A Framework for Evaluating CommunityNet in Saskatchewan School Divisions
By: Ron Klassen
SSTA Research Centre Report #02-03: 21
pages, $11
Table of Contents
A System of Indicators
and a Process
CommunityNet Stakeholders
Service Providers
Administration
and service development approach
End users
High Level Technical design
Indicators to be considered
Evaluation Process
Appendices
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Overview
The Saskatchewan School Trustees Association commissioned the development
of this work by Ron Klassen to develop a framework for evaluating CommunityNet.
The Government of Saskatchewan launched CommunityNet on April 1, 2001
to provide high speed Internet access to Saskatchewan schools, health facilities
and libraries. As boards of education are required to pay more
than $3.73 million annually for CommunityNet, it is important that an appropriate
system of indictors be established to monitor and ensure a high quality
of service from CommunityNet.
The proposed system of indicators offers an evaluation framework
including information about the intent of CommunityNet, the design of CommunityNet,
the expectations for CommunityNet and to report on:
-
how CommunityNet is delivering on its intended benefits,
-
how CommunityNet is being embraced by the K-12 education system,
-
how CommunityNet administrators and service providers are performing,
-
how CommunityNet’s technical design is holding up under pressure and
-
how CommunityNet is doing in terms of delivering cost savings and performance
benefits.
|
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Each copy must acknowledge the author and the SSTA Research Centre
as the source. A complete and
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Research Centre.
The opinions and recommendations expressed in this report are those
of the author and may not be in
agreement with SSTA officers or trustees, but are offered as being
worthy of consideration by those
responsible for making decisions.
A System of Indicators
and a Process
Rationale for a System
of Indicators
On April 1st 2001, the Government of Saskatchewan launched CommunityNet.
The Government of Saskatchewan positions CommunityNet this way;
‘CommunityNet is a broadband, high-speed, province-wide
telecommunications network that will connect more than 800 educational
facilities, 310 health facilities, and 256 government offices in 366 Saskatchewan
communities. The network will have a wide-ranging positive impact on the
province, resulting in better educational, health and government services,
along with potential economic opportunities.
Options and technologies are being explored for expansion of CommunityNet
to even more communities. Other types of public organizations can also
participate in the network, depending on the type of organization and their
funding framework.
While CommunityNet is only available to public institutions, SaskTel
has committed to expanding high-speed service to the majority of individuals
and businesses in the province over the next five years. High-speed expansion
plans will be evaluated on a yearly basis, and service will be provided
in communities where it is economically feasible.’
Boards of education pay $3.73 million, plus PST, annually for CommunityNet
and represent the largest investor group in the project. Saskatchewan
Education withholds grants to school divisions for payment. Over
six years, approximately $70.9 million will be spent to develop the network.
It is important that boards of education understand the value and account
for the money invested. To that end a system of indicators should
be implemented and studied on a regular basis. The system should
be broad based while at the same time be manageable and sustainable.
The best-case scenario would be for all stakeholders in the K-12 education
system to align with the final system of indicators. This would
enable common understandings and language to be used in resolving issues
or developing new opportunities.
|
CommunityNet
began
April 1st 2001
Boards of Education
pay $3.73 million, plus
PST, annually for
CommunityNet
|
Table of Contents
Overview of the Indicator
System
The Indicator System, once implemented, should be a broad based study of
CommunityNet value to the education system. Value is a perception
based on individual preferences and needs. To that end, the system
of indicators needs to incorporate a range of factors in order to deliver
a credible assessment. The proposed indicator system should include:
-
stakeholder survey,
-
stakeholder interviews,
-
technical evaluations and
-
price/technology research.
The central promise of CommunityNet is better educational services and
opportunities. A key assumption is that ComunityNet will be dynamic
and responsive, perceived to be providing better service and opportunities
than individual school systems could acquire in the market.
The technology research component of the system will offer an understanding
of what new technology is on the horizon and what other educational jurisdictions
are doing with networking technology.
Both the technical evaluation and the price research component require
that some process be implemented to establish benchmarks for accurate comparison
of costs year over year. The point is that unless the indicators
are compared to a standard and the same standard is used for each evaluation,
the results will be meaningless. More over, unless the standards
are meaningful to begin with, the results are going to be meaningless.
