Federal Communications Commission member, Michael Copps said in a Washington Post article yesterday…
America’s record in expanding broadband communication is so poor that it should be viewed as an outrage by every consumer and businessperson in the country. Too few of us have broadband connections, and those who do pay too much for service that is too slow. It’s hurting our economy, and things are only going to get worse if we don’t do something about it.
The United States is 15th in the world in broadband penetration, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). When the ITU measured a broader “digital opportunity” index (considering price and other factors) we were 21st — right after Estonia. Asian and European customers get home connections of 25 to 100 megabits per second (fast enough to stream high-definition video). Here, we pay almost twice as much for connections that are one-twentieth the speed.
Michael J. Copps – America’s Internet Disconnect – washingtonpost.com
He goes on to admit that
…the agency’s reports seem designed mostly to obscure the fact that weare falling behind the rest of the world. The FCC still definesbroadband as 200 kilobits per second, assumes that if one person in aZip code area has access to broadband then everyone does and fails togather any data on pricing.
I don’t want to sound overly optimistic about a possible direction shift in our government’s leadership, but what if we have access to hi-speed broadband information in every home five years from now. What would you do with it, as a teacher? How might that change how and what you teach?
Image Citation:
Nemo, “Ethernet hookup at hotel #1823.” Nemo’s Great Uncle’s Photostream. 20 Apr 2006. 9 Nov 2006 <http://flickr.com/photos/maynard/131867344/>.
technorati tags:warlick, technology, education, broadband, fcc, michaelcopps
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If all of my students had true high speed information connections at home? I’d be assigning videostreams to watch, podcasts to listen to, and then have my students produce homework podcasts or reflections, posting them directly to my classroom websites, or a larger education related site. I’d set up a homework help network in which students could all chat in real time with one another via my classroom site; No more “telephone help lines.” Just get on the computer, go to Mr. Rimes website and click on the homework chat to see who’s online. In class demonstrations, unit reviews, and study sessions could be recorded, voice or video, and then uploaded to the school website for parents to not only hear but see what their students were learning that day, and provide a better connection between school to home learning.
The ideas are really limitless with speeds of 25 to 100 megabits per second (that’s insane compared to my paltry 3 meg DSL service). I had no idea we were that far behind other nations when it comes to telecommunications and broadband access.
I love web 2.0 and all the promise (and challanges) it brings. I love the idea of kids and adults using broadband 24/7. I certainly agree that our government needs to be looking at MAJOR infrastructure improvements. But I am quite concerned about the LARGE number of actual classrooms that still exist without an internet connection of any kind.
The SCHOOL has a connection, as do some rooms (such as the library), but a teacher cannot even conduct an old fashioned “teacher-centered” activity using a projector and a functioning, internet-connected computer. There are many, many, many schools out there in this situation. I hear from them regularly in shy emails sent by unassuming teachers to the webmaster of TeachersFirst. They spend hours at home looking for ideas to bring into their classrooms, but they must stick to printables or offline copies they bring in from home or from the connected computer. Or their school does not own a projector. Talk about barriers! How can we expect these teachers and students to know and understand the concept of information literacy when they cannot even SEE the explosion?
Think back to the days when you had to fight to get an internet connection. There are many teachers still there. It is the dirty secret of the educational technology world. As the readers on this site forge ahead with the important work of rethinking the way we teach, we really need to be putting some thought into rethinking solutions to inequities on many levels.
Candace brings up the crux of the real issue at hand: Educational funding.
I hate to be the rain on everyone’s parade, but there isn’t much that can be done when state and federal funding just doesn’t support the initiatives that teachers like ourselves would love to begin. I agree with Candace – we need to rethink solutions for the inequities.
But let me throw you an umbrella for a second….
From what I’ve read lately, it seems as if there is an “I” attitude that is permeating our thought process. “‘I’ can’t do this because ‘I’ don’t have the funding” or “‘I’ can’t use web 2.0 components because they blocked them from ‘me’.”
So let’s make a shift in our mindset from “I” to “We.” If you, as a teacher, are unable to use podcasts or some other form of technology because of the lack of funds – I highly doubt that you are the only one. Find a fellow teacher (or better yet, teacherS) who are in the same prediciment that you are in. Create a collaborative force to create change.
Talk, as this force, to department heads, administrators, so on and so forth. I’m not talking about marching to congress to lobby, but remember we’re all in this very unsuitable boat together. It is all about collaboration- on the web and in your schools.
Shively blogmire said something very interesting in here blog…
I think that as we and the public and the government starts to see classrooms without broadband, without an LCD projector, and without a teacher who is properly skilled in using digital networked information as handicapped, we may start to act tor retooling all classrooms for 21st century teaching and learning.