Presented by THE Journal and Campus Technology

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:Voice Transformation:

The Evolution of Voice Communications

Sponsored by

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 2

Today, end users throughout K-12 and

higher education are all demanding

better and more convenient com-

munications services. Administrators

want more efficient and effective systems; faculty

and staff want more productivity and collabora-

tion; and students want flexibility and anywhere,

anytime…everything.

Yet, empowering constituents with the

latest communications services is not always

easy. That’s because most districts and

institutions have a complex mix of multi-vendor

communications solutions, including messaging,

web and voice conferencing, email, and voice

calling — across a large variety of wired and

wireless devices and networks.

“Multi-vendor solutions lack cohesion,”

says Marianne Gedeon, director of unified

communications (UC) services at AT&T, “and it

takes a lot of effort to make them work together.

If you add an aging PBX or key system in the mix,

it can be really hard to employ next generation

communications tools.”

Bringing all these components together in a

cohesive experience, then, is the ultimate goal

in voice transformation — the migration from

disparate legacy services to an integrated, IP-

based infrastructure.

For many schools, voice transformation

begins by converting a traditional telephony

architecture — a legacy PBX (Private Branch

Exchange) or key system utilizing TDM (time-

division multiplex) voice trunking — to voice

over internet protocol (VoIP), a design that

makes it possible to run both voice and data

traffic on a single, converged network.

Today, there are two primary models or

“flavors” of VoIP, each with distinct advantages

over legacy TDM systems:

Hosted VoIP: a network-based voice

solution that offers traditional voice services

while providing access to advanced

applications. In a hosted VoIP environment,

the district or university does not need to own

a PBX or key system. Functions performed by

those systems are provided as a service in the

carrier network or “cloud”, and are delivered

over customer data networks — and in some

cases, over the public Internet.

This hosted model also often delegates

ongoing management of the infrastructure,

including system maintenance, software licenses

and upgrades, and routine moves/adds/changes

— making it possible for an institution to reduce

up-front capital expenses and pay a per-user,

per month fee for voice services. This model

also minimizes the risk of sunk costs tied-up

in unused, excess capacity. Institutions pay

only for the services they need, and enjoy the

flexibility to change the number of end-users

based on actual demand.

CPE-based/SIP Trunking: a traditional

customer-premises equipment (CPE) solution in

which the school district or university owns and

manages a PBX or key system, while a carrier,

such as AT&T, provides some level of IP-based

trunking or connectivity to the Public Switched

Telephone Network (PSTN).

SIP trunking is a VoIP service that uses

customer data networks to deliver voice

trunking to on-premises PBX and key systems,

thereby converging voice and data traffic onto

one network.

“For many institutions,” says Ben Kruse, lead

manager of education marketing at AT&T, “SIP

trunking is a logical starting point for voice and

data convergence. For example, legacy phone

systems at remote campus locations can be

connected to each other and to the PSTN via a

customer’s data network, eliminating the cost of

dedicated voice services — and in some cases,

offsetting long distance expenses as well.”

When it comes to VoIP, there is no “one-size-

fits-all” solution. An important first step when

considering a move to IP-based voice and

collaboration services is to gather input from

all user groups within the organization. “Bring

together a large number of people across your

constituency groups to help define what you

are looking to improve,” says Bob Zapotocky,

technical sales director for emerging technology

at AT&T. “Their input will help guide a technology

roadmap when making the transition.”

It’s also important to find a communications

provider that can help build a voice transformation

strategy that best fits an institution’s specific

needs. This custom e-book, sponsored by

AT&T, takes an up-close look at the benefits and

challenges of multiple VoIP deployment models,

as described in case studies from Campus

Technology, T.H.E. Journal, and AT&T. Concludes

AT&T’s Gedeon, “Work with a provider who can

recommend an integrated solution that addresses

your requirements, and who can help map out a

path to get from where you are today to where you

want to be tomorrow.”

