Throughout the past year, Winegard and network solution provider SpectraRep have worked to make remote learning easier during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for families without high-speed broadband access.
Using datacasting technology, deemed “EduCast” by the two companies, families and students can access a wireless data network through a TV antenna. The product is a solution to remote-learning equity, the companies stated, which few people knew existed.
“Datacasting turns a portion of the public television spectrum into a secure, wireless data network,” SpectraRep President and Chief Technical Officer Mark O’Brien said.
EduCast allows teachers to use their local public television station to broadcast instructional content and educational resources directly from their computer to a student’s tablet or laptop.
“It is a reliable and cost-effective solution that leverages powerful TV signals to deliver computer data,” O’Brien said. “First responders, from local police and fire services to the Department of Homeland Security, have been using datacasting for two decades. Now underserved kids can use it, too.”
O’Brien said SpectraRep has been working in the datacasting realm for more than 20 years.
“But it is probably fair to say this technology is still unknown to the general public,” he said. “Datacasting is a natural fit for the unique and critical need to deliver teacher-created content to students who don’t have reliable broadband access. That is what makes EduCast so exciting.”
The product eliminates home router and monthly data plan needs. Users need a SpectraRep receiver, quality antenna and a personal smart device – such a PC, laptop or tablet – to access school files through EduCast’s cloud-based platform.
“When our public television station partners came to us with the idea to expand datacasting to support remote learning, we were in a great position to provide the necessary cloud technology, content management and receivers,” O’Brien said. “All that remained was gaining a reliable supply of high-quality antennas. Which is why we turned to Winegard.”
From mid-2020 and onward, Winegard President and Chief Operating Officer Grant Whipple said the company deployed high-performance routers on school buses in Burlington, Iowa, and across the U.S.
“But that could only ever be one part of the solution to broadband equity, especially for rural America,” Whipple said. “Students deserve to have at-home access to reliable distance-learning resources whenever they need them. Not just any time there is a school bus nearby.
“When SpectraRep came to us with the idea of using our FlatWave Amped indoor TV antennas to deliver network connectivity across the country, we jumped at the opportunity. It is inspiring to see how EduCast is leveling the educational playing field,” Whipple said.
O’Brien said the initiative brought a fundamental change to the datacasting field.
“More people know what it is, and with public television’s support and the infrastructure now in place, the potential is limitless,” he said. “Even as the country emerges from the pandemic, there is a continuing need to help students without internet access. Schools use their online platforms, such as Google Drive, Canvas and Schoology, to communicate with students and post assignments and grades.
“Datacasting enables students without broadband to access these same resources,” O’Brien said. “EduCast can significantly reduce the learning and homework gap that many educators have been worried about for a long time. I cannot wait to come back in a few years and report on the kinds of experiences we will be helping teachers deliver.”
