A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post looking at whether the internet would be able to sustain the shift in demand patterns as measures to control the spread of COVID-19 began to drive people to isolate themselves at home. In “Are Canada’s networks ready for work from home?”, I looked at the bandwidth requirements of the most common videoconferencing applications.
The networks have done remarkably well. As I told IT World Canada, “The network management teams and engineering departments are doing heroic work identifying pain points and providing relief, despite obviously trying conditions. It’s remarkable that we see so few problems so far. Truly a testament to the quality of the network infrastructure that we have in Canada.”
As I learned that teachers in Ontario will begin leading remote learning over the next week, I started to wonder how much contention we will find in households with multiple kids needing access to computers at the same time. Parents may need machines for work as well.
Some households have struggled to afford one connected computer to be shared among everyone. How many homes have a screen available for each child? This isn’t just a digital divide based on socio-economic class; there are many reasons for people blessed with the financial means may choose to not have a connected device for each kid.
And even if a household has enough devices, is the home big enough for the kids to not interfere with each other and with parents trying to work from home? How do the kids participate in their own on-line learning while parents are also engaged in work from home?
So what happens when there is competition for a device? Multiple conference calls at work, multiple classes from multiple teachers and multiple students in a household. There is bound to be contention for devices, and for space to work.
Do we need to take a look at the applications and models being used for classes? Is real time necessary or can some classes be taught lecture style, available on-demand at any time of day?
Canada’s communications networks generally have proven themselves capable of managing with the massive shift in traffic, as we run our lives sequestered at home.
How will households manage the competing demands for devices and physical space, when family members contend for access to the family PC or a quiet corner.
I’d like to see your comments and suggestions.