IntroductionIntroduction ........................................2

Graceland University: A Campus-based CPE and SIP Trunking Solution for VoIP ................................3

Communicating and Collaborating More Efficiently Through Unified Communications (UC) .......................4

Migrating to a Carrier-hosted VoIP Solution at Georgia Tech ..................5

VoIP at a Glance ................................6

The Evolution of Voice Communications ................................7

School-Centered Community Utilizes VoIP Solution to Reap Benefits Beyond the Classroom ......................8

Sponsored by:

Presented by:

Empoweringthe World ofHigher Education

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 3

Graceland University, located in Lamoni,

IA, is a private, four-year liberal arts

university serving more than 1,100

full-time students and 550 part-time students

The institution offers 35 undergraduate majors,

three master degrees, and a Doctor of Nursing

Practice degree.

In addition to the main residential campus

in Lamoni (about an hour’s drive from Des

Moines), Graceland maintains an urban

campus in Independence, MO, where the

university’s School of Nursing and School of

Education offer both face-to-face and online

programs.

Recently, the IT department at Graceland

realized it was time to upgrade its aging

legacy phone system. “The voice mail

component of our system began to fail,” says

Jim McKinney, director of technology services

at Graceland. “It had a failing hard disk and

every month we would run maintenance

checks and would come up with failures.”

Though technicians could eventually

get the voice mail system to clean up, they

realized it was time to start looking into a new

overall solution — specifically one utilizing

Voice over Internet Protocol. “[VoIP] was

definitely the hot button at the time,” says

McKinney, “so it was almost a given that was

the direction we were going to go. As a result,

we didn’t do an in-depth analysis of ‘why VoIP

versus traditional PBX.’”

Graceland’s legacy PBX system had been

supporting the school’s telephony operations

for nearly 30 years. “We had a Mitel SX2000

Light system connecting both our campuses

through T1 interfaces,” says McKinney.

“Our cheapest solution would have been an

incremental upgrade of the Mitel switch, but

we didn’t feel like that was the best solution.”

In fact, the VoIP solution initially increased

somewhat the school’s costs in a few areas.

“Our data network backbone was not VoIP-

ready when we started the project. We had

to beef up all of our data connectivity to

accommodate the VoIP solution. From that

perspective, it didn’t save money.”

Yet, in the end, says McKinney, even

though there may not have been a direct

cost savings, there were advantages. “We

were able to consolidate all the services we

had been paying for — T1s carrying voice

between our Lamoni and Independence

locations, as well as a separate data network

— into consolidated MPLS (multiprotocol

label switching) connectivity between the

two campuses. We were able to add an

additional dedicated Internet connection to

the Independence campus, as well.”

According to McKinney, they were able

to establish the new network and additional

redundant Internet connection for roughly

the same amount of money that they had

previously been paying for less service. “So

while we didn’t see a direct cost-savings, we

did see an increase in services available to us.”

Today, Graceland is fully VoIP to the

desktop, rather than just to the PBX itself. In

terms of end-user benefits, McKinney says,

everyone seems happy with the migration

— particularly with the increased services

that resulted by migrating to VoIP desk sets.

A SIP Trunking Solution at Graceland UniversityConsolidating voice and Internet over MPLS-based Private Network Transport (PNT)

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Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 4

Faculty and staff like the fact that they can

move their phones easily. “In the past,” says

McKinney, “if someone wanted to move their

phone from office 1 to office 2, we had a

technician who would move the wires.”

With VoIP, that kind of technical expertise

isn’t necessary. “People are just now

understanding and getting excited about

that,” McKinney says. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, you

mean I can just unplug this from the wall

and take it over to the next office, and plug

it in and it will work for me?’ That’s a really

exciting feature around here right now.”1

For other universities thinking about making

the shift to VoIP, McKinney offers this advice:

“Be patient. Make sure you involve all your

constituents and they have an opportunity

offer feedback about what they need or want.

Don’t make assumptions about their needs

for them.”

In the end, he says it’s important to make

sure the solution has the features that both

faculty and staff want.

1 Before relocating IP phones, end users should

consult their system administrator to ensure

applicable requirements for updating 911

registered location information are addressed.

Unified Communications: Communicating and Collaborating More Efficiently“Unified communications (UC) will

change the way daily activities and

processes are conducted in the

future,” says Marianne Gedeon,

director of unified communications

services at AT&T.

