A couple of weeks ago students were affected by a network issue that had far reaching effects across the district. At the time as rumors swirled regarding the nature of the issue, students and teachers were affected and gained a new perspective on how technology influences our education. While the initial issue was just a hardware malfunction, and is not likely to happen again Mr. Sheil had some comforting words regarding any future network issues, “We really have not had major issues in the 5 years we’ve had it. Things like that don’t happen often. We are very fortunate we’re not in an environment where we do have issues. People don’t realize how good we have it here. We’re very lucky to not have these issues occur more often.”
While the majority of schools in the United States have access to the internet and WiFi, it is integral that schools and students be equipped in order to compete in a more tech-centered world. With technology becoming a more important part of students education, issues with WiFi present a significant challenge in teaching students. While the issues encountered at Bedford High School are not likely to happen again, it is important to notice how students and teachers are becoming more reliant on screens and technology in the classroom.
For many classes the majority of class work is done via google classroom or related online resources. As students become more technology dependent, the question of how much screen time is too much must be addressed. While the number of students who are worried about too much phone screen time has continued to rise, there is little data documenting the potential effect that a more online focused education has on students. However, one thing that cannot be denied is that as students education becomes increasingly digitized the way students learn has changed drastically.
While Friday of that week was a school-wide “tech-free” advisory, students jokingly theorized that the internet issues were purposefully executed by the district to get students to lean off of their devices. However, the aforesaid timing of the internet blockage was purely coincidental.
