Students in Caldwell County can now link to the Internet while riding school buses thanks to an initiative sponsored by Google. Call the buses “rolling study halls.”
The project launched Friday in Lenoir, where Google has constructed a large data center and now employs some 110 people on site.
The program is a pilot initiative supported by the Education Foundation of Caldwell County.
“Excitement and success are words coming from students and staff since the inception of rolling study hall. Teachers and staff have heard a new language coming from Gamewell Middle students, meaning students have already begun to gain skills and knowledge beyond the classroom” said Pat Triplett, executive director, Education Foundation of Caldwell County.
Teachers will be on the buses to supervise the Internet access.
The foundation also notes that the “Wi-Fi on each bus is calibrated to filter all devices according to federal guidelines for student use and protection.”
A camera also is fitted for remote monitoring by school staff.
Already, 60 students at Gamewell Middle School have participated in tests aboard 10 buses.
Plans are for all students at the school to have access by the start of the next school year, and the district will monitor the program to evaluate possible future expansion.
“It’s easy to take for granted the availability of reliable high speed Internet connectivity in many of our homes, businesses, even restaurants. But for some kids in our community and communities across the the country, the digital highway and all the knowledge and opportunity it holds comes to an abrupt end when the school bell rings,” said Enoch Moeller, site hardware operations manager at Google’s data center in Lenoir. “Google is proud to be part of a safe, well-supervised program that extends these students’ Wi-Fi access to the world.”
