5.1 Overview of the Study

The research has sought to make recommendations as to how Intranet-based technology might best be adopted by a school. In doing so, the study has detailed practises currently undertaken by two schools (Giralang and Felsted case studies), designed a product to assist teachers in the implementation of Intranet technology and reviewed relevant literature to determine how a school-based Intranet can be used to address six key information technology outcomes.

Resulting directly from this research has been the formation of a Special Interest Group (SIG), supported by the Educational Computing Association of Western Australia (inc.) (ECAWA). The SIG Internet-based mailing list has been used to coordinate several meetings, hosted by a number of local schools. This research has also contributed to the contents of an up-coming, Intranet-based handbook written by Ferdi Serim, director of the Princeton Online Innovation Institute, titled The Fourth Brain: Using Intranets to Enhance the Intelligence of Your Learning Community.

5.2 Major Findings of the Study

The study has identified school-based Intranet technology as a model which can be used by schools to enhance communication, delivery of curriculum and general administration.

Any school with an existing network, whether Econet, Ethernet or other, possesses the framework on which an Intranet may be constructed. Elaborate features such as databases, search engines and chat areas are worthwhile, however, non-essential elements. A simple Intranet requires less maintenance and may be a preferred option for schools where staff information technology literacy is minimal.

As proven by the Giralang and Felsted case studies (chapter 3), an Intranet can become a major benefactor for school-wide communication. The asynchronous nature of Email, Bulletin Boards and Noticeboards frees staff and students from the confines of synchronous communication by allowing them to send and respond to messages in their own space and time.

Intranets offer an alternate paradigm for student learning. As suggested in the literature review (chapter 4), the model can be applied to facilitate the teaching and learning of key information technology outcomes. The research identified a number of strategies by which teachers may use Intranet technology to support student learning in the areas of publishing, researching, independent learning, problem solving and communication. The recommended strategies are not paramount and it is likely that once an Intranet is established in a school, strategies, unique to that environment, will evolve.

The study also highlighted administrative applications for school-based Intranets. Multiple-user databases are already being used by some school Intranets to collect valuable information which allows the teaching and administrative staff to detect school-wide, classroom and individual trends. A well structured Intranet acts as a virtual library for staff to organise, store and share lesson notes, plans and worksheets.

As proven by the Giralang case study, Intranets can save valuable school funds by reducing costly overheads including the photocopying and the need to constantly upgrade computers. By sharing information on the Intranet, schools can expect to save time usually expended performing administrative duties.

5.3 Planning a School-Based Intranet: Recommendations

The Internet can be quite overwhelming for many teachers who are trying to juggle changes in their curriculum with other increasing demands on their workload. For this reason some staff may be unwilling to incorporate the Internet into their everyday teaching practises. A strong support base is required to encourage these reluctant few and help them to realise the enormous potential that such skills offer to their teaching. A learning community based on a school wide Intranet has the ability to create a sense of purpose. This scaled down version of the Internet can be personalised to suit the school environment. Once the Intranet becomes the focal point of the school’s information and communications, hesitant teachers will be more likely to participate.
Greg Butler from Intouch Concultancy suggests staff who wish to extend their learning community should consider the potential offered by a school-based Intranet. Butler reminds teachers that Intranets do not necessarily require large budgets as they build onto the existing infrastructure. Intranets offer support, providing new opportunities for all members of the learning community and assist in the promotion of school-wide communication and collaboration (Butler, 1998).

A successful planning model is multi-dimensional and should be devised by both key information technology and general teaching staff. There are several elements that need to be considered before successful implementation can occur.

5.3.1 Planning With a Vision

An Intranet should be planned with a common goal in mind. In large schools, this would require a degree of collaboration between departments. The school vision should focus on the immediate and distant future, concerning itself with how the Intranet will be used to enhance communication, administration and the delivery of learning.

