School Wi-Fi Can't Keep up with Multiple Devices
Internet and Wi-Fi connection falter after an over the summer power outage.
By Lucia Valdovinos
Internet and Wi-Fi connection falter after an over the summer power outage.
By Lucia Valdovinos
Internet connection has been more of an issue than ever and this school year, students, teachers and faculty frustration has reached its limit. With the Wi-Fi bars at an all time low, many have come to wonder when the issue will be resolved.
These connectivity issues have persistently disrupted class time, and little improvement has been made. Extensive loading times, low bandwidth and overloaded routers has been a day in the life of Pioneer’s teaching staff since the beginning of the school year.
“The weekend before school started, Pioneer’s power went out and when the power came back up the Wi-Fi access points were no longer connecting back to the switches correctly. They weren't set up the right way, so that’s what was causing the connectivity issues,” said technology services coordinator Nicole Ison.
Science teacher Kyle Murdock has fully felt the extent of the problem, having been kicked off AirPlay presentations during his lectures and dealt with slow loading internet at every given moment.
“While the wireless has been great in cleaning up my desk, when I get kicked off the internet I lose my presentation. So, I started hard-wiring in. It’s been extremely frustrating to say the least. We're probably further behind in the pacing of material than we otherwise would be because of the disruptions,” said Murdock.
Because of this, Murdock has gone back to using cable connection to the internet and has considered dropping the use of computers entirely.
“I want to go back to almost fully paper, because of the time it has taken to resolve these issues,” said Murdock.
A less computer-reliant curriculum may be a reasonable solution for some classes, though for many others, computers are the basis of their classroom environment.
“It’s especially tough with Yearbook because we run Adobe InDesign to create the book and it requires a pretty stable internet connection,” said yearbook adviser Theresa Udell.
Meeting deadlines in the yearbook elective can be made completely unmanageable when having tech problems. The class requires complete access to the internet when uploading photos and creating pages. If the internet is unavailable to the class, their entire browser will crash, and their work done on Adobe InDesign will be lost.
“I recorded it one day that my computer disconnected from the Apple TV because of the internet crashing 10 times in one day,” said Udell. “It’s mostly just taking their class time away from being productive.”
The yearbook class builds their pages using a web-based system through the publisher Jostens, one that requires a consistent connection. When working on their pages, if multiple students are using the same website at once or using the same server for their photos, the Wi-Fi becomes unstable, slowing down the staff’s progress. Gabbie Acosta, 11, staff writer and photographer for yearbook has struggled with connectivity issues while trying to meet deadlines.
“We all feel strongly that it's definitely a problem in that when we're working on things for the school specifically, it’s really hard to manage,” said Acosta.
Ison believes that the Wi-Fi has improved in the last couple weeks, however there is an underlying issue.
The technology team has worked with Aruba engineers and has since fixed the connectivity issues relating to the power outage. Though while resolving the issue with the switches and access points, a new problem was found.
“The Wi-Fi access points can comfortably connect between 35-40 connections, with the average of 30 students per classroom. Personal devices are slowing down connectivity to a crawl,” said Ison “As a basic rule, when using devices each student should limit themselves to one connection, whether it be their school provided device, their personal device or their cell phone.”
Principal Brad Craycroft has several interim solutions in place, including the use of offline resources and reducing non-essential online activities.
“Efforts are underway with the district collaborating closely with Aruba engineers, to identify and implement a solution that will restore our schools’ internet to its optimal speed. While it may not be realistic for every student to turn their phone off during class, it would definitely help increase the Wi-Fi signal,” said Craycroft.
The replacement of the access points in all district classrooms will be the next phase to resolve the issue.
“Until the Wi-Fi access points are replaced, the solutions will be found within the classroom and how students choose to manage their devices for the good of other students within the class. Students have the opportunity to create a good learning experience for each other,” said Ison.
These connectivity issues have persistently disrupted class time, and little improvement has been made. Extensive loading times, low bandwidth and overloaded routers has been a day in the life of Pioneer’s teaching staff since the beginning of the school year.
“The weekend before school started, Pioneer’s power went out and when the power came back up the Wi-Fi access points were no longer connecting back to the switches correctly. They weren't set up the right way, so that’s what was causing the connectivity issues,” said technology services coordinator Nicole Ison.
Science teacher Kyle Murdock has fully felt the extent of the problem, having been kicked off AirPlay presentations during his lectures and dealt with slow loading internet at every given moment.
“While the wireless has been great in cleaning up my desk, when I get kicked off the internet I lose my presentation. So, I started hard-wiring in. It’s been extremely frustrating to say the least. We're probably further behind in the pacing of material than we otherwise would be because of the disruptions,” said Murdock.
Because of this, Murdock has gone back to using cable connection to the internet and has considered dropping the use of computers entirely.
“I want to go back to almost fully paper, because of the time it has taken to resolve these issues,” said Murdock.
A less computer-reliant curriculum may be a reasonable solution for some classes, though for many others, computers are the basis of their classroom environment.
“It’s especially tough with Yearbook because we run Adobe InDesign to create the book and it requires a pretty stable internet connection,” said yearbook adviser Theresa Udell.
Meeting deadlines in the yearbook elective can be made completely unmanageable when having tech problems. The class requires complete access to the internet when uploading photos and creating pages. If the internet is unavailable to the class, their entire browser will crash, and their work done on Adobe InDesign will be lost.
“I recorded it one day that my computer disconnected from the Apple TV because of the internet crashing 10 times in one day,” said Udell. “It’s mostly just taking their class time away from being productive.”
The yearbook class builds their pages using a web-based system through the publisher Jostens, one that requires a consistent connection. When working on their pages, if multiple students are using the same website at once or using the same server for their photos, the Wi-Fi becomes unstable, slowing down the staff’s progress. Gabbie Acosta, 11, staff writer and photographer for yearbook has struggled with connectivity issues while trying to meet deadlines.
“We all feel strongly that it's definitely a problem in that when we're working on things for the school specifically, it’s really hard to manage,” said Acosta.
Ison believes that the Wi-Fi has improved in the last couple weeks, however there is an underlying issue.
The technology team has worked with Aruba engineers and has since fixed the connectivity issues relating to the power outage. Though while resolving the issue with the switches and access points, a new problem was found.
“The Wi-Fi access points can comfortably connect between 35-40 connections, with the average of 30 students per classroom. Personal devices are slowing down connectivity to a crawl,” said Ison “As a basic rule, when using devices each student should limit themselves to one connection, whether it be their school provided device, their personal device or their cell phone.”
Principal Brad Craycroft has several interim solutions in place, including the use of offline resources and reducing non-essential online activities.
“Efforts are underway with the district collaborating closely with Aruba engineers, to identify and implement a solution that will restore our schools’ internet to its optimal speed. While it may not be realistic for every student to turn their phone off during class, it would definitely help increase the Wi-Fi signal,” said Craycroft.
The replacement of the access points in all district classrooms will be the next phase to resolve the issue.
“Until the Wi-Fi access points are replaced, the solutions will be found within the classroom and how students choose to manage their devices for the good of other students within the class. Students have the opportunity to create a good learning experience for each other,” said Ison.