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MESH WIRELESS AND EDUCATING 55 MILLION SCHOOL KIDS

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Contributed by: Dave Hughes on 3/30/2008

Mesh technology provides a nearly perfect solution to a problem with line of sight wireless radios that I identified many years ago.

Read this web posting first if you want a somewhat technical explanation of Mesh Wireless. But you can just read my screed to get the idea what it can do.

What is Mesh Wireless?
by Michael Wolleben - last modified 2007-03-19 12:57 PM
http://www.wimax.com/education/faq/faq46

That problem was - how to connect up wirelessly and by unlicensed broadband ALL the school kids in America. From their homes, not just within the aging and ever more obsolete and costly brick and mortar edifices called 'schools.' And the obsolete learning and teaching methods that flow from it.

Now why would we want to do that?

If you really think about 'education' - at least from K through 12 - as I did for 25 years - after it was clear that the future nature of 'work' and 'education' and 'business' was going increasingly to depend on connected - one way or another - 'personal' computers - we were going to become a 'connected society.' Well, where, how, and when were children going to learn, guided, not only the skills, but the habits, the economics, the values, and the 'culture' of the connected world? Besides the traditional subjects of 'education?'

The traditional idea - which still dominates K-12 education - is that, just as they did since the early 1800's children would go to a local 'school' building, all sitting down at the same time in 'classrooms' where 'teachers' - from one room-rural to gigantic urban complexes, standing in front of 20 to 40 of them teaching the habits of the once-production line, go-to-work 8 to 5, with foremen-in-charge workplaces. 5 days a week. The habits and economics - and education - of the late great Industrial Age. The future of work will not be that.

Both the workplace, and education past high school is becoming ever more 'remote,' 'collaborative' rather than local, programmed and lock-step. And online. Which requires learning very different 'habits' and skills, self-discipline, and values rather than outward conformity, as the vessel through which traditional subjects - starting with Math, English can be taught.

There are, in fact, 84,000 free standing 'school buildings' in the US, with 55 million school children, and about 3 million teachers, all but a few of whom live within a radius of 5 miles or less of 'their' school. And they are organized into 16,000 school districts. Which evolved that way as much because of the 'technology' of face to face, face to book or blackboard and teacher 'communications.' Added to the cost of transportation -either time to walk to school or be bussed or carried in cars. All to use buildings just for maybe 6 hours a day, only Mondays through Fridays, and not at all weekends, holidays' or summertime months. And which organization for K-12 education is so costly that in most states it is half the total state budget and a very large portion of local taxes.

Now what if students were provided, the means to connect - first to their school, their teachers, other students, study materials, libraries, and then the world at large through the School Internet servers and connection the school has. Daytime, nights, weekends, whenever. With whatever 'filters' appropriate to the age of the students. Free, but supervised internet for all of them.

Unlicensed wireless comes in now. What if schools provided - like school books - every student and teacher a personal computer AND a low cost Mesh-technology Wi-fi band radio? Only going 'TO' school 3 or 4 days a week, not 6. With a free connection to the school and the Internet beyond. Which mesh radios at home, even sitting in windows, connects to the 'school building's omni antenna array?

The school system 'mesh wireless' would not have to have line of sight from the roof of 'the school' to every building, home, which the traditional Wi-Fi radios would require. Every student would not have to depend on their parents to buy them both a personal computer and a net connection.

Just as public law requires all students, affluent or not to 'attend school' one way or another, the goal of universal K-12 education would be maintained. Even in the ruralest of school districts. All of whom have their local school buildings. And public libraries, which can be connected too. Locally and mesh.

Where would the money come from, administrators and school board members ask me? Hey, I say, I don't think students especially at middle or high school levels should be required to come to school, occupy seats only from 8 to 2, only Monday through Fridays. And then only learn the habits of the Industrial Age.

How about building new schools for 1,000 high school students in a district, with only 800, or 600 seats and rooms? Three or four fifths the many millions cost of school buildings today. The difference in cost would buy all the technology needed for all students. And the learners would do their school work 3 or 5 days a week 'at school' but their home work, collaborate with other students and learn the way their world will work from young ages the rest of the time.

And be a lot better prepared to pursue their college education with 'distance learning' techniques wherever they are, than only confront that possibility after 12 years of face to face education.

Radical? You bet.

But unlicensed, mesh, broadband wireless could make it possible.

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

Submitted By: Dave Hughes

posted on 4/2/2008 @ 10:29:23 AM

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Taping went well. Over an hour. First time I had been in KRCC's studios on N Weber (hard to find unless you have the exact address.) I will learn about which Saturday it will air, and let you know here.

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Submitted By: Dave Hughes

posted on 3/31/2008 @ 8:26:14 AM

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By the way, speaking of advancd wireless, I am supposed to go to Colorado College's KRCC (91.5) FM public radio station tomorrow morning and tape a program for Studio360 telling of the invention of digital wireless by the love of my life (when I was 13 and she was 24) Hedy Lamarr, who invented, by patent in 1941 what you know as 'Wi-Fi' wireless. You can see the whole story here on the hub by looking for story "Guess Who Invented Wi-Fi" So maybe a couple hundred thousand more people will learn about her and the earliest digital wireless.

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

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Dave Hughes

Colorado Springs , CO

Dave Hughes has posted 77 stories and 87 comments since joining on 3/1/2007. Dave Hughes 's average story rating is 4.9.

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