* FREE VERSION *Networking projects (be it wired or wireless) are highly capital-intensive. No organization can afford the luxury of wasting her resources on a networking project for the fun of it. The primary objective of networking is to allow the exchange and sharing of information among users. To achieve this, at the completion of the project, two things must be done: training of end-users and deployment of end-user applications.
• Training should be well-planned, phased and systematic: Users should not be made to wait until the network has started having problems before they are trained, because they would not have confidence in it. From inception, an adequate training programme should be incorporated into the networking project, and potential users should be aware of it. The whole training should not take place in one day or over a very short period of time. It should be phased, starting with the simplest tasks to the more technical tasks. It is wrong to scare users with difficult tasks at the beginning of the training – may be just to justify the complexity of the work you did. Rather, users should be given hands-on practice assignments so as to appreciate the results of the training. Besides, a good training programme should be systematic. Users can be motivated to take part in the training by offering some financial and/or other allowances per day, or per participation, or as may deem fit. This will encourage full participation.
• Provision of adequate user documentation: Human memory can fail. Users usually seem to understand and grasp everything during the training. They forget so easily immediately they leave. When they forget what they were taught, and have no way of remembering, they blame it on the contractor or system complexity. Adequate and relevant users manuals can help a great deal in assisting users remember the aspects of the system that they have forgotten. The documentation should be as close to the system’s modus operandi as possible, and should be written in simple language. The use of so many (avoidable) technical terms can confuse users. It is also important to include as many pictures as are necessary, because, pictures convey messages faster than literature. It is not a good idea to belabour users (especially senior officers) with too much literature.
• Remove phobia from users: The more phobia you remove from users, the more they will embrace the project. The feeling that the equipment can easily breakdown and the network can collapse at the slightest user error, should be completely removed, while still preserving the operational standards. This will make the networking infrastructure as friendly to the users, as possible.
• Troubleshooting: Practical troubleshooting skills and techniques should be provided for technical users/staff. Users should be enabled to solve simple problems by themselves without the intervention of the contractor. Failure to do this will mean that every small problem will require the attention of the contractor. This can tie down the contractor to one project for too long, and can lead to negligence on his part, and subsequent breach of contractual terms.
• Respect for users: Users should be treated with utmost respect, during and after training. A user should not be seen as not knowing anything. This can bring a complex into him/her. Users should rather be encouraged, even when they seem not to catch up as expected. The fact that you are teaching people what they do not know should not be a guarantee to look down on them. This can disenchant them, and jeopardize the success project. Try to come down to their very level and put yourself in their shoes.
• Student awareness: In a university environment, students should be aware of the presence of networking facilities. Especially in the case of wireless, students might turn out to be the largest users. Create awareness through notice boards, handbills, posters, etc, justifying the need for the project.
• Independent training: In campus wireless networks, IT teams should take control of their wireless destiny. Those who will be maintaining the network should enroll in a wireless network design class – either in the university or in a wireless-design certification programme offered by a vendor or professional organization. The training programme should be funded by the university. This will help familiarize them with wireless infrastructure, and remove phobia from them when the project is completed and handed over to them.
• Student Information System: This type of software can be developed either in-house or contracted. It will enable students to know the school’s calendar from their different homes/locations. Students can also pay their school fees and register online. They can also check and print their results and transcripts online from anywhere, and as when desired. They can view lecture schedules and other student information from remote locations. This type of application usually creates the biggest impact in a networking project in a university community, because students do not need to queue for hours to get things done. Such an application can also help in reducing incidences of result malpractices. Unnecessary restiveness is usually created in populous universities where students have to queue and struggle to get academic services.
• Library Information System: Another area that generates the highest interest in a university system is the library. Students and lecturers can struggle a whole day trying to locate a book or journal. Sometimes they just want to know whether the publication exists or not; and usually have to wait (perhaps for a long time) to be attended to by the library attendant. Deploying a university Library Information System can help a great deal. Lecturers and students can search for books, journals, articles, etc from remote locations, without having to physically go to the library. This can save a lot of cost and time. The status of such publications and other details are usually displayed when the item is found. For example:
This information can be difficult to obtain manually. Besides, in populous universities, Student Library Clearance is always tedious, as students must clear in all units of the library. With a Library Information System, students and staff can obtain their clearance from any remote location, and at their disposal, or from any computer that runs the library application in the university network.
• E-Learning: E-learning covers a wide range of applications and processes such as web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, digital collaboration, etc. It includes the delivering of content via Internet, intranet or extranet, audio and video tape, satellite, and CD-ROM. E-mail and discussion forums are also part of an e-learning programme. The advantage is that people can learn at their convenient time and location. More so, courses can be tailored to their specific needs. This kind of application can have the greatest impact on the entire populace, if well-planned, designed and implemented. It has proven to be the most convenient, cheapest (in the long-run), and has a positive feedback. Universities and other institutions can now introduce e-learning from a range of open source Learning Management Systems (the term for software platforms that support e-learning). With this, teachers can share learning and course materials with other teachers from other institutions in the world, hence, forming a league of rich academic content (for example the Commonwealth Of Learning at http://www.col.org).
• Departmental Information System: Applications that can facilitate inter-departmental collaborations are very important. Such applications can help departmental staff to get information from other departments and faculties, especially on inter-departmental courses offered by students from the given department. Most of the problems of missing results are usually traced to outside (borrowed) courses. With such a system, examination grievances can be handled by the students’ department, without physically going to the sister department to complain.
• Provision of Cyber Cafes at strategic locations: In a university environment, when a network is fully in place, it is expected that most of the activities, such as assignments, exercises, etc be accomplished online. It is most advisable to establish cyber cafes at locations that are disposable to students. The reverse can create problems, if students do not find enough places to carry out their assignments. Cyber cafes with printing facilities can help a great deal, and students can appreciate the essence of the university’s networking project. In conclusion, a networking project can only succeed, if the right training is given to the right people; and the relevant end-user applications are deployed to satisfy user requirements.
* FREE VERSION *