While that may be a bit of

hyperbole, there is no doubt that

UC services have recently captured

the attention of IT professionals

throughout the country — in retail

organizations, manufacturing, state &

local governments, and in education. But exactly what is unified communications?

In general, unified communications refers to the integration of real-time communications

services, such as instant messaging, user presence & availability information, and web or

video conferencing, with non-real-time communication services, such as voicemail or email.

“UC gives you immediate access to multiple communication and collaboration tools that

you’re probably already using today,” says Gedeon, “but using independently.” With UC,

she continues, “you can access these tools through a single interface using the device of

your choice — such as your mobile device, iPad, or notebook.”

Although AT&T provides a variety of unified communications solutions, either on the

customer’s premises or in the AT&T network, Gedeon commented that she is seeing more

and more customers who are adopting UC as a cloud-based service.  At AT&T, the cloud-

based service consists of three integrated components:  AT&T UC Voice, back-end access

to the PSTN, and a UC client application.

“Think of UC Voice as an IP PBX solution,” says Gedeon. “[But] instead of having it on your

premises, it’s available from the AT&T cloud. It offers IP phone, video phone and soft phone

support in integration with legacy TDM and IP PBX systems, so you can often leverage your

existing voice investments and minimize the expense of costly rip-and-replace migration.”

“The UC client,” Gedeon continues, “is a downloadable application for PC, Mac, and

mobile devices that offers features such as presence/availability, IM, conferencing, and

unified messaging tools — while delivering a consistent user experience across all of these

device platforms. Through the UC client interface, users have access through a single, easy-

to-use dashboard to a rich range of UC capabilities.”

By integrating multiple communications tools together behind a single user interface and

allowing accessibility from a variety of devices, school administrators can fuel productivity gains

for faculty, staff, and students — while helping the entire campus communicate and collaborate

more efficiently. According to Gedeon, that’s what unified communications is all about.

shutterstock.com

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 5

The Georgia Institute of Technology,

located in the heart of Atlanta, GA,

is one of the nation’s top research

universities — serving more than 20,000

undergraduate and graduate students who

receive a technology-based education.

Founded in 1885, Georgia Tech is today

organized into six colleges, offering degrees in

architecture, computing, engineering, science,

and business.

The Office of Information Technology

(OIT) at the university provides information

technology and telecommunications support

for all Georgia Tech students, faculty, staff,

and researchers. OIT is committed to

providing campus-enabling technologies

that are easy to use and that deliver a

competitive advantage in nearly all aspects

of university life.

“One of the things I look for in bringing

technologies onto the campus,” says Ron

Hutchins, OIT’s Chief Information Officer, “is

how they fit together, how they integrate. How

we can utilize services from one to augment

another. For example, if we bring a calendar

system onto the campus, it needs to integrate

with our e-mail solution as well as some of our

other web applications.”

Consequently, Hutchins and his team

viewed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

the same way, as the institution started

investigating alternate voice connectivity

options a few years ago. “The fact that it used

IP protocol,” he says, “meant that it could

integrate into our other products and tools.”

According to Susan Campbell, director of

telecommunications for OIT, the move away

from a traditional voice services environment

at that time was also influenced by the fact

that overall landline use is declining, “not

only for Georgia Tech,” she says, “but in the

industry in general. We (Georgia Tech) have

gone from 14,000-15,000 landlines in 2008 to

fewer than 11,000 today.”

At the same time, according to

Campbell, the number of wireless devices

is increasing. “The decline in the number of

landline users combined with the increase

in mobility services,” says Campbell, “led

us early-on to think that reinvesting in the

traditional PBX environment probably wasn’t

a smart way to go.”

In 2009, the institution adopted SIP

(session initiated protocol) trunking, a popular

delivery option for VoIP. Georgia Tech’s PBX

environment, enabled with SIP trunking,

“worked okay,” according to Hutchins. But

then the university’s PBX manufacturer went

bankrupt and was acquired by another who

no longer supported the platform.

