As of Monday, our Wi-Fi returned back to normal. Friday marked the last day of WIDA testing, which was a state-mandated test that was the reason behind why our WTGuest Wi-Fi was limited throughout the majority of February.

Now that students are able to log into the Wi-Fi just like they had done before, our administrative staff is asking students to avoid doing two acts of unneeded usage on our Wi-Fi to help prevent this problem from happening again.

“We’re asking students not to stream anything for personal use while at school,” assistant principal Mike Lile said. “That includes music, games, and video. In class, if the teacher gives the student permission to watch a Youtube video to go along with what they’re doing for class purposes, then obviously that’s okay. There aren’t going to be so many people doing that we’re going to have a problem.”

Our administrators are also asking students not to use VPNs or any other ways of going around the filtered Wi-Fi as this will cause extra traffic on our Wi-Fi which will slow down technology use around Ben Davis.

The B.Y.O.D policy at Ben Davis is an opportunity that is treasured among staff and students. We are on our way towards embracing technology in the classroom and using it in mores ways to benefit our high school education, but we can also say that we don’t use our devices for solely academic purposes while at school.

“It gets a little more complicated in the cafeteria,” Lile said. “We could actually see a spike in our tech usage during lunch periods. That’s going to be the time period when you’re going to want to do these other kinds of things because you’re not even in class. As a human, I can see why you would be like ‘Well why can’t I watch Grey’s Anatomy while I’m at lunch?’  I see as a human why you would think that you’re not harming anyone while you’re doing that.”

It is possible that unneeded usage could bring us back to a similar problem with our Wi-Fi, so our administrators are reminding us that these issues of streaming and VPNs are already in the Ben Davis High School Student Handbook. Page 41 and 42 outlines what is expected of students as they use their devices around our school, including stating that “students are expected to connect to the filtered Wi-Fi while on campus.”

“Anybody streaming in school is going around our filter somehow anyways because when students sign in, you’re in a filtered environment, and that filter should block you from doing all of the stuff that we’re asking you not to do.” Lile said.

Avoiding streaming and going around the filtered Wi-Fi are two ways that can ensure that we can use our technology to its fullest potential. By working together, teachers and students can monitor their technology usage to avoid problems that may hinder the possibilities of expanding our education outside the world of lectures and textbooks.