Computers were originally designed to accept input

Computers were originally designed to accept input (especially
mathematical information), manipulate it according to rules
programmed into the device, then create output (typically on paper,
video monitors, or magnetic tapes). Once the capacity for computers to
send output to other computers emerged, the first networks were
created. As the number of computer systems increased (and the amount
of digital data increased), there was increased value in connecting them
so that information could be shared between them and users could
operate the machines from remote locations.
Despite being used by academic researchers and the military for
decades, networked computers did not become widely used in the
consumer and education markets until the mid-1990’s when hypertext
transfer protocol (the origin of the http:// that begins web addresses)
was added to the Internet protocols. The World Wide Web (built using
hypertext markup language or html) was developed which opened the
Internet to vast numbers of users, and both the hardware and software
for connecting desktop and laptop computers to the Internet became a
standard part of almost every computer system.
Since the turn of the century, computing and networking have
become almost synonymous. Many devices are of limited usefulness
without a connection to a network, personal data and files are stored on
web servers, and applications are increasingly accessed via web

Efficacious Educational Technology
browsers. For the first generation of school IT managers, much
attention was placed on obtaining computers for students to use, and
only after they had large fleets of devices did they turn attention to
developing robust local area networks for instructional purposes.
Increasingly, local area network (LAN) resources are being replaced
with services provided via web browsers (which are described in
“Chapter 5: Web Services”), and access to those depends on reliable
and robust networks. All of these changes, and the deep dependence on
networks for teachers and students to access educational materials,
make an information technology network an essential part of school
infrastructure.
Logistic Goal
Efficacious IT managers will articulate a logistic goal such as
“The school will create and maintain a robust and reliable network
(including a wireless network) for students, faculty, and staff to access
the LAN and Internet.”
Context for the Logistic Goal
The adjectives “robust” and “reliable” are used to describe IT
networks. Robust describes the capacity of the network to provide a
connection that delivers the network information that each requested in
a timely manner. A robust network will allow many users in a classroom
to connect with little delay, and there will be little latency observed in
the network traffic. (Latency is the term used by IT professionals to
describe slow connections which cause performance of web services to
suffer.) Reliability refers to the amount of time the network is available,
accepting new connections, and sending and receiving authorized data