5.3.2 Technical Planning

The technical planning should be carried out by skilled information technology (IT) personnel. They must give consideration to the hardware and software currently at their disposal and plan for Intranet expansion within the allocated budget. Greg Butler has devised four rules to assist the technical planners:

• Get the cabling right
  
• Choose the server wisely - reliability and expandability
  
• Consider cost of ownership
  
• Consider future management of the technology
  

(Butler, 1998)

The technical plan needn’t conceive an elaborate Intranet. A carefully planned, yet simplistic Intranet can be expanded as the need arises. Simplifying the technology may offer a remedy for staff who are reluctant to use complicated technology

5.3.3 Planning for Security

A school Intranet plan should consider the varying levels of user access. Certain teaching staff will require admission to password protected areas, while IT personnel may need unrestricted access which allows them to maintain the system. Individual and groups of students may also be given access to their own password protected area of the Intranet.


To ensure users are aware of their access privileges, a set of rules should be firmly established and published on the Intranet. Some schools may wish to consider developing an acceptable-use policy for Intranet users.

5.3.4 Planning for Internet Access

The decision as to who will have Internet access and how often will they have it, is unique to each school. Planning staff must take two factors into account. Firstly, an assessment needs to be made of the school Internet connection speed in relation to the predicted amount of LAN traffic. Planners should remember the amount of network traffic accessing the network can be compromised by WebWhacking (downloading) Internet sites. (To avoid breach of copyright, schools who decide to download external sites should consider the development of an acceptable-use policy for WebWhacking). Secondly, the planning team must decide whether individual student Email accounts will have Internet access, or if they will remain localised. Once again, the final decision will be unique to individual schools and will hinge on the average student age, geographic location or legal requirements.

5.3.5 Planning for Professional Development

As outlined in the Giralang case study, staff development plays a key role in the successful implementation of a school-based Intranet. Staff must possess sufficient knowledge and skills in order to feel comfortable with, and willing to embrace the technology.

Staff support can be offered in a variety of ways. One of the most economical and reliable method is the formation of a peer support base. A peer support base can be established by identifying those staff who already possess adequate IT skills. Butler (1998) recommends a skills audit to determine areas of strength and weakness. The feedback from the audit can be used to form a support base, whereby skilled staff can assist their peers. Ashhurst, Long and Smith (1997) suggest effective schoolwide use of the Intranet requires that staff be familiarised with using a Web browser (such as Netscape or Explorer), constructing Home Pages using a HTML editor and sending/receiving Email (http://crilt.canberra.edu.au/Intranet/settingUp.html). To establish, maintain and extend the school-based Intranet, it is necessary to ensure adequate staff training is likewise extended to include IT coordinators. It is usually the case that such professional development is unlikely to come from a peer support base, in which case off campus assistance should be sought.

Additional support should be built into the system to compliment the staff support base. Help pages, user manuals and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) should be tailored to suit the technical needs of the users. The online system support should extend itself to cater for the student Intranet users.

5.3.6 Planning Within a Budget

When designing a school-based Intranet the plan must account for two main areas of budget allocation. Firstly, the plan should prescribe funding for the initial costs of implementation and secondly, predict a figure for any ongoing costs such as technical maintenance, purchase of hardware and software, extension of the physical network and costs of professional development.

Naturally, budget sizes will vary from school to school. Schools with existing networks may afford to forgo costly cabling expenses. Larger schools, with heavy populations will require larger budgets than their smaller counterparts. Some institutions may opt for a system of such complexity that they must budget for the appointment of a full-time or part-time technician to install and maintain their Intranet. Such complex Intranets may require the assistance of a consultant to advise on options for network structure, workstations, peripherals and servers.

5.4 Keys to Success

Although detailed planning is essential, a sound Intranet design should also account for much broader considerations. The infrastructure is a vital component of any network and this is particularly true in the realm of Intranet technology. Network failures tend to dampen enthusiasm and it is therefore important that the Intranet work reliably if it is to be received favourably by members of the learning community.

