More high school students will soon have access to wifi on school buses thanks to an innovative pilot project offered by the local Catholic school board.
Within the next two weeks, a total of nine buses that service schools in Wellington Catholic District School Board will be outfitted with wifi.
Last year, the Board added wifi connectivity to three school buses for some students of St. James Catholic High School as part of a pilot project.
In September, the Board added three more buses, opening up the connectivity to some students of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School.
The program targets students who live outside of Guelph, many of which have long commutes, said Tracey McLennan, superintendent of Corporate Services for the Board.
“Some of them are commuting 90 minutes each way,” noted McLennan.
The focus of the pilot is to ensure students have access to technology on their rides to and from school to assist with time management while doing homework, as well as offering them additional free time.
A student with a 90-minute commute has less free time than a student living in Guelph, said Luis Gomes, IT manager with the Board.
“They are already an hour and a half behind the 8-ball, compared to the kids in town. Ten minutes after school ends, the kids in town have thier homework done. By five o’clock they are doing other activities,” said Gomes.
Funding for the pilot project was found within the Board’s IT budget. McLennan estimates the total cost of outfitting the first three buses at about $5,000.
Initially, the cost per student was estimated at about $100 per month, but McLennan said the costs have been reduced as more access points are added.
There is no direct cost to students using the service.
The pilot is unique in the province, said McLennan.
The first six buses were outfitted with a third-party turnkey solution, said Gomes.
The Board will outfit the next three buses with the same broadband service that is currently used in he schools and will evaluate which service is most cost-effective and offers the best user experience.
Students are restricted from viewing pornography, downloading files or playing online lottery.
When the last three buses are outfitted with the same broadband technology used in the schools, Gomes said the Board will be able to glean more information about the students’ usage of the internet.
“That way we can track where they are going, the services they are using,” said Gomes.
