Messy Internet at MAST@FIU
By Andres Rondon, ‘23
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When MAST@FIU was located directly on FIU’s campus, students and faculty were able to use the internet provided by FIU. However, the way we connect to the internet has changed because of the switch to the new building, as the FIU internet service is no longer available due to the distance. Students, teachers, and faculty now have to use the internet service provided by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The use of Dadeschool’s wifi has erupted controversy within the school community.
THE INFAMOUS “BLOCKED” SCREEN! On top is a picture of student Diego Flores, who decides that he just wants to listen to Spotify.As, the site is loading, it is abruptly stopped by Dadeschools' restrictions.
Every student brings a personal device to school and actively uses it throughout the school day. Post-COVID, many schools throughout the nation are shifting towards becoming more technology-centered and familiar with online programs. Rather than handing out sheets of homework to students, teachers are now using platforms like Google Classroom to assign, collect, and grade work. They’ve also begun integrating user-friendly streaming platforms, like YouTube, to further aid student learning. However, both teachers and students have expressed how slow the internet can be, impacting even the simplest tasks like taking attendance or assigning classwork. Many feel that the slow wifi is reducing access to programs like these, and therefore hindering the learning experience here at MAST@FIU.
When asked to comment on the impacts caused by the internet speed, ex-physics teacher Mr. Smith stated, “The wifi sucks because whenever everyone is on it, it frantically slows down and loading stuff like videos becomes tedious and slows down the lesson.”
Students themselves have also pointed out these unfavorable conditions. Senior Gabrielle Hug shared her experiences, stating, “Yeah, it can be very slow in some classes, which usually ends up being a problem. This pause of class time can go on for minutes on end, which can aggravate many people as they’re just watching the blue circle load endlessly.” A key reason that the district provided internet can be very slow is that the servers can’t handle the size of a school. Having hundreds of students and teachers trying to use the internet simultaneously can cause a lot of internet traffic.
DINOSAUR GAME HELPS PASS TIME! From time to time, students at Mast are met with this screen when the wifi speeds are too slow or there is no internet at all. As they wait for the internet to come back, they have the option of playing this dinosaur hopping game made by Google.
The transition from FIU’s wifi to Dade Schools wifi also caused issues with restrictions to arise. For instance, Dade School’s wifi frequently restricts what users can search up and see, a feature with the implied goal of preventing students from going online and using non-educational sites that could be taking their attention away from class.
To examine further, I had asked Junior Diego Flores to how they feel about these restrictions imposed by the district wifi. Diego responded, “Well, it’s significantly worse because they blocked a lot of sites that most students need. For example, if you want to listen to music and it helps you concentrate you wouldn’t be able to do that.”
The lack of access to quality internet server that does not support all aspects of learning can make learning inefficient, and, as noted by students and teachers alike, it can take away the valuable time that teachers need to teach and students need to learn.
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