"Why wireless? Because their century demands it." -Karl Fisch

On the Fischbowl Blog I read the post from November titled Why Wireless. This blog was about a high school that is going wireless. This way students, parents, and staff alike will have access to the internet on and around the campus. The school offers many online resources and information and this way they can guarantee that everyone gets a chance to access it. It also sees that students can get information from online resources that aren't included on their website.

The thing is, alot of parents were questioning the usefulness of the school doing this. They're afraid that this just offers one more distraction for the kids who already have short attention spans. It's a very valid fear and since I was in high school a few years ago I know how easy it is to allow technology to keep you from doing what you need to. Heck during this post alone I wasted at least 20 minutes checking my facebook! These parents are harboring fears that technology might be hindering they're children when it comes to school work rather than encouraging them to finish it!

I however don't agree with these fears. Yes it is easy to get distracted by the limitless web, but with the right guidance and restrictions the wireless connection can only make life easier for students. There is so much information out there that no one person (teacher) can hold all of it in their head. Nor can a library have enough books to hold every piece of information a Google search can. The internet can be such a help to students and can be such a relief for parents! Imagine trying to help your sophomore with Trigonometry homework that you haven't a clue how to do. What if the entire lesson plan and notes for the week are one click away, on the internet. Not to mention things like live chatting with tutors and teachers that answer your questions instantly and even use web cams to show you the material if it's necessary!

I saved my best argument for last. When your child graduates high school or college and enter a place of business, what skills are they going to need the most? Will it be how to write book reports, or how to make web pages? Will it be how to work a library catalogue or how to use a search engine online? Will they walk down the hall from their office to the business library to find a fact in a book, or will they use the all-powerful machine on the desk in front of them? We need to be preparing our students for the world they are going to enter, and that's one ran online, and wireless.