Need Info on Home Schooling connections when traveling on the road

[Gary LaBombard]

Hey Guys & Gals,
I am requesting information from those that travel more than we have on how to keep daily contact with (two computers) at one time for our grandchildren which we are home schooling for who know how long.  We want to travel but are limited to when we can as our grand kids have to make daily contact or check in with their home schooling teachers twice a day and have two classes each for 1/2 hour each day with a on line teacher.  We have two lap top computers but not sure if we would have wi-fi everplace we went.  I also do not know how long you can stay in contact with the schools as you travel each day and have it affordable.  Any information you can share would be great, we do have Verizon and sure they must have something available hopefully a special program for homeschooling.  We need to run both computers at the very same time, I believe that was understood but just in case.

We want to continue to do this and let me hopefully entertain on the road one day if the Eagle is ever roadworthy.  Even if not we can go with our RV anyhow.

Oh, if you don't mind let me know how much this extra wi-fi type service costs.

Thanks ahead of time.
Gary

[technomadia]

Well.. we're not homeschooling (no kids), but we do need to keep multiple devices online full-time in our travels to continue to run our software business from wherever we are.

We actually just did a post yesterday on our blog about our experience with all the mobile internet options, as well as conducted a talk on it here at St. George RV Resort (managed by SingingLandCruiser):

http://www.technomadia.com/2011/09/10-tips-to-keep-connected-us-mobile-internet-options/

Access to wifi is quite variable as you roam.  Sometimes you find an RV Park that has a really well managed WiFi network that isn't overloaded and has great connectivity throughout.  But they are not the norm.  It's incredibly expensive and a lot of effort to keep a wifi network well maintained enough to serve the needs of dozens to hundreds of bandwidth hungry travelers. So, we don't count on it in our tech arsenal, and consider it a nice bonus when it works out.

Our primary pipeline to the internet is our Verizon USB data stick that we get through Millenicom.com - this gives us a 20GB/mo cap (instead of the standard 5GB if you go direct with Verizon), and no contract.  $59.99/mo, no extra fees.   We then plug it into a small wifi router (we use a CradlePoint 350, but there are newer models out) to share the connection between our many devices. 

When that fails, I tether from my iPhone to get on via AT&T and we have a satellite dish.

For wifi costs - there are lots of free wifi hotspots across the country. Everything from RV Parks, cafes, McDonalds, Starbucks, Panera Bread, libraries, hotel lobbies (the cheaper hotel chains tend to have free wifi), airports, etc.   Pay wifi options are also there, and range from a couple bucks a day to as high as $20/day.  But don't expect the pay options to be any better than the free ones.  For instance, the park we're at now charges $2/day for access, and we've found it to be barely useable (sorry, Michael.. we still love you guys).

Best wishes,
- Cherie

[Ace]

Gary since you already verizon, check out their mifi. Little black box about the size if a deck of cards. You can run up to five different items at the same time. That's what we use as does John and Lynne and bill and Brenda as we travel. It can act as a modem for your phone as well.
Ace

[RnMAdventures]

I lot of great info. I was going to suggest using a wifi hotspot with your cell phone. I have only done it a couple of times, but it works. If your grand kids only have to check in, then it shouldn't require a lot of bandwidth.

I homeschooled my oldest two kids years ago. It's not easy. Are yall using Abeka?

[Gary LaBombard]

good suggestions being given here.  My grandkids use the computer for daily tests, instructions during each day for their assignments as well as the (teacher on line class time which changes daily.  It would be very hard to be at a place where there is wifi at times we need to be on line for the classes.  I will check out the (mifi & Millenicom.com) I believe offered by Verizon, at least I can google this information and make a decision after getting tired of all the mumbo-jumbo I have to read up on.  I would say the computers have to be connected up to 4 hours each per day, no idea how much band width this would equal.  Heck I had no idea this stuff was available to be honest.  I know I sure do not want any 2 year contracts if I don't have to, had enough of that control of my life in the past with these guys. 

I don't have the foggiest idea what abeka is either.  Good grief it never ends.

Thanks again all for suggestions.
Gary

[John316]

Gary,

First off, good for you for helping the kids. They will thank you (if not now) years down the road. Great job! Kudos!!!

