based Voice over IP service
that supports voice calls on Hancock Place’s
data network. It provides unlimited local and
long-distance calling, controlling costs for
the cash-strapped district and simplifying its
phone bills. The district also avoids the cost of
phone switches and key systems. Phones are
connected through staff computers, eliminating
the complicated wires and switches used by
the district’s old phones. “There’s not a huge
wall of wires and clips,” Dirksen said. “There’s
one jack on every wall and everything just
plugs in. It’s pretty simple and very clean.”
The VoIP service enables the district to
assign a direct phone number to each teacher.
Teachers keep their phones and phone
numbers even if they change classrooms at
the end of a year. “I used to have to manually
change everybody’s phone numbers and move
their lines,” she said. “Now they literally just
take their phone with them and plug it into their
new classroom. It’s so much easier.”
Dirksen has a network administrator and
computer support specialist to help her
manage all technology needs for the district’s
students, faculty and staff. They appreciate
the flexibility and convenience of the network-
based system. “Having AT&T host it means
that we don’t have to worry about any
maintenance issues,” she said. “It’s like having
a huge weight lifted off our shoulders.
“We’re busy all the time, so I try to outsource
as many things as I can. Our phone system is
one nice thing to outsource that we never have
to worry about,” she continued. “The burden
doesn’t rest on me or the two guys that work
for me – somebody else is working on it. That’s
really beneficial for our school district.”
Enhanced Safety and Control
The converged network solution distributes
calls quickly and easily; it also lets
administrators use their computers to check
call logs, listen to voice mail messages and
manage call settings. “We love getting our
voice messages through email,” Dirksen said.
“When I was on vacation last week I was able
to get all my messages easily and determine
which ones I had to respond to before I
returned to work.”
The phones make it easy to transfer calls
and conduct conference calls. The speaker
feature enables the board to include members
who are not able to attend meetings in person.
Teachers are happy to have a phone line in
their classroom to handle emergencies – one
teacher was able to summon medical help
quickly when her colleague went into labor
in the middle of a school day. They also like
that they can give parents a direct phone
number to reach them. “We expect a lot of
communication between our parents and
teachers,” she said. “Having the phone right
in the classroom makes it more convenient for
teachers to connect with parents.”
Calls that come in during class time are sent
right to voice mail. “At the end of the day or
when they have a free period, they don’t have
to go to the teacher’s lounge and wait for a
phone to be available,” Dirksen said. “They can
return calls quickly right from the desk in their
classroom. It protects students’ privacy, and
really encourages teachers to involve parents in
their children’s education.”
Equipping classrooms with phones also
adds to school security. “Teachers feel
safer and more in control,” Dirksen said. “If
something happens, they don’t have to leave
their students and run all the way down the hall
to the office to call for help.”
Communication is Key
Dirksen credits the district’s AT&T account
team with educating her regarding the hosted
VoIP solution that has worked so well for
Hancock Place. “They helped me understand
the technology and what would be most cost
effective for our district,” she said. “They also
took into account our staff and workload to
suggest what they believed would work best.”
The phone system is an integral part of
Hancock Place’s efforts to work with parents
and the community to benefit students.
“Communication is key and technology is at
the forefront of our efforts,” she said. “We use
the phone, our Facebook page and the district
website to keep parents abreast of what’s
going on in the classroom.”
The district’s next big initiative is to introduce
wireless connectivity throughout its schools.
“We’re just moving forward to try to
educate our kids in the best way possible,”
she said. “We know technology is a big
part of that so we’re going to be looking at
netbooks and tablet computers that require
full wireless capability.”
Reduced funding increases a school
district’s challenges, but does not overcome
Hancock Place’s will to support academic
excellence throughout its community. “We
really want to be able to continue to provide
the education that our community has come to
expect,” Dirksen said.
Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 10
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