The planning team should visit, in person if possible, a range of schools who have already opted for an Intranet solution. Such schools provide a range of models, tailor-made to suit the specific needs of the learning community. The team can study the sample Intranets and identify features which may be applicable to their school. The Intranet Special Interest Group (SIG), which manifested from this study, has provided this form of guidance by arranging and coordinating meetings at volunteer schools for interested planning teams.


One of the most pivotal keys to success hinges on the issue of simplicity. To keep the technology simple and to avoid unnecessary expenditure a school may choose to construct a prototype using existing hardware. This process will help to familiarise IT staff with the components of an Intranet and establish a foundation from which the school Intranet can mature. Decisions made in haste can often prove costly both in time and finance and result in a poorly planned network which will inevitably deter users and frustrate system administrators.

5.5 Ideas to Get People Using Your Intranet

Not all staff will be aware of the educational benefits which a school-based Intranet can offer and must be acquainted with its commodities. The planning process should therefore detail strategies for publicising and promoting the Intranet. The following steps are recommendations of how this could be done:

1. Start with a small scale Intranet, containing no more than the school’s home page and a link to the Internet. Obtain permission from Web Masters and WebWhack a few frequently visited Internet sites.
   
   
2. Gradually introduce new features to the Intranet as the hardware becomes available and the staff interest grows.
   
   
3. Demonstrate to staff the features that they are most likely to use eg. the Staff Bulletin Board and/or Email facilities. Explain its use and carefully reveal its potential applications throughout the school.
   
   
4. Provide the most enthusiastic staff members with a computer for their use in the room (remember they don’t have to be top of the range machines to run on the Intranet). Begin using the Bulletin Board with those members.
   
   
5. If the Intranet needs to generate more interest with the staff, try to encourage the more computer literate students to contribute a personal page to the Intranet (run a competition). The excitement of the students may have an indirect effect on the teacher’s willingness to incorporate the Intranet into their classroom.
   
   
6. Open a reflector sight on the Intranet letting people know what is happening behind the scenes. Both case study schools adopted used this feature and found it to be most beneficial.
   
   
   
7. Promote the Intranet among parents. This may persuade the more reluctant teachers to become involved.
   
   
8. Convince administrative staff members about the potential offered by a school-based Intranet. An enthusiastic administrator who supports the idea can influence the outlook of other staff members. Ensure that the administrative area is one of the first to become a part of the Intranet.
   

Having investigated the use of Intranet technology in tertiary education, Downing and Rath (1997) suggest a series of general strategies which compliment the above recommendations. Their research proposes that Intranet planners must:

• have rules firmly established at the time when the usage is announced
  
• pick an intelligent structure for Internet usage
  
• have at least one activity on the Intranet which is forced
  
• know the background of the audience
  

5.6 Final Comments

In this study the emphasis was placed on practical applications for Intranets in educational environments. In doing so, the study developed a guide to assist school-based Intranets, examined a variety of current uses for Intranet technology and recommended a series of planning strategies. This study has shown that Intranets can be a valuable commodity as they have the potential to enhance the education, communication and administration of a learning community.

As we move into the 21st Century, technology is becoming increasingly abundant in our homes, workplaces and schools. Some would contend that many of the suggested activities and strategies made throughout the research have utopian attributes and therefore do not necessarily apply themselves to technologically disadvantaged schools. The intention of the study has been to explore all possible boundaries and investigate the broadest applications of school-based Intranet technology. Developers should not expect their Intranet to evolve overnight. Cautious planning is fundamental if maximum performance is to be achieved. Even as the experimental Intranet first becomes operational, only the most basic features should be integrated. Slowly, but surely, features may be added to the Intranet as needs arise.

“The rise of the Web and Intranets has radically altered the skill set that organisations demand from their employees” (Catchings, 1997, p.76). In order to prepare the students for the challenges of tomorrow, educators must immerse their students in technology so that they find it meaningful and relevant to their surroundings. Intranets provide schools with such a vehicle, forging localised or extended learning communities which allow children to experience global technology within the safety and security of a local area network. In this way, educators can teach children to cope with the rapid technological changes which the world has come to expect from the evolution of computers.