Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

Masters of Science (Research)

Department

Science

Abstract

In this Thesis, I hope to develop an approach to networking in the Irish Primary school which will provide practical as well as theoretical advice to Primary Teachers. In the pages that follow, I will detail a general outline of the principles of computer networking and detail models appropriate to the primary school.

At the outset, I wish to acknowledge that there are as many solutions to the primary school’s networking requirements as there are individual schools. This document is intended as a general set of guidelines for the average Primary school in this country. By this, I mean schools with limited funds and already in possession of a basic stock of IBM compatable PC’s provided under the governments IT 2000 initiative. As in any undertaking of this nature, there is a need for a statistical analysis of the current state of networking in Primary schools. This information is detailed in Chapter 2 and provides the background to this particular project.

As a research element, I will examine Wireless Networks and their suitability to schools that may experience difficulties with physical wiring.

Finally, I intend to give a detailed costing of the various models of networking outlined and provide a unit cost reference for Teachers interested in developing their schools computing capabilities.

This thesis should be of interest to teachers who work in a small school with a handful of computers and a single telephone line. It should equally interest teachers in a large school with a dedicated room where a bank of computers can be located. The pages that follow, I hope, will provide interested teachers with a clear and straightforward explanation of the road that should be taken in effectively networking a Primary school, regardless of size or expertise. It will also, I hope, provide teaching staff with a clear and concise understanding of the benefits of a school network and the principles behind it.

While my focus is on the Primary school, the content is, of course, applicable to any school that has a PC facility. Even if you work in an office or wish to connect two computers at home to share files, you should find the pages that follow applicable to your situation.

Comments

Master of Science in Computing in Education

Access Level

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Download

Share

COinS