That left Georgia Tech at a crossroads:

forklift and invest in a whole new CPE-

based solution, or outsource to a hosted

solution. Ultimately, they decided to migrate

to a hosted VoIP solution with AT&T or, as

Hutchins says, “to put it out in the cloud.”

“It’s not a public [model],” explains

Hutchins, “but a private, hosted solution

through AT&T for our region.” Georgia Tech

is a participant in the regional education and

research network Southern Crossroads (SoX),

a consortium for which Hutchins serves as

President. While evaluating various VoIP

architectures, it was important for Hutchins

and his teams representing both organizations

to identify a solution which would meet the

needs not only for Georgia Tech, but for other

SoX participants as well.

Migrating to a Carrier-hosted VoIP Solution at Georgia TechProviding flexible and robust VoIP to the Georgia Tech end user community

shutterstock.com

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 6

According to Hutchins, that regional

perspective was a key component of their

decision. “We got a regional solution, so we could

get the power of scale in order to drive the cost

down. We have the integration capabilities of IP

and we’re working with a major telecom vendor

who will give us the opportunity to integrate with

our mobile solutions. So we’ve gotten the best of

all worlds.”

Converged networks. While a converged

voice and data network is one of the recognized

advantages of VoIP, not all technology leaders

agree on the ideal level of network integration.

At the moment, Georgia Tech is still operating

separate voice and data networks.

Campbell believes that a fully converged

network could offer a huge cost savings in the

future. Hutchins, on the other hand, is not so

sure it’s worth it. “We’ve done well by having two

infrastructures,” he says. “If we have a problem

with the voice infrastructure, we still have e-mail.

If we have a problem with the data infrastructure,

we still have voice. People appreciate that. We’ll

see what the need is for a separate infrastructure

over time.”

These two different perspectives are not

uncommon. “Each school needs to conduct its

own cost/benefit/risk analysis,” says Ben Kruse,

lead manager of education marketing at AT&T.

“Do the potential savings from a converged

infrastructure outweigh the potential risks, in the

event of a catastrophic failure?”

With a converged network, there is only one

communications cabling system to maintain in

existing buildings, or to install in those under

construction. That can present huge cost

savings. At the same time, says Kruse, schools

need to consider whether or not they have

enough failover components in place to support

continuity of operations should a fully converged

network go down.

Advantages of a hosted solution. According

to Campbell, another advantage of a hosted

solution, in addition to cost savings, is that

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) at a GlanceHOSTED VOIP SIP TRUNKING

What it is. A network-based voice solution

that delivers communications tools

over a carrier data network, such

as the AT&T Global IP Network.

SIP Trunking (or Session Initiated

Protocol Trunking) is a VoIP service that

uses customer data networks or the

Internet to connect IP-enabled PBX and

key systems to the traditional public

switched telephone network (PSTN).

How it works. District or university delegates rou-

tine management of the infrastruc-

ture, including maintenance and

software upgrades, and does not

have to own a campus-based PBX

or key system.

District or university owns and manages

its own on-campus PBX or key system

hardware, software licenses, and main-

tenance agreements. The carrier, such

as AT&T, provides transport.

Benefits One platform for voice and data

(no need to manage separate

networks requiring separate

skills and staff).

Eliminates the need for capital

investments in a PBX or key

system.

Simplifies operations since

AT&T manages the infrastruc-

ture

Provides for easy scalability, in

a per-user subscription based

pricing model.

Offers a full range of advanced

calling features.

Easy to use administrative

interface lets end users handle

many of their own changes.

One platform for voice and data (no

need to manage separate networks

requiring separate skills and staff).

Delivers integrated access for PBX

and key systems.

Improves efficiency by maximizing

the use of customer data network

capacity.

Can support existing on-premises

equipment.

Scales up and down easily in re-

sponse to changing demands.

Overall VoIP Benefits

Potentially decrease total cost of ownership (TCO), whether using your

existing network, creating an on-premises solution, or installing a new

hosted solution.

Increase productivity, access and flexibility — Providing integration

with smartphones and PCs, VoIP services can help streamline and unify

multiple communications platforms.

Simplify management — Free internal staff from voice services manage-

ment, so they can focus on other campus projects.

