School District Deploys Over 100 School Buses Equipped With Wi-Fi For Students Without Internet Access (cnn.com) 27
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: As schools across the country shut their doors indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, millions of students are now adjusting to online learning. But for low income families who may not have access to WiFi, this transition is a problem. That's why the Austin Independent School District (ISD) has deployed 110 school buses now equipped with WiFi to neighborhoods and apartment complexes where the district identified the highest need for internet access.
Starting on Monday, the district "strategically positions" the buses, which have WiFi capabilities up to a distance of 300 feet, every weekday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students can connect to the WiFi using their school computers only, not personal devices, though they're not allowed to board the bus. While everyone is advised to stay inside, students may have to move closer to the bus to gain access to the WiFi, but must remain at least six feet apart from anyone else to follow social distancing guidelines. The WiFi equipped buses are funded through a $600,000 grant from Kajeet, an education technology provider. The district has also provided students in grades 3 to 7 who don't have computers with Chromebook laptops as well as WiFi hotspots if needed. Students in grades 8 to 12 have already been provided with devices from an existing school program.
Starting on Monday, the district "strategically positions" the buses, which have WiFi capabilities up to a distance of 300 feet, every weekday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students can connect to the WiFi using their school computers only, not personal devices, though they're not allowed to board the bus. While everyone is advised to stay inside, students may have to move closer to the bus to gain access to the WiFi, but must remain at least six feet apart from anyone else to follow social distancing guidelines. The WiFi equipped buses are funded through a $600,000 grant from Kajeet, an education technology provider. The district has also provided students in grades 3 to 7 who don't have computers with Chromebook laptops as well as WiFi hotspots if needed. Students in grades 8 to 12 have already been provided with devices from an existing school program.
Repeaters (Score:1)
People indoors should be setting up repeaters
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Comcast/TMobile/Verizon (Score:2)
These companies should be opening up their wifi access points.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
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Free WiFi doesn't balance out decades of problems.
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There are reasons for Robin Hood laws. School district funding was set up in the US to deliberately maintain the class separation. By basing school funding off of property taxes schools in rich neighborhoods are much better staffed and equipped than schools with poorer tax bases. Legislators in the 19th Century were quite open that this was the reasoning behind the funding structure. The result is that today schools in Benton Harbor, MI, have leaking roofs, broken plumbing, overcrowded and understaffed
Peak efficiency (Score:3)
Deploy a big gas guzzing bus with its driver as a carrier for a few pounds of WiFi equipment.
we still have the stop light photo ticket system o (Score:2)
Deploy a big gas guzzing bus with its driver as a carrier for a few pounds of WiFi equipment.
we still have the stop light photo ticket system on
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Because giving a driver unemployment checks is so much more efficient.
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I suspect you haven't thought this through and are assuming the buses are driving in circles 24x7. They're not. They were driven to the site, parked, plugged in, and the bus driver went back to the yard to deploy another bus.
Have another cup of coffee, you need to wake up.
Carriers need to unlock phone hotspots (Score:4, Insightful)
Which begs the question - why haven't the phone carriers unlocked the hotspot capability on all phones? It comes with Android by default, but the carriers intentionally disable it. I assume the situation is similar for iOS. Unless you're on an unlimited data plan, there is no defensible reason for charging extra for the hotspot. You pay your carrier for 10 GB of data per month over your phone, you should be able to use up to 10 GB any way you wish. It doesn't cost the carrier anything extra if you choose to use that data on your laptop via your phone's hotspot, rather than on the phone itself. 10 GB is 10 GB. And frankly it's none of the carrier's business how you choose to use that 10 GB of data.
The way the carriers have locked down and charge extra for hotspot functionality is like a supermarket charging you extra for a gallon of milk if you decide to pour it on cereal, rather than drink it straight from a glass. It makes no logical sense.
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It must be a cover up somewhere (Score:2)
Does the Bus Also Have Seat Belts? (Score:3)
My public school district sent out a survey. (Score:2)
1500 families said they didn't have a reliable internet connection for home learning.
We sent 1500 wifi hotspots (mifi) and chromebooks, much of which was paid for by donations from very large local companies.
School buses? What?
Umm.. (Score:2)
The district has also provided students in grades 3 to 7 who don't have computers with Chromebook laptops as well as WiFi hotspots if needed.
Wait... So if the student has a computer, then they are ineligible? It seems like that makes them kind of screwed, because: Students can connect to the WiFi using their school computers only, not personal devices
Furthermore.... if they are being provided with "WiFi hotspots"; then what's the need to deploy large empty busses?
Sounds pretty inefficient... Also,
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The district has also provided students in grades 3 to 7 who don't have computers with Chromebook laptops as well as WiFi hotspots if needed.
Wait... So if the student has a computer, then they are ineligible? It seems like that makes them kind of screwed, because: Students can connect to the WiFi using their school computers only, not personal devices
Yeah, because it's so common for a family to have a computer but no internet connection. Not.
Furthermore.... if they are being provided with "WiFi hotspots"; then what's the need to deploy large empty busses?
Sounds pretty inefficient...
Dear god, must everyone else do the thinking for you? Perhaps there weren't enough WiFi hotspots to hand out. Perhaps they discovered a single bus could provide service to an entire apartment building. And what does the emptiness of the bus have to do with anything? It's going to be empty no matter what.
Also, finding a legitimate place to park the busses might be an issue, since a schoolbus is not going to come close to fitting into a normal parking spot. Its not likely a neighboring corner shop is just going to approve of a bus filling up their driveway or blocking a street, either, and a smaller vehicle would likely be much more suitable for deploying such a thing....
Professional drivers are somehow unable to park buses? Parents desperate to get their kids educated aren't go
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Yes - unless the driver stays with the bus and can move it on demand. If the resident needs to pick up a prescription or go to a doctor's appointment, they will likely mind when they discover that their car is blocked and they can't get their prescription or show up at their doctor's appointment (and may still be charged for it due to cancelling only 1 hour before and may need to wait two months for another appointmen
Cost Efficiency (Score:1)
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Yeah. let's send in some poor guy to install internet in some coronavirus-ravaged apartment complex.
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imagine if that 600,000 was spent on actually connecting these impoverished neighborhoods & homes with 24hr high speed internet
It's Texas, even in Austin you'd probably be called a commie and run out of town on a rail.
The grant is from the hardware provider/ISP, I rather doubt they'd want the school district interfering in their future customer base, too.