By Sarah Vogler, Courier Mail October 23 2011
The article is about free wireless internet access that will be available in another 20 sites across Brisbane by mid next year. It states that there are already sites in use but the new ones will be rolled out to be completed by June next year.
One of the concerns that I have had with Education Queensland’s take home, 1-to-1 policy is to do with equity. Not all students have connectivity or that they are allowed to use for school work. Many of the students at my school do not have even have a computer at home, so if we gave them a mobile device to take home would they be able to use them effectively? At present we cannot expect students to complete homework on a computer as not all students have one and due to equity we have to provide alternative tasks if necessary or provide time in school to complete on line tasks.
The article said that this program started in November last year, yet reading this article is the first time I have heard of it. I think it is a great thing for people to have access to. I have hopes that those students who do not have Wi-Fi access at home will be able to access connectivity through this program. If Wi-Fi access is available in 34 council libraries then students will be able to access these to complete homework and assignments. There are also parks in the program so students don’t have to go to a library.
At present our school is trialling iPads with several key teachers to see if they would be suitable for class use and also for take home use. One of my concerns has been the cost and availability of Wi-Fi I would feel better about providing iPads to students on a take home basis if all students can access connectivity to use them. I realise that students cannot attend libraries and parks on a daily basis to access connectivity but it is a starting point. There is a link in the article for more advice on the location in Brisbane and I am going to inform my students of this information.
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