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 7

hosted services offer a lot more self-service

capabilities. At many institutions, one of the

most difficult challenges in managing any

premise-based application is MACs (moves,

adds, and changes) — setting up new users,

making changes to existing user profiles, and

updating features. “We no longer have to

pay a vendor for moves, add, and changes,”

Campbell says. “With a hosted solution, all

administrative and management tasks are

centralized.”

The move to a hosted solution, however,

doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction

in IT department staff. Instead, as Bob

Zapotocky, technical sales director for

emerging technologies at AT&T, explains,

institutions may instead realize a “headcount

optimization.” The number of bodies

doesn’t necessarily change, he says. Rather,

employees may be reallocated to specific

projects that can further or enhance other

key technology projects on campus, such as

mobile learning and wireless networking.

As far as advice for other institutions that

are considering a shift to VoIP, Campbell says

that every situation is different. “It just depends

on your environment. You need to look at what

you’ve got in place today and where you’re

trying to go with your technology.”

As an example, Campbell points to the fact

that at Georgia Tech about 60 percent of the

institution’s wired phone lines serve things

like elevators, alarms, and emergency call

boxes. “We found a very cheap solution to put

those on VoIP so they could utilize our hosted

solution. There are a lot of different pieces

out there you need to take into account when

migrating to VoIP.”

As Georgia Tech moves toward its hosted

VoIP model, it will briefly maintain the legacy

equipment during the cut-over. “There are

approximately 200 buildings on campus,”

says Campbell, “so we’re doing a phased

implementation. Once completed, we’ll no

longer have the legacy infrastructure.”

Thinking about their migration, Campbell

adds, “The evolution of technology is just a

technical issue. People don’t care. They just

want to be able to get the video, or make

a call, or have a chat. But I think all that

technology is also going to make our lives

easier on the technology side — helping

us to implement so it’s seamless for users,

whether they are students, faculty, or staff.”

The Evolution of Voice CommunicationsFrom the oldest and most basic voice communications, to VoIP, to full-blown unified

communications, here is an abbreviated overview:

Legacy TDM (time division multiplexed) voice trunking into a customer-owned phone system

Customers have trunks (or lines), generally provided by a carrier over a T1 interface,

which run into a premises-based PBX or key system.

Solution requires the customer to “be in the phone business” and manage their own

equipment, as well as the capacity of the trunking coming in.

Legacy hosted voice service (often called Centrex or Plexar)

A TDM-based service, hosted within a carrier network.

Customer doesn’t have to operate a premises-based phone system.

Customer only has to purchase individual desk sets. No additional on-premises

equipment is required.

SIP Trunking

A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution.

Virtual voice trunks are provided by a carrier, and traverse a customer’s data network

into their premises-based phone system.

Customer leverages existing data network connections, allowing voice and data to

run over a converged network.

There are no separate voice trunking/lines to be maintained.

This type of solution still requires the customer to “be in the phone business” and

manage premises-based equipment and the capacity of the trunking coming in.

Hosted VoIP

A hosted service provided within a carrier network.

Customer doesn’t have to operate a premises-based phone system.

Customer only has to purchase individual desk sets, PC/Mac-based soft phones,

or mobile device clients.

Customer leverages existing data network connections, allowing voice and data to

run over a converged network.

There are no separate voice trunking/lines to be maintained.

Unified Communications

UC services may be part of a premises-based or hosted solution.

UC combines VoIP with enhanced collaboration features/functionality, such as email,

instant messaging, and video/web conferencing.

UC can integrate assigned desk sets or PC/Mac-based soft phones with a mobile device

client, for end-user presence/availability and single number reach capability.

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 8

About Hancock Place School District

Located in south St. Louis County, Hancock

Place School District includes three schools

with 135 certified teachers, 11 administrators

and 56 support staff serving students in

preschool through grade 12. The small

community faces sizeable economic

challenges — more than three-quarters of

its students qualify for free or reduced price

lunches. Despite financial hardships, Hancock

Place was one of the first districts to be rated

“AAA” by the Missouri State Department

of Education, a distinction the district has

maintained ever since.

