Wi-Fi Appears at SAWL

 written by 20107 Kim Ji An

 

Wireless networks have become an integral part of human lives in modern society. Wi-Fi enables fast and effective communication among people creating a more convenient life. Furthermore, it helps for not only better communication but also high-quality education. In addition, wireless networks are utilized in many fields such as video watching and online communication.

  

Before Wi-Fi Existed at SAWL

Students used their own mobile data or Wi-Fi Egg. However, since not everyone could use their phone data or Wi-Fi Egg, some people had to use others’ hotspots. Since there were many classes that used programs that require the Internet such as Kahoot or Google Classroom, it was essential to have a way to be connected to Wi-Fi or Internet.

  

Why Did Wi-Fi Appear in All Gyeonggi-do Schools?

In 2020, the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education had announced that it would install Wi-Fi in all school classrooms within the first half of 2021. The budget was set around ninety-five million won.

The purpose of Wi-Fi installation was to prepare for the changes due to rapidly changing education methods and circumstances because of COVID-19 restrictions. Furthermore, it is also to promote education using electronic devices.

  

Nationwide Wi-Fi Installation

As of June 2021, the installation was completed in about 94% of general classrooms nationwide, and 79% of specialized classrooms. Wi-Fi was installed in a total of 2,425 elementary, middle, high school and special education schools.

The director at the Ministry of Education said she would strengthen support for online classes so that the students can be taught by using virtual reality and augmented reality through school Wi-Fi.

There is a substantial goal of fostering adequate human resources and improving education levels in the era of the 4^th Industrial Revolution. New technologies and scientific techniques are improving, so it has become important to keep up with the new changes. With Wi-Fi at schools, students can learn with diverse applications and platforms which will allow them to achieve the goal of being the frontrunner in this world.

  

How Did It Affect Sawlians?

A survey was conducted with around 60 first and second-graders at Suwon Academy of World Languages. For the question “Have you ever used the Wi-Fi installed at SAWL?”100 percent of people answered that they have used the school Wi-Fi.

On the question “Are you satisfied with the school’s public Wi-Fi installation?”, around 71 percent answered that they are satisfied. Twenty-nine percent responded that they are unsatisfied with the Wi-Fi services at classrooms.

When they were asked why they were satisfied, many people answered that it is because there are some classes at school that require the use of Wi-Fi. Some said that it is convenient to use the Wi-Fi installed in the classroom and that it enabled them to use electronic devices even if they had no data.

 

Here is an interview with a 15^th generation Japanese major Sawlian who is satisfied with the school Wi-Fi:

THE PRESS: What did you use when there was no Wi-Fi in the classrooms?

Kim Se Yeon: When there was no Wi-Fi, I used my mobile data. However, if I used all the data I had, the speed of the Internet got slow. Also, many friends of mine asked me to turn my Hotspot on, so sometimes the speed became very slow. This made it very uncomfortable.

THE PRESS: Why are you satisfied with the Wi-Fi, and do you think something should be improved? 

Kim: Wi-Fi is now installed in most places at the school. Since SAWL has many classes that require the use of phones or computers, it is convenient that we can be connected to the school’s Wi-Fi. I don’t think there should be any improvements, but maybe it could be better if the student council tells the Wi-Fi password again since many people don’t know what the password is.

 

 

Here is an interview with a 16^th generation Chinese major Sawlian who is satisfied with the school Wi-Fi.

THE PRESS: Have you ever used the school Wi-Fi?

Woo Ye Seong: Yes, it helps a lot.

 

THE PRESS: Are you satisfied with the school Wi-Fi?

Woo: Of course, I am. However, sometimes errors occur, and they are pretty inconvenient. Also, recently, the Wi-Fi stopped working and it took a long-time reconnecting to the devices.”

 

THE PRESS: Do you think anything should be improved with the school Wi-Fi system?

Woo: Nothing. There’s something I’m not fully satisfied with, but it is not that bad living with those.

Students who said they are unsatisfied with the Wi-Fi system all replied that there are often days when Wi-Fi is not working properly. They mentioned that sometimes the connection gets very weak, and some days it doesn’t get connected at all. This is a problem with the Wi-Fi system, not the installation of Wi-Fi.

Here is an interview with a 15^th generation English major Sawlian who is not satisfied with the school Wi-Fi:

 THE PRESS: What did you use when there was no Wi-Fi in the classrooms?

Kim Min Young: I used to use my phone data, and I still do.

THE PRESS: Why are you unsatisfied with the Wi-Fi, and what do you think should be improved?

Kim: It’s not easy to connect to the school Wi-Fi. There are times when the classroom Wi-Fi is connected or not, but there are more times when it is not. To add on, the Wi-Fi tells me to write the username, but it doesn’t work after I write it. It says an error occurred when I try writing something. This is not the only problem for me, but many classmates also can’t use the school Wi-Fi. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I hope the problem of asking some people to type in their username improves.

 

Here is an interview with a 16^th generation Chinese major Sawlian who is not satisfied with the school Wi-Fi:

THE PRESS: Have you ever used the school Wi-Fi?

Park Sang Hyun: Yes. Thanks to school Wi-Fi, I don’t have to go to SAWL Bridge or Book Cafe anymore. I can do homework that requires the Internet.

THE PRESS: Are you satisfied with the school Wi-Fi?

Park: No, I’m not. Sometimes it disconnects my device.

 

THE PRESS: Do you think anything should be improved with the school Wi-Fi system?

Park: It should be more stable.

 

No one complained about the Wi-Fi installation itself. This result shows that if the Wi-Fi system problem gets solved, there is a more considerable potential that the education system will significantly improve, allowing many people to use Wi-Fi on diverse applications. Sawlians would be able to use different kinds of platforms to expand their learning. They are also wanting the Wi-Fi system to be improved so that all the students at the school can use it.