Wifi Woes

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Krista Kozak and Rob Cangelosi

In today’s society, where the world is run on the internet and the speed with which you can send and receive things, Wi-Fi is a huge game changer that can make or break a person. Every high school student at Middletown High School South has their own student device (Chromebook) that they use for school work. However, what is the point in having these devices when the Wi-Fi at school has a tendency to shut down randomly? This is no different for your average highschool student with their work as what they do on computers can be truly remarkable. This can be hindered though due to a slow internet connection and a poor school Wi-Fi system.

Many students at South have been wondering why the Wi-Fi can be so inconsistent throughout their school day. Middletown South senior Hailey Gray said, “In class when we are given an assignment on our chrome books most of the time everyone has trouble getting on or logging in and we can never start the assignment on time which leaves no time to finish”. This is one of the many effects of the Wi-Fi shutting down. In today’s day and age, technology is very important when it comes to doing tests, homework, and other school work. Although many would refuse to admit it, the usage of paper and pen is dying out at a very rapid pace. Because of this, when a class at South is taking a test and the Wi-Fi goes out, there is clearly a serious problem. 

A second South student also states, “So many times I really need to get something submitted quickly and I cannot due to the Wi-Fi. It sometimes takes minutes to submit something and those few minutes can be big”.

So why exactly are there so many issues with the Wi-Fi? There has to be people in charge of the Wi-Fi at South, so what is being done to solve these issues many teachers and students deal with on a daily basis? Network Engineer of Middletown Township Public Schools Dave Wilson states, “We are not aware of any recent inconsistencies with the Wi-Fi network in High School South. Our network monitoring and reporting software is not showing any downtime.  Chromebook connection trouble may be related to the Chromebook itself and not to the wireless connection.  Student personal devices are not on our Wi-Fi network, therefore Internet connectivity issues on those devices are beyond our control.”