Second off, here is what Cherie was talking about. Scroll down the page for what you are looking for. We will probably get this. Right now we have ATAT 5G data card. I will probably get one of these too. Very nice looking! http://www.millenicom.com/page/plans#advanced_plan

ABeka is a different kind of homeschool curriculum. Just one of the host of options out there. ABeka does happen to do lessons on DVD, but it is way less interactive then what you are using now. I am guessing that you are using a charter school, or a long distance program along those lines...Those are certainly the easiest for less (grand)parent tutoring/instruction. The homeschooling is quite an education for you and Grandma too, huh? LOL

Where do you plan on travelling the most? East, West?

As far as data limits, how do I explain that in a easy fashion. Basically, whenever you transmit data (in this case over the internet), the information package is sent in a byte. One byte is VERY small. Kilobytes are the "small" sized packages of bytes. Megabytes are the "medium" sized byte packages. And gigabytes are the "biggest" (in this example). The prefixes are about the same as in everything else. Kilo=1,000 Mega=1,000,000 Giga=1,000,000,000 (billion). When I download from the internet I often download in kilobytes (up to megabytes). So it takes quite a while to add up to a gigabyte, but of course if you are streaming video, that can add up pretty quickly. Maybe Cherie can enlighten us on what usage monitor they like best.

Again, that little explanation was not meant to be an exhaustive paper on how bytes work, lol. That was simply a quick an dirty how they work, thing (at least the general concept).

HTH

John

[technomadia]

We actually don't use any sort of monitor.  One thing we love about Millenicom's Verizon Plan is that even with their 20GB cap, they're a bit soft with it.  Although, we know that we hardly ever come close to using that much bandwidth in a month.   

Unfortunately, time online and bandwidth are not a direct correlation.  It really depends upon what you are doing. Checking text based e-mail, browsing websites and downloading huge files, or streaming video are entirely different things.

When your grandkids are in class with their teachers, is that two way video chat?  Then that's streaming video, and can be quite bandwidth intensive.  You'll also want to make absolutely sure you're on 3G or better speed.. slower speeds won't be able to handle it. And even at 3G, it can be choppy. 

One word of caution with Millenicom - because they are bulk buying bandwidth from both Sprint & Verizon, their plans change frequently. And, they're not allowed to disclose on their website who each plan is through. So if you go that route, be sure to contact their customer service BEFORE you order to verify you're getting the network you want. They will confirm, and their customer service is awesome.

Millenicom is great for folks who will be traveling on and off, because there are no contracts.  And you can suspend your account when you're not traveling, and then re-active when you travel again. This saves you activation fees to start up a new account later.

- Cherie

[Gary LaBombard]

thank you John & Cherie for the great information.  I understand quite a bit better now and will ask questions no matter what program I do get.  I have no idea why they have to hide things for special customers etc. just baffles the hell out of me.  It is more experienced people like everyone here that can help you steer in the right direction, How I wish I followed my advice years ago to question more experienced busnuts how to buy a bus.  I would be enjoying mine right now but we still travel with the RV but it is like driving a 1963 Volkswagen compared to a bus.  Got off track again, gotta stop that.

Helping the Grandkids is quite rewarding especially when you see great results and they are not being bullied like they were the past few years.  I can't understand the schools not getting a handle on stuff like that but oh yea, we definitely are not smarter than a fifth grader, 4th grader etc.!!  We feel like students as well at times, but these guys are doing quite well and do attend a charter school on line.  This was a question also, we are quite happy with and yes, at times they do speak back and forth with the teachers but not often.  Most of the time answers to teachers is typed in and sent to them like in a chat room but only with several kids at once.  Wish us luck, I am not sure if they will graduate from this before us or not to be honest!!

Thanks John for the explanation of Kilo-bytes etc. as far as I was concerned these could represent dog bites, well I am not that computer illiterate but close. 

We plan to travel when we do on the East Coast, I want to cover TN, and NC right now.  Those sure are beautiful states to visit and we have a couple of times but not long enough to stop and smell the marijuana.  Only kidding!!  I meant the flowers, really.  Now we have to concentrate on getting our ducks in a row before we can leave, you know how that is.  My main concern is to be sure our grandkids get their daily classes while on the road with no interuption to keep them motivated.

