Aruba Networks

ARUBA TRANSFORMS LEARNING IN KENT AT HOMEWOOD SCHOOL

Secure, Centrally Managed Wireless Technology Improves Quality of Learning and Spurs Rethink in Education Delivery

London, UK, February 1, 2006 - Aruba Networks, the Mobile Edge Company, has worked closely with the Kent County Council Digital Curriculum Team and systems integrator the KMH Group to change the way in which the curriculum is delivered at Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre.

Homewood School, in Tenterden, near Ashford in Kent, UK, has introduced an innovative curriculum that relies on mobile access to online resources. To achieve this, the school has implemented a secure, centralised wireless LAN system from Aruba Networks, creating a state-of-the-art mobile computing environment for pupils and teachers.

The wireless LAN infrastructure comprises an Aruba Mobility Controller, ArubaOS Mobility Software and 180 thin Aruba Access Points deployed across the campus. The design, installation and configuration of the wireless solution were carried out by the KMH Group, a specialist in high bandwidth building-to-building network solutions.

With 2,100 pupils and over 180 teaching rooms covering an area of 36,000 sq ft., Homewood School is the largest secondary school in Kent. In a charitable partnership (e-Learning Foundation) between parents and the school, Homewood has pledged to provide mobile computing to pupils as part of an innovative new curriculum.

Aruba's Mobile Edge solution allows Homewood School's children and teachers to have total mobility, and the opportunity to completely redesign the education process. Teachers and pupils can access real-time resources from anywhere in the school, following a digital curriculum via the school's Portal Learning Environment. The Aruba implementation opens up a range of opportunities to create an exciting and engaging personalised learning experience. For example, Aruba's outdoor APs mean that science lessons can be taught outside, and registration can be taken electronically from any location.

Aruba's centralised mobility system also allows Homewood to securely control access to the school's IT infrastructure, and prevents external security threats from entering the network.

"The security and efficiency of Aruba wireless networking has significantly improved the way we operate as an organisation," said Chris Foreman, Assistant Vice Principal at Homewood School. "Before Homewood became wireless, staff and students were limited by when and where they could learn. Aruba's centralised solution has transformed learning, providing truly mobile, flexible learning environments.

We like to think that Homewood is an innovative education provider, and state-of-the-art technology such as Aruba's wireless system not only benefits us as an organisation, but also dramatically improves the quality of learning that we can provide our pupils."

The majority of Homewood pupils have already been provided with a Tablet PC for use within the school and at home, and by spring 2006, the school aims to extend this to all pupils.

The project is already proving to be so successful that Kent County Council is exploring how the technology could offer opportunities for the widespread use of wireless across multiple schools, using its Kent Community Network broadband infrastructure.

"We believe that mobile wireless computing offers incredible opportunities to revolutionise teaching and learning, both within schools and also in the home and community." said Alan Day, Kent County Council Digital Curriculum Manager. "The Aruba system significantly improves security, reduces technical support, and simplifies user management, heralding a new era of wireless mobility in education that does what it should … it works!

Homewood school has embarked on an ambitious and creative new digital curriculum, and we are delighted with the way that the Aruba network has added value to the project. Schools are challenging environments for wireless, and the Aruba technology offers a compelling platform for other schools to consider mobility as a realistic option."

About Aruba Networks, Inc.

People move. Networks must follow. Aruba securely delivers networks to users, wherever they work or roam. Our mobility solutions enable the Follow-Me Enterprise that moves in lock-step with users:

• Adaptive 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks optimize themselves to ensure that users are always within reach of mission-critical information;
• Identity-based security assigns access policies to users, enforcing those policies whenever and wherever a network is accessed;
• Remote networking solutions and fixed mobile convergence ensure uninterrupted access to applications as users move;
• Multi-vendor network management provides a single point of control while managing both legacy and new wireless networks from Aruba and its competitors.

The cost, convenience, and security benefits of our secure mobility solutions are fundamentally changing how and where we work. Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com.

© 2008 Aruba Networks, Inc. AirWave®, Aruba Networks®, Aruba Mobility Management System®, Bluescanner, For Wireless That Works®, Mobile Edge Architecture, People Move. Networks Must Follow., RFProtect, The All Wireless Workplace Is Now Open For Business, Green Island, and The Mobile Edge Company® are trademarks of Aruba Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.