Situation

The district used a hodgepodge of aging

phone systems that were in need of repair but

out of warranty, making it difficult for its three-

person technology staff to manage. Although

federal and state funding for education was

cut dramatically, Hancock Place wanted to

upgrade its phones to keep classrooms safe

for teachers and students. Because parent

involvement is a vital component of education,

the district also wanted to make it easier for

parents to communicate directly with teachers.

Solution

AT&T Voice DNA®, a network-based Voice over

Internet Protocol service, gives Hancock Place

schools affordable, advanced communication

tools. A phone in each classroom enhances

school security and makes it easier for parents

to reach their children’s teachers. Because the

system is hosted by AT&T, it requires virtually

no maintenance from the district’s busy

technology team.

From Books to Booster Shots

Hancock Place Schools began as a one-room

country school house in a small neighborhood

in St. Louis County. While many surrounding

communities have become part of the giant

St. Louis school district, Hancock Place has

maintained its independence. Today the district

consists of an early childhood center, an

elementary school, a middle school and a high

school, all dedicated to students’ academic

achievement. Its classes are relatively small,

enabling teachers to form solid relationships

with students and develop a strong stake in the

educational success of each child. The teacher

turnover rate is very low, and the staff is made

up of mostly veteran educators who have been

with the district for a number of years.

Hancock Place schools have always

played a vital role in their small community,

but education is sometimes a low priority

for people who are struggling to put food on

the table. “Many of our students don’t have

parents who have graduated from high school

themselves or they’ve just graduated from high

school and don’t have any further degree,”

said Michelle Dirksen, the district’s Director of

Technology.

For that reason, Hancock Place offers

continuing education for people who want

to earn a GED or learn other skills, along

with family reading nights that highlight the

importance of education and nurture a desire

to read. These are part of an amazing array of

free programs that benefit families: pre-school

and full-day kindergarten, tutoring, summer

school, before-school reading programs and

after-school homework time.

The school district has even become

the healthcare provider for many families.

Recognizing that getting medical care was

a problem for many students, the district

opened Hancock Health Center, the first

on-campus medical office in the St. Louis

area. “We found that families couldn’t get

their kids to the doctor or they didn’t have

insurance so they wouldn’t go, so now we

do all their physicals and other healthcare

here on the grounds,” Dirksen said. The

clinic is also available to students’ families.

It accepts medical cards and most private

health insurance. For families without health

insurance the visits are free.

“Hancock Place is really a school-centered

community,” she said. “Our parents and other

residents are very supportive of the schools –

we’ve never had a bond issue denied – and so

we try to do everything we can to help them.”

School-Centered Community Utilizes VoIP Solution to Reap Benefits Beyond the Classroom

Hancock Place School District Facts Needs

Improve teachers’ ability to communicate with parents, strengthen classroom safety

Networking Solution

Hosted Voice over IP (VoIP) delivers advanced tools to keep teachers connected

Value

Stronger bonds between parents and teachers; increased school security

Industry Focus

Public Education

Size

Three schools serving 1,800 students

shut

ters

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.com

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 9

Making Connections with Parents

There aren’t many businesses in Hancock

Place, which means the school district has a

limited tax base; most of its funding comes

from the federal and state government. Like

many school districts, Hancock Place has

struggled as government education funding

has been curtailed. Because so many of

its students come from families without

much money, the budget cuts hit the district

especially hard.

The district has so far kept community

programs running by carefully weighing

student, teacher and community needs against

available resources. This balancing act meant

that every purchase had to be considered

carefully. When officials began some necessary

renovations to its school buildings, they saw

an opportunity to enhance student and teacher

security in the classroom and develop stronger

connections with parents by strengthening the

district’s communications network. “We had a

phone system that was so old it wasn’t under

warranty and nobody serviced it,” she noted.

“And we were at our capacity for phone lines.”

As she studied how best to address

the issue, Dirksen called on her years of

experience as a third grade teacher in

Hancock Place schools, which gave her a

deep understanding of teachers’ technology

needs. “Many of my counterparts in other

school districts have business backgrounds,”

she said. “It’s nice that I have an education

background, because I feel empathy for the

teachers and understand what they need to

do their jobs.”

