Times Staff
Technicians are in the final stages of connecting Clearwater Secondary School to the province's Next Generation Network (NGN), according to principal Darren Coates.
“Techs from the district and Telus have been working together on this for some time,” he said.
“Our internet speed currently is workable but the increased capacity will help us avoid slow down during peak usage. Students and teachers use the Internet in a variety of ways that enhance access to information and courses,” the principal added.
Coates noted that the vast majority of research is now done online, plus CSS presently has over 30 students who take at least one course online.
“We run video conference classes with the other three rural schools and teachers often use short video segments to highlight content,” Coates said.
“We are looking forward to the new connection being completed,” he said.
According to a media release from the Ministry of Education, 81 per cent of students and 1,186 out of 1,650 school sites have already gained access to NGN, with the remaining sites to be completed by December.
The ministry and TELUS also launched their first video collaboration, featuring interviews with students and teachers from rural and urban schools about how NGN works.
NGN provides high-speed Internet and enhanced network security services to all public schools in the province. By the 2016-17 school year, all districts will be connected to the innovative network.
NGN is a partnership with school districts, the ministry, TELUS and IBM, the primary service providers.