Calif. school district puts Wi-Fi on wheels to close digital divide

[kpete]

The bus essentially works as a large mobile hot spot, thanks to Coachella Valley school district superintendent Darryl Adams.

He’s a former rock musician, who believes technology is the key to a quality education. Under his direction, Coachella became the first school district in the country to put iPads in the hands of every student — Pre-K to 12th grade.

But that’s when Adams uncovered a new problem: most of his students, like Anisa, don’t have Internet at home.

“I would be here sometimes on Friday night and drive by school and there would be parents with kids in the car sitting there doing their homework.”

More than 95 percent of the students there live below the poverty line. Many just can’t afford Internet access at home.

High school senior Michelle Penital said she would go to Starbucks when she needed Internet access. “I would do my homework with my friends.”


More plus video:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-coachella-valley-school-district-closes-digital-divide-with-wifi-on-school-buses/

[Ned Flanders]

1. "The next asbestos?"

At risk of sounding like a nutjob conspiracy theorist, I gotta say I am concerned about the levels of EMF exposure to which we're exposing our kids. They can't escape it. And now on the school bus?

My school bus trip was a chance to wake up before school, or wind down afterwards. But in our always-on society, our kids aren't even getting that break now? Always connected, expected to always be working?

And the EMF thing really does freak me out. Ever since the college lecture where our professor pointed out that each of us students, as we sat in that computer lab, were surrounded by 21" CRTs, all within 2' of our heads.

I don't think any long term studies have been done, because there hasn't been any long term. One can certainly try to compress results in such a study and project them over time, but that really isn't as accurate.