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“It’s easier because you have everything in one place,” she said.

After she and her classmates packed a bus last week to go to a history competition in Robbinsdale, chatter hushed as their heads bowed down, concentrating on iPhones and school iPads that they used to fill out a survey. As eighth-grader Lauren Mattson passed the iPad to a classmate, she said having Wi-Fi is no longer a novelty, but something they expect.

“We’re in that generation using electronic devices all the time,” she said. “When you hear [somewhere has] Wi-Fi, you think ‘that’s cool.’ ”

On the bus, Internet access is provided at the same access tier as in school — allowing students to open district folders but filtered to block certain websites. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are still allowed, but student Megan Vogt said she thinks most kids still use the Wi-Fi for homework.

“If you forget to do an assignment, you could quickly do it [on the bus],” she said.

For teachers, it’s yet another way to expand classrooms’ reach beyond the traditional four walls.

“It just gives us a guaranteed way for kids to access learning,” history teacher Cullen Nelson said. “It’s only going to keep growing.”

Kelly Smith • 612-673-4141