Benchmarking technical performance should not be a major concern , at
least in the early stages, as currently CommunityNet is offering
little more that higher bandwidth and security. SaskTel through Saskatchewan
Property Management Corporation (SPMC) is able to, for a fee, provide a
yearly report that outlines throughput performance. This would be
money well spent. It needs to be noted that vision for CommunityNets
future include a host of value added services. Once this starts to
happen, throughput becomes only one small part of the equation and the
notion of technical performance evaluation becomes far more complex.
That said, performance evaluation will always be a necessary activity and
as stated earlier, the best case scenario would be for all stakeholders
in the K-12 education system to align with the final system of indicators.
It is important to understand that throughput is dependent on many variables.
For example, if the information coming over the network is located or cached
on the host server or on a server in close proximity to the host server
and has a high bandwidth connection to the host server, the throughput
is likely to be very good. If the information exists somewhere outside
of CommunityNet, the throughput performance is going to be dictated by
the poorest performing link in the network connection. The fairest
measurement will be one taken from the host server to the end user.
Benchmarking cost on the other hand is going to be more complex.
Schools will be able to tell us what they were paying for Internet service
prior to CommunityNet. What they won’t know is how much they are
paying for their CommunityNet. The best we can do is to take the
amount of money the government is withholding and establish an average
cost per school for the service.
If this approach is taken we know that some schools would be paying
about double what they might have paid prior to CommunityNet. Other
schools would be paying only a quarter or even less than what they were
paying prior to CommunityNet.
The other factor that is problematic here is that the grade of service
CommunityNet is providing is significantly different than that which schools
bought prior to CommunityNet. It is now a business class service
with significant service guarantees and security feature their previous
service did not offer. The equation is further complicated by the
fact that CommunityNet will not be fully rolled out for three years and
we’re not certain what level of service will be deployed where. This
is because SaskTel will deploy the most appropriate technology for a given
time in the evolution of the technology and location as well as the proposed
value added services that are being planned for the future.
All in all, it will be very difficult to benchmark cost. The point
is that we’re not really talking apples to apples. Non the less,
value for the money spent is still an important need to know and, again,
the best solution to this problem is if all education CommunityNet
stakeholders support the idea of service evaluation indicators and agree
to use one common benchmark. It is believed that some form of the
grant distribution equation be engaged to find a more accurate benchmark.
It is important to include indicators that reflect how the schools are
using the new CommunityNet service. Again, value is only a perception
based on individual preferences and needs. At the 1998 SSTA Convention,
boards of education passed a motion to lobby government for high-speed
Internet service for all schools. The perception was that speed and
cost were making it difficult for the potential of the Internet in the
classroom and as a teaching and administration tool to be fully realized.
It should be noted that many individuals at the Saskatchewan Ministry of
Education as well as at Industry Canada commonly held this belief.
In order to understand if CommunityNet is making a difference the system
of indicators must offer insights in this area. |
Indictor System
Includes:
-
a stakeholder
survey
-
stakeholder
interviews
-
technical
evaluations
-
price/technology
research.
How
do costs
compare?
How
are schools
using
CommunityNet?
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Table of Contents
Context
CommunityNet is a network designed and developed as a business grade ‘intranet’.
It is being offered to schools, healthcare facilities and government departments
in Saskatchewan. CommunityNet is a response, by the provincial government,
to the growing demand for high-speed Internet services in these sectors.
The provincial government wants to leverage the money spent on Internet
communications in these public sectors in order to enable the deployment
of high-speed Internet service in the rural communities of Saskatchewan.
High-speed Internet service is seen as a possible economic development
tool for rural Saskatchewan.
The following is the Government of Saskatchewans roll out plan and vision
for CommunityNet.
In December 2000 there were only eight communities in the province with
high-speed Internet service. By October 2001, more than 185 communities
were connected, providing the foundation for improved services in distance
learning, telehealth and e-commerce. A further 125 communities will be
connected by spring 2002. All 366 communities will be connected to the
network within three years.
