The Family Online Safety Institute, Hispanic Heritage Foundation and myCollege Options conducted a study that examined the amount of time students and teachers rely on Internet for school. According to the study, 96.5 percent of students said they relied on Internet to complete their homework assignments outside of school.
Back-to-school shopping normally leads to a new wardrobe and a surplus of traditional school supplies. But with schools’ added emphasis on technology, families need to make sure their at-home technology suits their needs. If it doesn’t, proper equipment needs to be added to their back-to-school shopping list.
When determining if your equipped with the proper technology for the upcoming school year, ask yourself three things:
- Is your Internet accessible?
- Is your Internet plan affordable?
- Is your child in need of a cell phone?
Accessible Internet
Imagine looking for the perfect scientific study to include in their research paper with a slow and unreliable Internet connection. Frustrating, right?
“Most of the time when Internet speeds are not ideal it is because a homeowner’s equipment isn’t set up correctly, or old devices are draining the network,” said Bill Babbitt, one of our local tech supervisors who specializes in WiFi performance. “Customers can address this by keeping their router out in the open, purchasing their own router or modem and disconnecting old devices.”
Students can complete their homework assignments on a fast, reliable and secure wireless connection with XFINITY Internet. Instead of wasting time waiting for their computer to work properly, students can focus on delivering the highest quality assignment possible.
Affordable Internet
Accessible Internet is only possible if it’s also affordable. We strongly believe that every student, regardless of household income, deserves access to affordable Internet. That’s why our Internet Essentials program exists.
Since 2011, we have worked with community leaders to help more than 750,000 families nationwide benefit from this program, with 98 percent subscribing to help their children complete their schoolwork. Of those families, 95 percent claim the program helped their child earn better grades.
“To see my daughter come home from school with a smile on her face blew me away. She’s doing well, she’s actually loving school for the first time,” said Justin T, Internet Essentials customer.
Reliable mobile devices
Back-to-school season may also signal time for new wireless equipment. As students transition to new levels of schools they may have different transportation schedules and needs, or extracurriculars that make mobile communication necessary. XFINITY Mobile is a new and unique way to help families stay in touch, potentially cut mobile phone costs and consolidate technology providers.
“We’ve designed XFINITY Mobile to be flexible for families’ varying needs,” said Jason Gumbs, vice president of marketing for Comcast in Michigan.
XFINITY Mobile offers two payment plans—pay by the gig or unlimited data. Each plan is customized for families of a variety of sizes, which will make it easier for you to choose the best package for your child’s school and extracurricular schedule.
Do you need to add technology to your back-to-school shopping list?