Unwiring Public Schools

from the who-needs-wires? dept

Wed, Jun 12th 2002 12:16pm — Mike Masnick

There are 12,000 schools in NYC's public school system. Getting them all wired seems like quite a task, so why not set them up wirelessly? IBM is working on setting up WiFi access throughout the NYC school system. It's still a huge task, but they say they have the experience from having to wire their own offices around the world. Among the "different" challenges they face in schools is figuring out how to hide the access points to avoid vandalism.

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Known Coward, 12 Jun 2002 @ 1:35pm

Vandalism?
Vandalism? Come on. Hacking, certainly. But vandalism? Just stick it behind a metal grate just like they do with clocks, light fixtures, etc. Sounds like a weak excuse to avoid the technology.
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Chris, 12 Jun 2002 @ 2:03pm

Why the rush?
What's the rush to wire the schools? There is no connection betwen academic achievement and internet access at school. It's just an excuse for the failing school systems. NYC already spends well over $10,000 per kid per year, yet Johnny still can't read at his grade level. I think there are much bigger issues in the public system to address.
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- Mike (profile), 12 Jun 2002 @ 2:53pm
  
  Re: Why the rush?
  I do agree that there are much bigger problems facing our public school system, but that doesn't necessarily mean that internet access in school's is not a good thing. I certainly don't think it's a cureall by any stretch of the imagination, but I have nothing against schools trying to get themselves wired.
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