A lot of technology is used on modern buses. There is radio technology which keeps the fleet informed and connected, as well as surveillance technology which keeps the buses and their passengers safe. More highly equipped buses also include GPS units which can track routes and some even alert parents when bus drop offs will be late.
Of course more luxury accessories are available for school buses but the items listed above are fairly common in well-kept fleets. But soon you might be able to add WiFi to the list.
While it is far from a common implementation in buses, some school districts are in the process of equipping buses with WiFi in an effort to increase student productivity and happiness, especially on long routes.
“The school bus becomes a location to learn. Having wireless can be a creative way to have [some of the same tools] they do at school,” said Joel Pedersen, superintendent of the Cardinal Community School District. “So [even] beyond the school house, the learning never stops.”
Pedersen’s district isn’t installing WiFi in all buses, but instead the effort is focused largely on buses serving the most rural students. Bus routes are intended to keep children on buses for an hour at most, but that still adds up quite quickly.
“Between morning and afternoon, you can have up to two hours to learn,” Pedersen said. “Also, for sports teams that spend a lot of time on the road, they can get some of their work done.”
The administration is also not playing blind to the possibility that young students won’t use the technology for strictly learning.
“The devices are set up to be [heavy on] educational apps, so we hope it’s about learning, but even for casual use, if we can minimize disruptions on the bus for the driver [by children engaged in] the casual use of Androids, it might help resolve some of the challenges bus drivers face. To me, that’s one of the toughest jobs there is,” Pedersen said.
Pedersen also clarified that the schol networks would have the same filtering mechanisms as school computers, and schools that have already implemented the WiFi systems have reported a significant drop in driver disturbances.
With so many districts fighting to maintain a workable transportation budget, I wouldn’t bet on the majority of buses operating with WiFi within a short time. But, the gradual adoption shows the usefulness and high interest in the technology which may propel it to becoming common-place in up-to-date buses.
