The importance of WiFi during a pandemic.
Many schools have installed wireless networks and realize the importance of having them throughout the whole school system. Most recently, the number of schools that used wireless networks had grown exponentially. According to Frazier and Hearington (2017), “some 10% of schools reported using wireless networks in 2001, but in 2005 that number had increased to 45%” (p. 126). As an educator, I realize a disproportionate number of low-income students don’t have internet access at home. Network access has proven to be essential in most recent times of Covid -19. When schools started closing and moving to online learning, it quickly became evident that there is a significant digital divide between school and home WiFi access.
Frazier and Hearington (2017) detail that “The adoption of wireless network capabilities makes it possible to simplify the lives of teachers and students by providing largely ubiquitous network access” (p. 126). Still, many students live in homes where internet access is not a priority or a necessity So, when the pandemic hit, many school districts became challenged to develop creative ways to provide internet access to all students and teachers. Some school districts used their school buses to provide hot spots for many rural and urban areas. Buses were parked in several secure locations during the weekday to allow students to attend online instruction.
While other school districts chose to go another route and decided to distribute hot spots to students
that didn’t have internet access at home. The hot spots allowed the students to stay at home and
attend daily Zoom or Google Meet sessions with their teachers.
Some students learning from home in Nevada had been sitting outside of restaurants, libraries, or even
WiFi-equipped school buses to participate in an online school. Then the state of Nevada found another
way to ensure that all students have access to the internet to continue their education while at home
during the pandemic. Camera ( 2021) details how the state of Nevada accomplished it. The state made
it possible for every K-12 student to obtain a Chromebook and a WiFi hotspot through public and
private collaboration.The Governor of the state of Nevada created a Covid 19 task force. The task
force formed Connecting Kids Initiative in early August 2021. The Connecting Kids Initiative members
included public and private companies, local business owners, non-profit groups, and many other
statewide organizations. The goal was to connect every kid in Nevada with a digital device so that they
could attend and participate in virtual school sessions. This successful rollout is an example of what
can be accomplished when people work together towards a similar goal.
Most recently, Lake and Makori (2020) uncovered that “As of June 2020, nearly 90 percent of adults in households with children in a public and private school where classes were taught in a remote format say they always or usually have access to devices (86 percent) and internet (88 percent)”. Currently, WiFi continues to provide opportunities for many individuals to continue their education while never leaving the comforts of home.
KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas (2020, August 12). Connecting Kids sets out to virtually help students [Video]. YouTube https://youtu.be/438_d2vxKeU
KXAN (2020, April 10). AISD deploying WiFi equipped buses to area without internet access during Covid -19 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/RVFRRUNRI6Y
Lake, R., Makori, A. (2020, June 16).The Digital Divide Among Students During COVID-19:
Who Has Access? Who Doesn’t? CRPE.
https://www.crpe.org/thelens/digital-divide-among-students-during-covid-19-who-has-access-who-doesnt
[Photo]. Gifer. Retrieved April 8, 2021, from
https://giphy.com/gifs/internet-wifi-first-world-problems-p1qUMHkKiRRgk
WSPA 7NEWS (2020, March 30). An upstate school district provides free WiFi Hot spots as remote learning continues [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XEC0UbE9Ug
Johanna,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post. The pandemic, if nothing else, has magnified the importance of internet capabilities for everyone. Like you discussed in your post, our schools have become dependent upon teachers and students having internet access available to them. The statistics about the percentage of people who have access is encouraging, but I'm sure we would find major disparities to access if we started to dig a little deeper. Also with your post topic, it is Wi-Fi that is very important. Outside of schools and the workforce, how many people own a desktop that uses an ethernet able. Tablets, cellphones, and laptops I'm sure are the major devices being used by everyone. For our schools, I would expect to see more schools and districts take advantage of the E-Rate program to help improve wireless networking. Frazier and Hearrington (2017) state that the E-Rate program has allowed many schools to develop the network infrastructure to deliver access to classrooms in multiple ways.
References
Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The Technology Coordinator's Handbook. International
Society for Technology in Education.
Johanna, I loved that you talked about something that is so relevant to all of us today. Wi-fi and how districts have dealt with that issue is obvious a big talking point for all districts, but it is also something that a technology coordinator needs to be familiar with. I think that the pandemic has done two really important things with regards to technology. The first is that it has opened the eyes to everyone about how unprepared we are as a society to completely move to virtual learning, and the second has forced schools to attack this issue head on. In many respects, that may end up being a blessing in the long run.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that my district tried to do was move to 1:1 devices for students. This is not a new idea, as Frazier and Hearrington (2017) explain, “That number has continued to increase in many cases driven by the widespread implementation of 1:1 laptop or 1:1 tablet projects to put devices in the hands of students” (p. 126). Unfortunately, because so many districts were trying to do the same thing, we never got the additional chromebooks that were supposed to arrive back in October.
Lately, I have been more focused on what we do with technology as opposed to just getting technology into the hands of students. I think this is one of the biggest problems that teachers don’t know how to best use the technology after we get it. 1:1 is only meaningful if it is being used to implement meaningful learning opportunities. This is why I thin professional development for teachers is so important. As Karlin et al (2018) explain, “Similarly, effective tech-PD has been linked to beneficial changes in teacher technology integration practices and has been suggested as critical to the successful implementation of technology in K-12 schools” (para. 7).
References
Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The Technology Coordinator's Handbook (Third ed.). Portland, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4).
Karlin, M., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., Ozogul, G., & Liao, Y. (2018). K-12 technology leaders: Reported practices of technology professional development planning, implementation, and evaluation. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 18(4). https://citejournal.org/volume-18/issue-4-18/current-practice/k-12-technology-leaders-reported-practices-of-technology-professional-development-planning-implementation-and-evaluation
Johanna,
ReplyDeleteI have thought so much about the necessary infrastructure upgrades that are needed not only in our schools but in our communities too. The equity gap of home internet access and subscription internet services became glaringly evident after the start of the pandemic. I've been exploring options to study the impact on certain communities through the use of maps. Lisa Berry (2020) created an interesting map using a tool that shows tabular data in spatial form. The map details the disparities in equitable internet access. The link to the interactive map below.
Berry, Lisa. (2020, November 6) Arcgis.com: Where do Black or African Americans not have an internet subscription at home?. Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=4c9c91baad964253a68c68a6153796b7
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=4c9c91baad964253a68c68a6153796b7