In addition to its public sector benefits, CommunityNet has the potential
to allow small businesses to develop e-business options that are not impacted
by distances and location. With the public sector acting as an anchor tenant,
the province's Crown telecommunications supplier, SaskTel, will now be
able to reassess its high-speed Internet service strategy for small communities.
This will be done on a business case-by-business case basis.
Over the next six years, $70.9 million will be spent developing the
high-speed network. Provincial funding will come from a combination of
new money and a reallocation of existing resources. The Government of Canada
is contributing $5 million toward the project.
Only through a co-operative effort between provincial agencies and the
federal government is it possible to build the critical mass necessary
to develop the infrastructure needs of rural Saskatchewan. By doing so,
CommunityNet fulfills the goal of bridging the digital divide and providing
high-speed Internet access to rural communities. That goal was one of a
number of IT initiatives identified in the province's economic strategy
consultation document, Partnership for Prosperity.
At the time Saskatchewan becomes one of the few jurisdictions in North
America to develop such a comprehensive high-speed network. |
The goals as stated in
Partnership for
Prosperity, consultation
document, Septemer
2002.
|
Table of Contents
CommunityNet Stakeholders
The current stakeholders are:
-
The School Divisions of the province
-
The Ministry of Education
-
The Health Districts in the province
-
The Ministry of Health
-
The Post-Secondary Institutions in the province
-
The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Skills Training
-
Executive Government
-
The Information Technology Office (ITO)
-
Saskatchewan Property Management Corporation (SPMC)
-
SaskTel
-
SCN
Rural Communities
CommunityNet offers future promise for network and value added services
for First Nations Schools, SUMA, SARM and possibly Provincial libraries. |
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Table of Contents
Service providers
Information Technology Office (ITO) is a branch of government under the
Ministry of Economic and Co-operative Development. Their role is
to bring together information about the needs of the various government
departments as it pertains to information technology.
Saskatchewan Property Management Corporations (SPMC) mandate is to provide
accommodation and commercial services to all government departments, boards,
agencies, commissions and treasury board crowns.
SaskTel is the Saskatchewan crown corporation who have been contracted
to design and deploy the land-based service and infrastructure required
to provide the CommunityNet service.
Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) is a crown corporation whose
role it is to provide educational networking services to Saskatchewan education
institutions. Their infrastructure is satellite based and has traditionally
provided video services to these institutions for ‘Distance Education’.
Their role in the CommunityNet will be to provide a Satellite based Internet
service to those locations in Saskatchewan that land based solutions are
economically impractical.
It should be noted that the design of the network was a joint effort
between ITO, SPMC and SaskTel. |
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Table of Contents
Administration
and service development approach
The ITO, SPMC and SaskTel are responsible for evaluating the technical
requirements of the network and negotiating the cost of providing the service
through a consultative process with the current service providers, SaskTel
and SCN, and the end users.
The Ministry of Education has created the On Line Operational Consortium,
a representative team drawn from the stakeholder group, to research and
bring on-line new network services. These may include services such
as e-mail, video conferencing, voice over internet and hosted applications.
The consortium will have committees looking at four points of focus:
-
Web Based Resource Development
-
On Line Teaching
-
E-Business
-
Communications
These new web centric offerings will increase bandwidth demand on the network.
This team and the network administration will have to work closely to ensure
a cost effective, equitable service for the stakeholders. |
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Table of Contents
End users
The end users of this service are the students, teachers, school administrators
and government administrators who require access to information and the
ability to share information. Conceptually it should allow for anywhere,
anytime access to information. |
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Table of Contents
High Level Technical design
The CommunityNet is designed to be an Intranet. This means that the
service is provided using Internet TCPIP protocol technology but it is
separate from the internet. It is private to the defined stakeholders
and has significant security features applied to it.
The design of the network is a hybrid service using several technologies
dependant on location. CommunityNet uses fiber-based connections,
copper-based DSLAM technology and Satellite access depending upon location. |
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Table of Contents
Indicators to be considered
Before getting into those indicators that will allow us to evaluate the
benefits and shortcomings of CommunityNet for the K-12 education system
we must recognize two things:
-
CommunityNet is just now being rolled out and will take 3years to complete.
The point is that increased bandwidth to rural and remote locations and
lower costs to the school divisions is likely the best we can expect.
