The School Bus as a Wi-Fi Hotspot
The issue of consistency and connectivity
Back to school, a regular event that takes place every fall will roll out as anything but regular this year. COVID-19 has changed how we do pretty much everything, including how students return to school this year.
The actual details remain to be confirmed, but the consensus so far is that we will likely see some or all of the following social distancing counter measures:
- Staggering the start and close of the school day
- Staggering meal times
- Moving classes to temporary spaces or even the outdoors
- Holding classes in shifts
- Alternating in-class days with school-from-home days
The above options present a number of challenges, not the least of which is a lack of consistency from an educational standpoint. Research and practice have proven that school leaders, teachers and educational structure must be consistent every day for improved student performance and conduct. [1]
Adding another almost insurmountable obstacle is the nation’s digital divide. Today, at least 20 million (if not more) Americans lack access to high speed broadband. One-third of those living in rural areas do not have a broadband connection. Impoverished households are also more likely to have only a smartphone as a gateway to the internet. The numbers are worse when you look at school-age children. The most recent figures indicate that 35% of school-age children do not have access to broadband internet. [2]
Simple solution to a complex need
One simple solution may be one that requires little in the way of additional equipment for school districts who already employ video surveillance systems with wireless downloading abilities on their school buses. That is, parking Wi-Fi-enabled school buses in central locations so students can access high-speed internet from community center parking lots, apartment complexes, strip malls etc… Even for those districts who don’t already have wireless downloading, it’s relatively simple to install wireless equipment on a school bus. The caveat here being that installing wireless equipment intended to also stream and download video surveillance footage also needs additional planning, research and foresight to ensure good transmission coverage and robust network architecture. For more on this visit the blog post: The Ins and Outs of Wireless Downloading.
The Wi-Fi hotspot system consists of a router equipped with an internal cellular modem. The wireless modem enables connection to the internet and the router bridges the connection from the internet to the student’s Wi-Fi-enabled device such as smartphone, laptop or tablet. The router also features a powerful external antenna, ensuring strong broadcast coverage both on the bus and outside the bus to people in the vicinity (within approximately 300ft of the router). An additional cloud content filtering layer would ensure the filtering of appropriate information to keep students from accessing harmful content.
More than remote-learning – a solution for the long run
There are many advantages to enabling Wi-Fi Bus Hotspots. The first is you’ll be ensuring continued and consistent education to students when they need it the most as they navigate a return to school post-COVID-19. But, you’ll also be establishing the infrastructure to provide extended educational services to students commuting to and from school beyond this pandemic. In this case when school is back in session, students can access the internet while on-board their bus to get a jump start on their homework or interact with educational content as it relates to their studies.
The school bus as the Wi-Fi hotspot is already being done in many areas, so the model is effective and proven. For those of you enjoying the benefits of wireless downloading with video surveillance, you are already half-way there. For those of you who don’t have wireless downloading, you could easily be set up in time for the coming school year. Just note that additional legwork would be required for live surveillance video streaming and video surveillance downloads (this could follow at a later date).
Learn more about Wi-Fi Connectivity for your School Bus
[1] https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/classroom-management-consistency-key/
[2] https://thehill.com/opinion/education/490174-how-parking-a-wireless-school-bus-can-help-all-students-get-back-to-school
