Many counties are beginning to see the positive effects that fiber optic technology can create on a community. In Warren County, Ind., the Municipal School District has been reaping the benefits of modern internet speeds.

In 2012, the local St. Vincent Hospital took on the $6 million project of laying fiber optic cable leading to the hospital to modernize its technology. This enabled doctors to access MRI scans and X-rays remotely.

At the MSD of Warren County, the technology was outdated. In the early 2000s, the school had what’s known as “T1 lines” installed, which are wire cables that transmit data. At the time, it was state-of- the-art technology; today, not so much. The school needed updated technology to keep up with the updated learning styles.

During state-mandated standardized testing, Phil Halsema, director of technology for MSD of Warren County, says they would have to shut down the whole system to allow the few classes to take the exam. Other classes would not have access to the internet when this occurred.

Starting with the fiber optic technology the hospital originally brought to the community and adding to the project, the school district gained access to modern education tools it can use in the classroom. Google Classroom and other education apps allow teachers to educate students more effectively by having online assignments and content for students. This allows the teachers to be more organized, and it allows students to be able to access this content at home and in the classroom.

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“We have a device in every child’s hand,” Halsema says. “From preschool through grade 6, students have iPads. We have Chromebooks for students in grades 7 through 12, and every teacher has a laptop they can bring home.”

Halsema reflects on a memory from a few years ago, when a teacher was able to help a student who had autism and wasn’t an active talker. The teacher gave the student an iPad that had an application that would say words if someone pressed a button. 

“It was amazing,” Halsema says. “It really opened our eyes to what else we can do. It really drove home that it’s imperative that we need to move in the direction of high-speed technology and provide high speed to all students.”

Halsema is grateful for the technology that the MSD of Warren County has. “We aren’t even using it to its full capacity,” he says. “We are only using 1 gigabyte of bandwidth, and we have the ability to use 10 gigs.”

Letsinger is a senior in agricultural communication at Purdue University.