-
During the roll out of CommunityNet, some school divisions are going to
run into difficulties with connecting and continuing to use the net in
the same way as they did prior to CommunityNet. The reason being
is that the CommunityNet is not just Internet access any longer. CommunityNet
is a business class intranet service with significant security applied.
What we should expect is an efficient resolution process.
|
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Table of Contents
Performance
The demand from the education sector for higher bandwidth access was the
first order of business for the provincial government. The Saskatchewan
School Trustees Association, in 1998 put forth a motion to lobby the government
for pervasive high-speed Internet access in the schools at prices they
could afford. The issue at the time was the need to access the Internet
for learning resources, communication and new learning and teaching opportunities.
Without the higher bandwidth these resources and opportunities were seen
as something in the distant future and a pipe dream for most of our rural
and remote locations.
Significant indicators would be:
-
Have the schools Internet access bandwidth increased since 1998?
-
Is the school using the Internet more for learning resources than in 1998?
-
Is the school using the Internet more for teaching resources than in 1998?
-
Has the school developed some new or different approaches to learning and
teaching since 1998 as a result of the increased bandwidth?
-
Is the division now able to provide all their institutions with the same
bandwidth?
-
If not, does this cause inequity?
|
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Table of Contents
Functionality
Prior to CommunityNet, school divisions in Saskatchewan have, on their
own and largely without direction from the Ministry of Education, adopted
and developed network applications allowing them to operate more effectively
and form efficiently. All school divisions have connected to the
internet for the purposes of accessing new, current and cost effective
learning resources, e-mail communication and developing new teaching and
learning opportunities, network centric applications and so on.
CommunityNet, given that it is providing higher bandwidth to all schools
in the province, should allow for all of these existing practices to continue
and create even more opportunities for the future.
Significant indicators would be:
-
Is the school division able to use their network applications in the same
way they did prior to connecting to CommunityNet?
-
Is the division using applications that are different from those used prior
to CommunityNet?
-
Is the school division finding the higher bandwidth offers better administration
practices?
-
Is the school division finding the higher bandwidth offers better learning
opportunities?
-
Is the school division finding the higher bandwidth offers better teaching
opportunities and practices?
-
Is the school division researching new administration, resource, teaching
and learning opportunities as a result of the increased bandwidth?
-
If so, is the school division receiving adequate support from the CommunityNet
administrators to make their research fruitful?
-
Is the bandwidth adequate enough to allow for deploying new applications?
|
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Table of Contents
Flexibility
Some school divisions feel obligated to provide bandwidth equity to all
the schools in their division. New technologies, ie: wireless high-speed
communications offer this opportunity. CommunityNet should be flexible
enough to allow for this to happen. |
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Table of Contents
Equality
CommunityNet is a network using several different transport technologies.
These technologies are being deployed depending on the location.
The following table represents how what speeds will be available in different
locations around the province:
Source: CommunityNet Administration
This will inherently present inequities between school divisions, urban
and rural, and in many cases within a school division.
Significant indicators might take this approach:
-
Has your school division got speed inequities as a result of technologies
used in CommunityNet?
-
Do these inequities create problems for you currently?
-
Have you raise this as an issue with your service providers?
-
If you have an issue, have you been able to find a solution?
|
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Table of Contents
New opportunities
The real value of CommunityNet will be recognized only if new ways of doing
things allow for the school division and the education sector in general
become more effective and more efficient. It is the role of the CommunityNet
organizational team to ensure this happens. And, it should happen
with input from all stakeholders.
Some key indicators might be:
-
Has the school division been offered new administration, learning resource
or teaching resources since CommunityNet was deployed?
-
Has the school division been notified of new opportunities to come?
-
Has the school division been asked for their opinion and their needs?
|
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Table of Contents
Cost of service to
the school division
One of the goals for CommunityNet was to provide high-speed internet access
at equal or reduced cost from those days prior to CommunityNet. A
simple cost comparison will be very useful in determining if this will
happen. The CommunityNet administrators suggest that CommunityNet
will be cost effective and provide cost savings of 20% over the one off
approach and higher bandwidth at the same or less cost.
Indicators might include:
-
How many schools in the school division?
