Wi-Fi and Well-Being: Connectivity Beyond the Classroom

Access to computers and the Internet has become a basic need for education in our society. Technology in education can be a game changer for both in-school and out-of-school students. Textbooks can come to life with the help of technology. Students from all over the world can communicate with one another via the Internet. It has the potential to close quality gaps. In 2020, it was discovered that approximately 2.25 million students in the United Kingdom had recently used the internet, compared to 8,000 students who had never used the internet. Wi-Fi connectivity's importance in higher education cannot be overstated.

We Deprive Our Children of Tomorrow If We Continue to Teach Today as We Did Yesterday

A fast, stable, and reliable Wi-Fi connection is required for the simultaneous delivery of multimedia content to students, both in-person and remotely. When students can watch video content outside of class, class time can be used for comprehension checks, discussion, and content reinforcement. Multimedia content helps to vary and improve the learning process, resulting in improved knowledge retention. An educational video can give students more opportunities to interact with the content, and students from all over the world can benefit from the video-based course content. According to studies, students remember 20% of what they see, 40% of what they see and hear, and 75% of what they see, hear and do.

Furthermore, research shows that productivity suffers when Wi-Fi is poor or unavailable across campus and in residence halls. And there is no hiding place now that universities are ranked based on the performance of their Wi-Fi. While university facilities like libraries and study rooms remain important, students rely on digital services for much more. Online library access, automated check-in and scheduling systems, career support, and campus Wi-Fi can all significantly improve students' experiences at higher education institutions. There is more to university life than just academics. Students who attend universities with fast network connections can game, stream, and stay in touch with family.

With nearly a third of university courses still using remote or hybrid teaching in 2023 and lecturers across the UK planning strike action, effective connectivity is critical for accessing online resources and keeping students engaged with the curriculum. Even before Covid, many universities had long-term plans for hybrid learning. However, the pandemic hastened its spread because all students have been forced to work from home. To maintain the same level of education universities must sustain their levels of online teaching while constantly monitoring educational outcomes and student satisfaction.

Technology In Times Of Economic Downturn: A Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Funding for higher education, like all those that rely on government funding during a period of economic uncertainty, is being squeezed. Rising energy and wage costs are putting further strain on Britain's educational budgets. While inflation and the cost-of-living crisis dominate the headlines, and leaders are having to revise their budgets to account for rising costs, few expect the situation to improve overnight. Exacerbated by a 30,000 drop in university applications in the previous academic year, implying lower revenue. In the United Kingdom, higher education enrolment among 18-year-olds peaked at 38.2% in 2021 and fell to 37.5% in 2022.

As many facilities run on slimmed-down IT support that is under pressure to be more efficient, networking technology used in higher education must now last longer and be simple to set up and install. The most effective installations provide facilities teams with visibility into energy usage over time and provide smartphone apps that can monitor and troubleshoot issues in real-time, as well as remotely push out firmware updates to make managing multi-site installations from a central hub easier. Universities should further invest in networking technologies that provide a seamless indoor-outdoor connection, allowing students to use outdoor spaces to further their learning in a flexible environment.

A Focus on Well-Being: Nurturing the World’s Most Important Resource

Well-being is demonstrated in studies to improve test scores and classroom management. It also shows benefits in terms of productivity, classroom communities, and teacher relationships. Gratitude, hope, and emotional regulation have all been shown to improve academic performance in a variety of ways. While well-being improves academic performance, behaviour, social integration, and satisfaction in students, it also improves educators' ability to interact with students, teach concepts, face challenges, and avoid burnout.

Students rely on Wi-Fi not only to study but also to stay in touch with family and friends back home, as well as for entertainment streaming services and gaming and making new friends. Students in halls will have multiple devices, including a phone, laptop, tablet, gaming device, and possibly smart devices such as smart speakers, smart bulbs, smart plugs, and Wi-Fi cameras. Remote network management keeps students connected at all times without requiring engineers to reboot access points. When the Wi-Fi in a student flat goes down, IT teams are notified. Network devices can then be rebooted or reconfigured remotely, saving engineers time visiting different sites to get students back online.

Networking devices must be designed for high-density environments, which means no ‘Wi-Fi hoggers’. Gamers will have plenty of bandwidth for immersive online gaming, streaming lectures will run smoothly, and students will have plenty of bandwidth to FaceTime with family and friends. Wi-Fi ‘dead zones’ are a common problem in large lecture halls (many of which were built before the internet) or students housed in older buildings with dense walls, so having effective Wi-Fi networks supports students' mental well-being and allows them to focus solely on learning rather than troubleshooting technical issues.

Education: The Most Powerful Weapon for Changing the World

The internet has established itself as an essential educational tool. It has made it possible to learn from any location. Google, Bing, and Yahoo assist with researching and discovering new sources of information. YouTube provides students with free classes and courses. Social media and streaming services provide entertainment and connectivity to students. There are numerous benefits to using the internet, and it has proven to be one of the best places to learn. It has changed the lives of students and made many things easier for them. With many students now enrolled in online education, the face of academics is changing.