Internet overload hurting students, say schools
'There should never be a bandwidth issue in education' according to Yk1's Martin Male
Evan Kiyoshi French
Northern News Services
Monday, March 28, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Internet slowdowns in the classroom are a threat to education, says the technology manager for Yk1 who is calling on the territorial government and Northwestel to do something about bandwidth limitations.
Martin Male has been in charge of technology for Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (Yk1) for the past 10 years. He said he's seen big changes in technology during that time and city students who are increasingly dependent on the Internet to complete their studies could be falling behind students down south who don't face the same limitations.
Bandwidth is a measurement of the ability of a communications network, device or system to send and receive information.
In an attempt to confirm that the territorial government purchases a set amount of bandwidth from Northwestel for school use, Yellowknifer asked Krystal Pidborochynski, spokesperson for ECE, how the transaction works.
Responding by e-mail, Pidborochynski would not answer whether the GNWT foots the bill for school Internet, or explain how the exchange works but stated "should a need for increased bandwidth be determined, the GNWT would have to undertake negotiations with Northwestel."
Whether the solution is to buy more bandwidth from the Internet provider or to lay more fiber optic cables in the ground, increasing the territory's connectivity with networks down south, Male said something has to be done. He said students down south do not face such bandwidth limitations.
"There should never be a bandwidth issue in education. The world is different than when I went to school and it's all based online these days. So the government and Northwestel and whoever else needs to do what they have to do in order to ensure we get enough bandwidth into Yellowknife so that it doesn't interfere with what's going on in education."
Both Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (Yk1) and Yellowknife Catholic Schools are putting Google Chrome Books in the hands of their pupils, which they use to access the Internet in class. With all the extra demand on the territory's limited bandwidth hundreds of students are trying to log on during peak hours of the day, said Male.
"We can have as many as maybe five, six or seven hundred students all accessing the Internet at the same time," he said. "We're all sharing that same pipe that goes in and out of the territories, so consequently, we don't get the speeds that we want to see."
Male said while users buy different speed packages from Internet provider Northwestel, those speeds are seldom realized during school hours.
"Do you get those certain speeds? Probably sometimes you do, in the middle of the night when nobody is using it," he said. "But during the day you're never going to get the speeds that are the maximum, according to the package that you have. Whether you're a cable user at home, or a government Internet user or an education Internet user, whatever the case may be ... we're all sharing that same bandwidth."
Yellowknifer asked a spokesperson for Northwestel a number of questions regarding bandwidth, including what it would take to increase it for the territory as a whole. Adriann Kennedy confirmed the company provides Internet to schools in the Northwest Territories but didn't comment further, stating she cannot provide details regarding customer accounts.
Asked what it would take for the territorial government to increase bandwidth for schools, Pidborochynski stated there are a few factors to be considered, including the type of network connection being used, the kind of traffic it will be handling and the cost to run it.
Male said territorial tech staff meet twice a year and frequently find themselves discussing bandwidth limits. He said the limit is restrictive in Yellowknife but Internet is still much more accessible in the capital than it is in some of the communities.
"In some locations they can't even get a regular connection to the Internet to be using things like Google Apps for education," said Male.
Here in the capital, said Male, there are good days and bad days.
"We tell the teachers all the time you've got to have a Plan B every day," he said.
Simone Gessler, associate assistant-superintendent for Yellowknife Catholic Schools (YCS), said bandwidth limitations are frustrating for both teachers and students.
"Connectivity and the amount of bandwidth we have is definitely a concern," she said. "It does limit what we're able to do with students."
Gessler said YCS staff have discussed the problem with representatives from the GNWT and its technology service centre, which is managed through the Department of Public Works.
"We're trying to work together to find solutions," she said, adding the biggest barrier to increasing bandwidth is a lack of funds.
"It's very expensive to increase the amount of bandwidth we use," she said. "We know there's fiscal restraints in the way the budget is working and that makes it difficult. Our communication is most important so we have to put that to the top of the bandwidth list. "
Gessler said the GNWT is aware of the problem.
"They are aware of it and they are open to it," she said.
Pidborochynski stated that the department works with all education authorities to address concerns related to connectivity.
"Should any of them have a particular concern we would welcome them to contact the department directly," she wrote.
