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Tips to Maximize Your Home Bandwidth

Internet connection speeds across Berkshire County vary widely depending on where you live.  To make things more complicated, your home location often determines your choices of available internet service providers also known as ISPs.  When working on your course assignments from home the quality of your internet speed and connection can have a big impact.

Here are some tips for maximizing your internet speed, sometimes also called bandwidth, at home.  Remember, in most cases all the devices on your Wi-Fi share the same internet connection.

  • Don’t watch Netflix, YouTube, or use other streaming services on your home network
  • Turn off other devices connected to your home network such as smart TVs, cell phones, speakers, etc.
  • Ask your family members to help by limiting their internet usage, including downloading large files or games until you are done

Check out SpeedCheck.org for a free speed test of your internet.  Scroll down on this site for more information and tips on how to improve your internet speeds.

If all else fails there are many places in Berkshire County that offer free internet access via a shared or public Wi-Fi.  Berkshire Community College is one of those places and you can often get good Wi-Fi signal from the parking lots.  For a list of other free Wi-Fi hotspots check out this website complied by The Berkshires 24-7.com.

For more questions, or to discuss specific issues with bandwidth or internet access please reach out!

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Technology, VR, Covid-19

It’s been a busy and surreal week.  With all the news and talk of Covid-19 people are rushing to find technology solutions should we in the U.S., Massachusetts, or the Berkshires be told to stay home as has been the case in other places.  I myself have been pretty busy making sure we are ready at BCC insuring that there is a good and viable student support structure setup, which I feel there is.  Not only do we have our Knowledge Base, but should I myself have to work from home there are all sorts of other technology tools at my disposal including several laptops, Skype/Zoom, remote help assistance programs, and my good old trusty cell phone which all my desk calls are automatically forwarded to.

Another tool at my disposal is Virtual Reality.  While I may not be able to meet virtually with students unless they also have an Oculus headset, VR can provide an ability to meet with staff or faculty who have them.  This isn’t a new idea.  Even before the Covid-19 situation started Purdue was offering students the ability to attend commencement remotely.  There is also a recent Forbes article which discusses some conferences being hosted entirely through VR, no coincidence it’s a conference about VR so the folks who would be in attendance already have the equipment and know-how.

If you are looking for something extra scary and have a VR headset, you can experience what it’s like to be under quarantine in China, but maybe this is a little too real for some!

Regardless, technology will be seen as one solution, perhaps the most viable solution, while this situation evolves.  I know that I’m ready should we be told to stay at home, and I will be able to travel where ever my headset lets me.

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BCC Swamp, Drone Flight

I’ve been watching the weather for weeks and there just hasn’t been a good day for flying.  It seems that it is either raining/snowing or the wind is just to much for flying safely.  This morning there was finally a break, so I started sending emails at about 7am to see if I could get everything arranged for a 9:30am flight.  I got permission from BCC Security, and from the Pittsfield Airport.

The only challenge is that it was pointed out by one of BCC’s Environmental Science professors that there is a great deal of bird activity in that area as of now.  Keeping that in mind, I began to hunt around for someone who could act as a visual observer for this flight.  Nathan in the library was able to, so he was my VO keeping an eye out for birds, airplanes (which we did see one get close as we are within 5 miles of Pittsfield airport) and any other wildlife or hazards.  Nathan did a good job and we didn’t have any issues, or any near issues even.  The only wildlife we saw kept pretty far away, except for some smaller birds that became interested as we started to land.  Check out the full video below.

After we accomplished our mission goals, to get some video as an initial “survey” of the swamp area, Nathan got the chance to have a test flight to get an idea of how the sticks work.  He did great and his video is below!

I’m looking forward to the next flight, but the way the weather looks who knows when that might be!