-
What Internet access speed did the schools have prior to the deployment
of CommunityNet?
-
What was the cost per school per year for these services?
-
What Internet access speed do each of the schools have since CommunityNet
was deployed?
-
How much in the way of grants was withheld from your division for the purposes
of paying for CommunityNet?
|
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Table of Contents
Cost
of the same level of service bought outside the CommunityNet
This piece of the evaluation tool is best run as a small research project.
It’s recommended that several service providers, including SaskTel, be
requested to provide prices for similar services outside of CommunityNet.
It is recommended that a sample be taken. The sample should cover
off relevant issues such as speed and location.
This piece should also take into consideration what is happening in
other provinces. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Alberta and British
Columbia are known to have provincial education networks of some description.
Interviews should be conducted with SSTA sister associations in those jurisdictions
in order to make comparisons on price and quality of service. This
is not meant to be used as a direct comparison, but rather to provide valuable
information that will support the growth and development of CommunityNet. |
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Table of Contents
Evaluation Process
This framework outlines how an evaluation of CommunityNets performance
might be conducted. In order for this to be a truly valuable tool,
all members of the stakeholder group should align to it or some variation
of it, and the stakeholder group should agree to appropriate benchmarks.
An evaluation should be conducted and a report should be delivered to the
stakeholder group at least once per year, six-month intervals would be
more effective.
This approach will allow for a close working relationship between all
stakeholders. It will allow for the swift resolution of issues and
the effective development of value added services through a common desire
for an effective, efficient education network. |
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Table of Contents
Appendices
Saskatchewan
School Divisions: A Survey About CommunityNet
Saskatchewan boards of education pay $3.73 million, plus PST, annually
for CommunityNet and represent the largest investor group in the project.
School division perceptions are an important component of evaluating CommunityNet.
Please complete the following questionnaire and return your responses to
research@ssta.sk.ca
1. CommunityNet is strengthening educational services and opportunities
in our school system. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
2. CommunityNet is provided good value to the education system
for the price being paid. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
3. CommunityNet has increased Internet Access Bandwidths in your
schools. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
4. CommunityNet makes the Internet a vialble and trusted learning
and teaching tool. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
5. CommunityNet makes the internet a viable and trusted administration
tool. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
6. CommunityNet is, in part, accountable for increased use of
the Internet for learning and teaching. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
7. CommunityNet, with its improved access speeds, is encouraging
different approaches to learning and teaching. |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
8. While CommunityNet does not provide equal access to all schools,
it does not impact the operation of the School Division. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
9. CommunityNet allows our school division to communicate in
the same way as it did prior to CommunityNet. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
10. CommunityNet has created opportunities for our school division
to use the network for applications it could not have used prior to CommunityNet. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
11. Our school division uses CommunityNet for the same purposes
and in the same way as we used our previous network solution. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
12. CommunityNet, with its increased bandwidth, allows our school
division to deploy the network in new ways. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
13. CommunityNet offers different speeds to different locations.
This situation has not created operation challenges for your school division. |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Agree
Strongly |
Agree |
Disagree |
Disagree
Strongly |
|
Comments:
|
14. What Internet access speed did the schools have prior to
the deployment of CommunityNet?
|
15. How many schools in the school division are connected to
CommunityNet?
|
16. What was the cost per school per year for these services?
|
17. What Internet access speed do each of the schools have since CommunityNet
was deployed?
|
18. How much, in the way of grants, has been withheld from your division
for the purposes of paying for CommunityNet?
|
19. What questions or concerns do you have about CommunityNet? |
20. What are two requests you would make of CommunityNet to better
serve your school system?
|
Table of Contents
Facilitator’s
Guide: School Division Focus Group Discussion Evaluation of CommunityNet
Context
Saskatchewan boards of education pay $3.73 million, plus PST, annually
for CommunityNet and represent the largest investor group in the project.
It is important that boards of education understand the value and account
for the money invested. A survey of school divisions has identified
some questions that the SSTA would like to discuss with you. Your
perceptions will helpful in contributing to the evaluation and improvement
of CommunityNet.
How has CommunityNet contributed to changes is use of ICT in your school
system?
What are two requests you would make of CommunityNet to better serve
your school system?
