Treating the school bus as an extension of the classroom can now be made a reality.
MCLEAN, Virginia (PRWEB) May 23, 2017
Kajeet, the industry leader for safe, mobile student Internet connectivity, announces the results of its latest survey regarding the need for student Wi-Fi access on the school bus. Kajeet, in conjunction with School Transportation News, received survey responses from more than 300 school administrators in 45 states to gain insight into the role of school bus Wi-Fi in their districts.
According to survey results, the top benefit for school bus Wi-Fi was the opportunity for students to complete homework to and from school. The other benefits, ranked in order of importance by survey respondents, included: decrease in bus behavior problems, increase in bus driver retention, and ability to ‘park’ the bus as a possible Internet hotspot. Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents want filtering as part of their school bus Wi-Fi program to ensure students are not going to inappropriate websites. “We call [our buses] classrooms on wheels. If it's not acceptable in the classroom, it's not acceptable on the bus,” said Julie Nemmers, director of transportation, Spencer Community School District (CSD) in Iowa.
In addition to filtering, 81 percent of the respondents said they wanted reporting capabilities to better understand how data on buses is being used. And 80 percent ranked wireless coverage as high in importance as students travel to and from school or school-sponsored activities. Seventy-four percent ranked data availability (knowing students can connect at any time without running out of data) as an important factor. Lastly, 69 percent want high-connection speed and the ability to pool and share data across their fleet.
Currently partnering with hundreds of schools and districts across the country, Kajeet is keeping students connected outside the classroom with Kajeet Education Broadband™. Specifically, its Kajeet SmartBus™ solution extends the classroom for more than 40 school districts with filtered student Wi-Fi. Spencer CSD, who uses the SmartBus solution for long routes and activity buses, said “what we really like about Kajeet is the filtering system; it's very good.”
“On average students spend 20 instructional days per year traveling to and from school on the bus. Educators can turn that travel time into instructional time,” said Daniel Neal, CEO and founder, Kajeet. “Adding filtered Wi-Fi to school buses is an innovative way to help students take advantage of this time to work on educational activities, instead of wasting time.”
School bus Wi-Fi is being considered all across the U.S. According to the survey responses, the Midwest and Southwest take the lead on educational school bus Wi-Fi, with 53 percent who have, or are considering, Internet connectivity on school buses. Forty-four percent of respondents in the West have or are considering school bus Wi-Fi, followed by 40 percent of the Southeast and 38 percent of the Northeast.
“Our team is excited by the results of this joint Wi-Fi survey with Kajeet. It provides a glimpse into the current technology needs of progressive school transportation operators,” said Tony Corpin, publisher, School Transportation News. “Treating the school bus as an extension of the classroom can now be made a reality.”
The Kajeet SmartBus solution brings CIPA-compliant, filtered Internet access to school buses, extending the classroom. The solution includes a Cradlepoint® IBR1100 cellular router and a portal to the Kajeet managed cloud platform, Sentinel®, on multiple national 4G LTE networks. Sentinel provides educators with analytics, reporting, and a convenient dashboard to gain insight into student data usage while connected on the bus.
To view the full infographic, please visit our site here: http://www.kajeet.net/extracurricular/extend-the-classroom-with-wi-fi-on-your-buses.
About Kajeet®
Kajeet, the industry leader for safe, mobile student Internet connectivity, is closing the Homework Gap in school districts across the country. Kajeet provides an affordable mobile broadband solution that connects low-income students to the resources needed to complete homework. The Kajeet SmartSpot® solution, a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, combined with the innovative Sentinel® cloud portal, enables administrators and teachers to provide CIPA-compliant, customizable filtered Internet access that keeps students focused on school work and provides mobile Internet connectivity for education without worry of data abuse. Kajeet products and services, which operates on both the Sprint and Verizon network, are protected by the following issued U.S. patents: 9,237,433; 9,137,389; 9,137,386; 9,125,057; 8,995,952; 8,929,857; 8,918,080; 8,774,755; 8,774,754; 8,755,768; 8,731,517; 8,725,109; 8,712,371; 8,706,079; 8,667,559; 8,644,796; 8,639,216; 8,634,803; 8,634,802; 8,634,801; 8,630,612; 8,611,885; 8,600,348; 8,594,619; 8,588,735; 8,285,249; 8,078,140; 7,945,238; 7,899,438; 7,881,697. Other patents are pending. For more information, please visit us at kajeet.net.