Attending a high school that has a 1-to-1 computing program when you don鈥檛 have Internet access at home is a challenge.
South Carolina high school senior Sherel Bello said without home access, she couldn鈥檛 use her school-issued Chromebook to check the online homework site, print out documents, read online textbooks, watch videos, or do research without going to the local library or getting to school early. She鈥檇 try to squeeze in schoolwork during her shifts scooping ice cream at Baskin Robbins, which offered free Wi-Fi to employees.
Sometimes, her mother was unable to take Ms. Bello and her twin brother, Brian, to the library to get Internet access, and the homework just didn鈥檛 get done.
But a year ago, Ms. Bello鈥檚 family received a Kajeet hotspot unit that brought free access to their Columbia, S.C., home, through a Richland School District Two program intended to cover the gaps in student Internet access. Ms. Bello and her brother, along with their two younger sisters (one in 7th grade and one in 9th grade), all use the Kajeet daily.
鈥淚t鈥檚 helped a lot,鈥� Ms. Bello said. 鈥淓verything is online鈥� she said, referring to her schoolwork.
The free Kajeet program began during the last school year through the 27,000-student district鈥檚 technology department, which set out to identify 鈥淚nternet dead zones鈥� where a high number of district families were without connections. Using a survey and a Google maps tool to outline the zones, the district targeted 25 Hispanic families that could use the hotspots, said Ronald Huff, the district鈥檚 Hispanic-family liaison.
Homework Challenges
Nationally, the Federal Communications Commission notes that 7 out of 10 teachers assign homework that requires high-speed Internet access, yet in some communities, only 1 in 3 students can access the Web at home. It鈥檚 an issue that many schools, particularly those delving into 1-to-1 computing initiatives are grappling with, said Marie Bjerede, the project director for the Washington-based Consortium for School Networking鈥檚 Smart Education Networks by Design initiative, which supports districts鈥� attempts to expand broadband.
鈥淥nce schools get over the idea that learning only happens in the classroom or they want to send devices home with kids, the equity issue comes up,鈥� Ms. Bjerede said.
At first, Ms. Bello鈥檚 mother, Rebecca Hernandez, was suspicious of the Kajeet program, she said in Spanish through an interpreter. 鈥淚t seemed a little bit strange that it was free,鈥� she said.
But like her daughter, Ms. Hernandez quickly saw the benefits. Her children 鈥渟pent more time on their homework,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 could go to work resting easier because I knew they had Internet at the house and I didn鈥檛 have to rush home to take them to the library.鈥�
But recently, the Kajeet鈥攁 small rectangular device鈥攚ent missing and can鈥檛 be found. Ms. Bello said she and her mother have smartphones the family can use as a hotspot when they can鈥檛 go to the library, but accessing the Internet with those devices is slower and costs extra money. The family will have to pay $150 to replace the Kajeet unit, Mr. Huff said.
With only a few weeks to go until the last day of the school year, they鈥檒l likely try to get by without the Kajeet unit, though Ms. Hernandez said the slow Internet makes it difficult for the children to get their homework done and they鈥檙e going to bed later because of it. When asked if it would be difficult to find the money to purchase a replacement, she responds, 鈥淪i, very hard.鈥�
