Which kind of network is the best for SmartClass?

gerry avatar final-1 By Gerry Sullivan

Date of Creation: 2019-11-13

Last Update: 2023-02-22

If your school has a one-to-one program with iPads or Chromebooks, then a WLAN is your only choice – and therefore your best choice.
If overall performance is your priority and your school has a dedicated room with desktop workstations available for your language lab, then an ASDN (Application Specific Dedicated Network) solution is your best choice.
Need a balance of economy and performance and your school is using laptop computers? Then a hardwired LAN environment is a great compromise.

The table below summarizes the suitability of the different networks for specific devices and specific activities:

Devices	Activities	ASDN	LAN	WLAN
Desktop PCs		☑️	☑️	☑️
Laptops		❎	☑️	☑️
Tablets		❎	❎	☑️
Smartphones		❎	❎	☑️
Chromebooks		❎	❎	☑️
	Internet access	☑️	☑️	☑️
	Self-study Activities	☑️	☑️	☑️
	Live Screen Broadcast with static image	☑️	☑️	⭕
	Live Screen Broadcast with HD Video	☑️	❎	❎
	Live Audio Broadcast (Teacher to all)	☑️	✔️	⭕
	Live audio pairing	☑️	✔️	⭕
	Live Webcam Broadcast (Teacher to all)	☑️	☑️	❎
	Live Webcam pairing	☑️	☑️	❎

✔️ LAN and WLAN based intercom systems will always include some transmission delay for audio. For most users, a small delay is acceptable –
as long as there is no echo.

⭕ See WLAN Implementation Pitfalls for
additional information.

Which kind of network is the best for SmartClass?

The choice of which network to deploy for a language lab may be influenced by many things, but in the end, it depends on your needs, your priorities and your environment.