Dirksen knew that the system had to be

cost-effective because of budget limitations

and easy to deploy and maintain for her small

technology staff.

A Clean, Simple Solution

AT&T Voice DNA is a cutting-edge, fully

hosted, network-based Voice over IP service

that supports voice calls on Hancock Place’s

data network. It provides unlimited local and

long-distance calling, controlling costs for

the cash-strapped district and simplifying its

phone bills. The district also avoids the cost of

phone switches and key systems. Phones are

connected through staff computers, eliminating

the complicated wires and switches used by

the district’s old phones. “There’s not a huge

wall of wires and clips,” Dirksen said. “There’s

one jack on every wall and everything just

plugs in. It’s pretty simple and very clean.”

The VoIP service enables the district to

assign a direct phone number to each teacher.

Teachers keep their phones and phone

numbers even if they change classrooms at

the end of a year. “I used to have to manually

change everybody’s phone numbers and move

their lines,” she said. “Now they literally just

take their phone with them and plug it into their

new classroom. It’s so much easier.”

Dirksen has a network administrator and

computer support specialist to help her

manage all technology needs for the district’s

students, faculty and staff. They appreciate

the flexibility and convenience of the network-

based system. “Having AT&T host it means

that we don’t have to worry about any

maintenance issues,” she said. “It’s like having

a huge weight lifted off our shoulders.

“We’re busy all the time, so I try to outsource

as many things as I can. Our phone system is

one nice thing to outsource that we never have

to worry about,” she continued. “The burden

doesn’t rest on me or the two guys that work

for me – somebody else is working on it. That’s

really beneficial for our school district.”

Enhanced Safety and Control

The converged network solution distributes

calls quickly and easily; it also lets

administrators use their computers to check

call logs, listen to voice mail messages and

manage call settings. “We love getting our

voice messages through email,” Dirksen said.

“When I was on vacation last week I was able

to get all my messages easily and determine

which ones I had to respond to before I

returned to work.”

The phones make it easy to transfer calls

and conduct conference calls. The speaker

feature enables the board to include members

who are not able to attend meetings in person.

Teachers are happy to have a phone line in

their classroom to handle emergencies – one

teacher was able to summon medical help

quickly when her colleague went into labor

in the middle of a school day. They also like

that they can give parents a direct phone

number to reach them. “We expect a lot of

communication between our parents and

teachers,” she said. “Having the phone right

in the classroom makes it more convenient for

teachers to connect with parents.”

Calls that come in during class time are sent

right to voice mail. “At the end of the day or

when they have a free period, they don’t have

to go to the teacher’s lounge and wait for a

phone to be available,” Dirksen said. “They can

return calls quickly right from the desk in their

classroom. It protects students’ privacy, and

really encourages teachers to involve parents in

their children’s education.”

Equipping classrooms with phones also

adds to school security. “Teachers feel

safer and more in control,” Dirksen said. “If

something happens, they don’t have to leave

their students and run all the way down the hall

to the office to call for help.”

Communication is Key

Dirksen credits the district’s AT&T account

team with educating her regarding the hosted

VoIP solution that has worked so well for

Hancock Place. “They helped me understand

the technology and what would be most cost

effective for our district,” she said. “They also

took into account our staff and workload to

suggest what they believed would work best.”

The phone system is an integral part of

Hancock Place’s efforts to work with parents

and the community to benefit students.

“Communication is key and technology is at

the forefront of our efforts,” she said. “We use

the phone, our Facebook page and the district

website to keep parents abreast of what’s

going on in the classroom.”

The district’s next big initiative is to introduce

wireless connectivity throughout its schools.

“We’re just moving forward to try to

educate our kids in the best way possible,”

she said. “We know technology is a big

part of that so we’re going to be looking at

netbooks and tablet computers that require

full wireless capability.”

Reduced funding increases a school

district’s challenges, but does not overcome

Hancock Place’s will to support academic

excellence throughout its community. “We

really want to be able to continue to provide

the education that our community has come to

expect,” Dirksen said.

Tech Spotlight: Voice Transformation | Page 10

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