By ALEXA ALBICOCCO
It is a common complaint heard among Jericho High School students that the Wi-Fi connectivity does not meet their needs, especially in certain places in the school such as the cafeteria and the gym.
While using personal devices, students find it even harder to access the Wi-Fi . Freshman Tatum W. said, “It’s very slow and needs to be improved. I always have to go off Wi-Fi to get a signal, which is costing my parents money because it goes onto my data plan.” The lack of connection can sometimes interfere with the ability to complete school assignments. Sophomore Nora S. said, “It’s harder to check PowerSchool and submit homework onto Canvas.”
Freshman Katie D. doesn’t find the Wi-Fi to be a problem while working on school devices such as an iPad or Chromebook and said, “It’s faster and more accessible.” On the other hand, freshman Alice K. said, “Sometimes, the connection is bad and we can’t work on them. We have to keep on refreshing or get another device.”
One of the major complaints from students is the belief that Snapchat, as well as many other social media apps, are blocked. Freshman Jamie S. is one of the many students who finds this situation frustrating. She said, “The Wi-Fi itself isn’t so bad, but they block a lot of things which is kind of annoying.” According to Director of Technology Ms. Alesi, the school doesn’t specifically block Snapchat, but there is a web filtering device that blocks inappropriate content.
There are possibilities to improve Wi-Fi connectivity by increasing the number of access points. In fact, the school has taken action to improve the Wi-Fi for students in the cafeteria by having just added a second access point in it.
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As the technology director for Jericho school district, I’d like to clarify some of the issues mentioned in your article. There is a WIFI access point in every single classroom in this school district. There is WIFI in common areas such as cafeterias and auditoriums. We have 1500 iPads, 1200 Chromebooks and 300 laptops all accessing our district WIFI with no issues. We have less than one tech request regarding any WIFI issues. We have over 2000 devices on our BYOD network. There are directions to connect personal devices on the district home page under technology. If a student is having difficulty connecting their personal device to our network they need to see their buildings technology assistant. Many times what students perceive as a WIFI issue is actually their cellular provider. Jericho guest WIFI network is designed not to stream video, but just as convenience service for community users. Students should use the BYOD.
I am interested in correcting any WIFI issues and welcome hearing from students when there are any.
I can always be reached at lalesi@jerichoschools.org