Thanks again for all information, sure helps out.
Gary

[Tikvah]

I remember being in high school and thought it was so futuristic that a person could have a phone in their car.  Then, along the way, you would hear of some rich person who would have a phone in their limo.. some crazy radio tower transmitter thing.  They didn't work well, but it made a rich person feel important.
I can't stop laughing at myself now.  Last week, just traveling with our Suburban down through Michigan, my wife was driving and I spent most of the day in a video conference.  I never lost contact, never had a bit of trouble.  Clear, easy video.  My meeting was important, but I had to be on the road.  The other side of the meeting was in an office in Wisconsin running on a basic DSL connection.  I used my wireless hot-spot from my Verizon Droid phone.
My laptop has the usual built-in web cam.
Who would have dreamed we would live in a world like this!

I use my Droid Hot-Spot anytime I'm away.  I can do the video conferences, check email, work on the web, and still only use about half my allowed monthly 2G.  I suppose if that was all I used I would need much more.  But I still do most of my work from an available WiFi.

[JackConrad]

  I have the Verizon MiFi connected to a Cradlepoint 500 router in our coach. The MiFi replaced my old Millenicom card which required an external router. The MiFi has the router built into it, but I already had all our computers set up through our cradlepoint router, so we still use it.  This summer we had 3 computers (mine, Paula's and our son's) running off it, all at the same time). A lot of web surfing, checking email and watching some Youtube videos. We never exceeded our 5 GB limit.  Jack

[rv_safetyman]

Gary, there is no perfect way to do what you want.  As has been noted, "public" wifi signals are often weak and the systems are often slow from overloading.

Pat and I have to have internet access wherever we are (real challenge in Europe).  We have relied on satellite (DataStorm) for years.  As long as we can see the south sky and we are in the footprint of the satellite (most cover almost all of the lower 48 states) we are on.  The problem is that the upload speed is pretty slow and will not support video conference.  The hardware used to cost over $4K, but used systems are now available at a significantly lower cost.  Monthly fee is $79.00.  We use the system at home (fixed dish), so the cost for us, on a per day basis is not all that bad.

We also have a Verizon air card.  In the west, you should not rely on getting a good signal in many places.  We are in Iowa right now and the signal is terrible.  At our house in the Denver area we have to use an antenna to get even a marginal signal when the satellite goes down (snow).  

In addition, we frequently find that even with a great signal, our Verizon Internet connection is very slow, due to system loading (same with our AT&T iPhone).  I think all of the cell-based systems are getting really overloaded.  Will probably get better as the companies roll out their 4G versions - but that will only be in big cities for some time to come.

I would be careful in selecting the "air card" if you go with Verizon.  The mifi will not accept an antenna.  Many USB versions will accept an antenna and that might make the difference in getting on-line.  

As Jack points out, you can use a router to have a USB air card serve more than one computer.  We use a Cradlepoint MBR-1000 and it is great.  Allows you to plug in the USB air card and/or use the satellite feed.

Jim

[Ace]

Maybe I'm mistaken but isn't the verizon mifi its own router? It doesn't plug into the pc. You can have it on the desk or even in you're pocket and still operate up to five individual items. We use ours full time at home. It just stays plugged in to stay charged and sits on the table. We have both laptops in it and sometimes, must always my phone since wifi is stronger and faster and takes less battery from my phone.
We take it with us when w travel and have never had a problem acquiring the internet on either laptop or phone. In fact, I barely use my laptop for anything anymore since I can do about 99% if everything from my phone.

[luvrbus]

Gary, our grand kids are home schooled and travel with us also we never have a problem getting free internet service through the Wi-Fi once you get if figured out it's not that bad most SafeWays and Days Inn have it and it not very busy and now with Wal/Mart in some areas like here in AZ having Wi-Fi it will be nation wide before long the problem WM is having some towns already have free Wi-Fi for the town and they keep it out  
We gave up or mobile internet service I have a Wilson booster in the RV it works good and I don't like paying AT&T,Verzion or Sprint 600 a year for internet service


good luck

[TomsToy]

Grry
   Check out this web site, they have just started full timing in a bus conversion and Jennifer is home schooling her kids as they travel.  Bet she would be able to give you some good advise.
http://www.countingfireflies.com/home.aspx

Tom