UFB 'game changer' for Kiwi school

Hamilton's Southwell School is making the most of ultra-fast broadband (UFB), and is sharing its success at the 'Beyond Broadband' event taking place April 8-10.

Local fibre company, Ultrafast Fibre Limited, is holding a three-day expo at Claudelands Events Centre, in conjunction with the Waikato Show, to celebrate the completion of the UFB network in Hamilton.

Southwell School's presentation will be one of a series of free workshops offering practical advice to the community, run in collaboration with the Cloud Speaker Series.

The Hamilton school has connected to UFB and introduced Chromebooks, making these internet enabled devices available to students.

As part of the school's laptop programme, the second generation Lenovo 11e was chosen for 2015 and 2016 to provide year 7 and 8 students with internet access and cloud services.

"This initiative has been an exciting innovation for learning at Southwell. We believe that this opportunity will provide our students with the tools and knowledge they will need to develop the dispositions and skills necessary for lifelong learning," says Royce Helm, Southwell School headmaster.

Helm says the school 'hasn't looked back' since implementing UFB and the Chromebooks.

"We've found that UFB is the game changer because once you have it, everything then becomes possible; it's transforming the way kids learn in the classroom. By sharing our experiences using mobile devices on a UFB connection, we hope to help other schools and even businesses see what fast and reliable internet can do for them," he says.

William Hamilton, Ultrafast Fibre CEO, says the 'Beyond Broadband' Expo is designed to show Hamilton schools, businesses and residents how they can use UFB to 'go faster' when they communicate, work and play online.

"UFB is available and in action now in Hamilton. We want to encourage everyone across the city to see the benefits and opportunities of being connected. The Expo is an ideal way to learn more," he says.