Wi-Fi On Rural School Buses Aims To Close Homework Gap
DEER TRAIL, Colo. (CBS4) - Google is working to get Wi-Fi and computers into school buses in rural areas like Deer Trail.
The tech giant showed off the technology in the National Education Program with Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner at Deer Trail Secondary School.
The hope is students will be able to turn those long bus rides into productivity by doing homework.
Some students said they spent, on average, more than an hour a day on the bus. Others said, when their school competes in sports, sometimes games are more than four hours away.
"That means you are spending a lot of time on a school bus, taking away from homework, taking away from your ability to study and research," said Gardner.
Students took the bus for a test drive.
"When you spend so much time on a bus, it seems to only make sense to give them the opportunity to extend the school day," said Susan Molinari, a Google senior leader.
Gardner said it was important to team with Google, to provide such a small town the access to internet, which many others already have in cities.
"In rural Colorado, the fact that we now have this opportunity for Wi-Fi on a bus, it is pretty remarkable," Gardner said.
Google wants to put its Rolling Study Hall Program into 16 communities across the country.
"It will help for those kids who have trouble in the classroom, they don't get a lot of stuff done in the classroom," said Conner Price, a student.
Google says they hope bus manufacturers would one day consider installing Wi-Fi on all busses, before sale.
"There is no reason why you can't live, work, invent and create in Deer Trail, just like you live, work and create in Denver," Gardner said.
The program aims to give people across the United States resources to grow their skills, careers, and businesses by offering free tools, training, and events.
