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ImOn NEWS & EVENTS
Backpacks weighed down by thick textbooks, spiral notebooks, and folders stuffed full of assignments have quickly become a thing of the past. These school staples have now been replaced by a single item: computers.
The shift to technology-based learning has affected every level of education, from preschool through college. And yet, when we think of back-to-school essentials, we often think of the traditional items - notebooks, folders, pencils, and so on. The one back-to-school essential that many people forget: Reliable Internet.
When it comes to digital learning at home, fiber Internet stands far above the rest. Read on to explore five ways fiber Internet can elevate digital learning, maximize productivity, and unlock knowledge for students of all ages.
Many schools in Iowa have adopted a one-to-one technology program, where schools provide each student with their own device. In the Cedar Rapids Community School District, this device is a Chromebook.
Students often bring their school computers home to complete homework. This means there are more devices connected to your home’s Wi-Fi and competing for bandwidth, especially if you have multiple children with school-issued devices. Fiber Internet can provide the bandwidth you need to support these additional devices.
Traditional copper coaxial Internet cables use electricity to transmit data. This electric signal degrades after only a few hundred yards. Fiber, on the other hand, uses pulses of light to transmit data. These light signals do not degrade across distances, meaning fiber can transmit more data at once. This translates to a higher bandwidth in your home capable of supporting more devices.
Fiber’s unmatched bandwidth also has the power to maximize productivity for multitasking students. More bandwidth means the ability to use more Internet applications at once without sacrificing speed. Streaming an online lecture in one tab, drafting an email in another, and filling out an assignment in yet another – fiber can support all this activity and more.
Plus, with Fiber-to-the-Home Internet, your entire bandwidth belongs to you. Because the fiber is connected directly from the network to your home, you don’t share any of your bandwidth with your neighbors. As a result, Fiber-to-the-home customers experience no slow-down of speed during peak Internet usage hours in the evening – which also happen to be peak homework hours, too.
Fiber Internet doesn’t just transmit more data – it can also transmit that data faster. Because light can travel more quickly than electric signals, fiber is capable of delivering speeds 20x faster than traditional Internet. For students, this means less time spent waiting for webpages to load and more time spent learning.
By enabling you to work more quickly and efficiently, fiber Internet allows faster completion of assignments, giving you a little time back in your day. If you’re racing the clock to complete and submit an assignment online, fiber Internet’s swift upload speeds help ensure you always make the deadline. It’s also great for seamlessly streaming educational content, whether it’s videos for assignments, YouTube math tutorials, or your favorite show when you just need a break.
‘Download speed’ is how fast data can travel from the web to your computer. ‘Upload speed’ is how fast information can travel from your computer to the web.
Traditional coax Internet can only support asymmetric speeds, with upload speeds that are a fraction of the download speed. Fiber, on the other hand, allows for symmetrical speeds. If your download speeds are 500 Mbps (megabytes per second), then your upload speeds will also be 500 Mpbs.
Why does this matter for students? Because both speeds are equally important when it comes to online classes – especially video classes.
Imagine you are a student in a Zoom class using fiber Internet. The fast download speeds allow for smooth, crystal-clear video of your teacher, the presentation, and your fellow classmates on the call so you never miss a word of the lesson. The fast upload speed allows your video feed to be transmitted smoothly back to the online class, so you can be just as engaged as if you were sitting in a real classroom. You can participate in discussions freely, answer or ask questions without worrying about audio cutting in and out, and present to the class with zero video lag.
Symmetrical speeds are also crucial when working with classmates on documents and presentations in cloud-based software such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Fiber’s symmetrical speeds ensure uninterrupted, real-time collaboration, perfect for remote teamwork on group projects.
Fiber optic cables are immune to many of the issues that can affect traditional copper-based connections, such as electromagnetic interference. Fiber cables are often (though not always) buried, which also protects the fibers from Iowa’s extreme temperatures, both hot and cold. While fiber isn’t invincible, its resistance to these types of issues provides an exceptionally reliable connection.
When your child’s grade depends on their homework, and their homework depends on their Internet connection, your Internet’s reliability becomes a crucial component of academic success. With fiber, you’ll never have to worry about Internet cutting out in the middle of an assignment or online class. It also helps maximize productivity by preventing lost work due to an unstable connection.
Wi-Fi signals become weaker the further away you are from your router. This is because Wi-Fi signals degrade with distance, especially when it passes through the walls and floors of your home to reach your device.
The high capacity of fiber Internet can help combat these weak-signal zones in your home, particularly when paired with the power of a mesh unit or Wi-Fi extender.
For example, ImOn Communication’s Fiber-to-the-home Internet comes with free Whole Home Wi-Fi, which ensures that your router and mesh units are placed in the correct positions to provide optimal signal in every room of your home. Wherever you or your student prefers to study – the living room couch, the dining room table, their bedroom desk, or even the 3-seasons porch – they can count on a strong Internet connection.
Fiber’s advanced technology also allows more control over who is using what device and when in your home. For instance, ImOn’s Whole Home Wi-Fi App lets you see how much bandwidth each device is using, set parental controls, set timers on Internet usage, and even shut off Internet access to certain devices. Want to make sure your student doesn’t stream on the smart TV until their homework is done? You can make that happen.
To learn more about Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Internet or see if it is available at your home, reach out to ImOn at (319) 298-6484 or visit ImOn.net. We are happy to help determine the speed you need in your home for a successful back-to-school season.