Technology is an integral component of educating our students in the 21st Century. The goal of the District 96 Technology Department is to create and support technology-rich learning environments for our students and staff. The department is dedicated to supporting the district vision of student learning through the seamless implementation and integration of technology.  

The District 96 Technology Department plans, implements and maintains the network infrastructure for five schools located in Riverside, Brookfield, and North Riverside. In addition, the department designs professional development and assists teachers with integrating technology tools into the curriculum. 

Network Infrastructure

District 96 has a robust, high-speed fiber, 1GBps wide-area network (WAN) between its sites and a single high-speed fiber, 2GBps connection out to the Internet provide by the Illinois Century Network. This district also has a 500Mb fiber failover connection in the event of an outage with its primary service provider.

The vast majority of the district's devices connect to the network wirelessly via a Cisco Meraki Wireless Local-Area Network (802.11ac) that was installed in December of 2016. District 96 is scheduled to replace its existing (802.11ac) wireless network with an upgraded WiFi 6 (802.11 ax) network during the summer of 2025.   The district replaced the majority of its network switches in 2018 and 2019, opting for the Cisco Meraki product line for all its switchgear.  

The district will complete the installation of (1) outdoor access point at each school by the end of the 2021 fiscal year.  This will allow for outdoor Wi-Fi connectivity.  This level of service will likely be expanded during the 2021-22 school year.

Classroom Technologies

District 96 has standardized on a set of audio/visual technologies that are available for teacher use in every classroom.  Most every classroom in the district is equipped with an Epson BrightLink Projector w/ wireless connectivity, Epson Document Camera, ceiling-mounted audio system and an Epson Control Box that provides centralized control of all three of the aforementioned components.

In grades Kindergarten through Second, classrooms are equipped with carts of student iPads.  iPads are distributed to classrooms at a 1:1 ratio.  In grades Third and Fourth, each classroom is equipped with carts of student Chromebooks.   Chromebooks are also distributed at a 1:1 ratio.

Content Filtering & Data Security

District 96 maintains its Children's Internet Protect Act (CIPA) compliance by providing premise-based and off-site content filtering. While staff and student devices are on-site, the district's Cisco Meraki Firewall provides content filtering services.  All student-issued Chromebooks and protected off-site via Securly content filtering services.