How has CommunityNet impacted the operation of your school division?
How is the school division using CommunityNet that is different from
how it used its previous network solution?
What opportunities has CommunityNet created to develop better administration
practices?
What has CommunityNet done to create better learning opportunities?
How has the higher bandwidth offered by CommunityNet created opportunities
for innovative teaching practices?
How is the school division approaching the research of new administration,
resource, teaching and learning opportunities created by CommunityNets
increased bandwidth promise?
How has the school division been supported by the CommunityNet administration
to make their research fruitful?
Who is it that your school division relies on when it comes to question
about CommunityNet?
How do you feel about the way your inquiries have been handled?
What has your experience been as far as deploying new network applications?
How many different CommunityNet technologies are being used to serve
your school division, fiber, DSLAM, Satellite, etc.?
How do these service differences affect the way you use the network
in your school division?
What have your found to be the most significant changes your school
division have undertaken to get the most out of CommunityNet?
How have you been able to find a solution?
Has the school division been offered new administration, learning resources
or teaching resources since CommunityNet was deployed?
Has the school division been notified of new opportunities to come?
Has the school division been asked for their opinion and their needs?
Table of Contents
Interviewers
Guide: Consultation with Other CommunityNet Stakeholders - An Evaluation
of CommunityNet
Context
Saskatchewan boards of education pay $3.73 million, plus PST, annually
for CommunityNet and represent the largest investor group in the project.
It is important that boards of education understand the value and account
for the money invested. It is also important for the school boards
to understand how other stakeholders in CommunityNet benefit from CommunityNet
so as to adopt best practices.
How has CommunityNet contributed to changes in use of ICT in your
organization?
What are two requests you would make of CommunityNet to better serve
your organization?
Is your organization able to use their network applications in the same
way they did prior to connecting to CommunityNet?
Is your organization using applications that are different from those
used prior to CommunityNet?
Is your organization finding the higher bandwidth offers better administration
practices?
Is your organization researching new administration and resource opportunities?
If so, is your organization receiving adequate support from the CommunityNet
administrators to make their research fruitful?
Is the bandwidth adequate enough to allow for deploying new network
applications?
Has your organization got speed inequities as a result of technologies
used in CommunityNet?
If yes, do these inequities create problems for you currently?
If yes, have your raised this as an issue with your service providers?
If you have an issue, have you been able to find solutions?
How is your organization evaluating the value of CommunityNet?
How do you feel about the technical performance of CommunityNet compared
to your previous networking solution?
How do you feel about the value you are getting for the money you are
spending?
Have you any other comments you’d like to share?
Table of Contents
Technical evaluation: How is CommunityNet
performing technically?
Context
Saskatchewan boards of education pay $3.73 million, plus PST, annually
for CommunityNet and represent the largest investor group in the project.
It is important that boards of education understand the value and account
for the money invested. Part of the evaluation is the technical performance
of the network. This evaluation will monitor the technical performance
committed to the education sector by the service providers.
Speed evaluation should be conducted on a per location basis and performed
by the division staff responsible for the network. The evaluation
should be compared against the service installed.
Services installed are:
Source: CommunityNet Administration
Note: speed should be measured to the service provider.
Service should be evaluated based on mean time to respond and mean time
to repair. CommunityNet commitments are:
-
Trouble response time – 1Hr. (report and identify trouble)
-
Repair time objective
-
3 Hours Regina and Saskatoon
-
5 Hours in other locations under the 54th parallel
-
IP Management
-
Change Order
Note: This technical report should be developed using the
Ministries input as well as SPMC’s input.
Table of Contents
Price-Technology Benchmarks:
How does CommunityNet price out using other providers and Compared to other
locations?
Context
Saskatchewan boards of education pay $3.73 million, plus PST, annually
for CommunityNet and represent the largest investor group in the project.
It is important that boards of education understand the value and account
for the money invested.
SSTA will need to perform an annual study of prices for the services
their members are using. This information can then be extrapolated
to estimate what the cost of the service would be if purchased from SaskTel
outside the CommunityNet offering as well as what it would cost if it were
purchased from other service providers in Saskatchewan and in other provinces.
Table of Contents
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