FCC: Gonna need y'all to cough up $1.5bn to put broadband in schools The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to spend $1.5bn on hooking up high-speed broadband to more American schools and libraries. The money will come from you, dear US readers: the FCC will put up phone bills by about $2 a year per line to foot the damage, it's understood. Specifically, the monthly E-Rate charge …
That kids can't text, IM, or Facebook each other during class? Or maybe Google answers to the test? If they have the Internet, then why have a library?
OTOH, if you have a library, do you need the Internet there? Hmm.. maybe on this one. I'm sure there's kids and adults who'd check Wikipedia to see if the book's info is right. But still....I'm thinking that the internet defeats the purpose of libraries and schools and vice versa.
Oh wait, I just got it... the cable companies need some more profit. Nevermind the logic, I just saw the light.
True. But where I live, if you go the libraryy, the computers are all in use, other people sit around with their laptops or Kindles. Maybe 5% are actually looking for a real book.
And what with schools keeping the internet locked down so students can't use it, it's a waste.
Where's the rational in all this? Other than profit for Wheeler's former and future employers?
<ok.. /rant>
You do realise that multimedia educational sites exist now? We can have 90 kids all using a site, rich in video content and interactive activities, each chomping away at the 100MB fibre we have here. It gets to the stage were 100MB isn't enough, and we only have 550 kids in the school!
The advent of "cloud" services has allowed schools to have much more access to complicated services, without the need to implement more server infrastructure in house for each application too.
"You do realise that multimedia educational sites exist now?"
Where's the evidence that sitting children in front of PCs and/or tablets result in better education?
I selected the school my child goes to specifically because the students don't use PCs/tablets in the classroom. It happens to be the top performing public school in the city, out-performs most of the more desirable private schools, has a waiting list larger than the student body -- and all on a shoe-string budget.
$1.5bn should be directed to training and hiring better teachers, creating a better curriculum, and to support staff that can properly manage problem students so they don't interfere with the education of others.
Yeh, right! My grandson is in his third year of High School in one of the larger cities here on the US left coast. The school has the internet/wifi totally locked down, lest the little miscreants do something unauthorized. He carries his laptop to school for notes & homework, but can't get onto the 'net ... student access is not allowed.
As for grandiose FCC plans for hi-speed net to schools and libraries, that means all the rural areas in the US will continue to be screwed, as the cable & telco monopolies have no desire or requirement to spend $$ in low customer-density areas.
It's patently obvious. Rather than placing internet service under public utility rules, thus requiring the monopolies to extend universal coverage, the FCC opts to increase the tax on the users. This reinforces wealth redistribution in America, flowing from bottom to top.
FCC: the brilliant folks who took one of the most reactive and unstable globe-hopping short wave frequency bands (11 meters/27 Mhz) in the communications spectrum to create Citizens Band (CB) radio service. Anyone familiar with shortwave radio knows how well that worked out (not). I expect this new internet extension plan will achieve equally sterling results.
Rather than placing internet service under public utility rules, thus requiring the monopolies to extend universal coverage, the FCC opts to increase the tax on the users. This reinforces wealth redistribution in America, flowing from bottom to top.
Have an upvote. That is exactly what is going on.
And from the article:
"Still, 63 per cent of public schools – over 40 million students – don't have broadband connections to the building capable of taking advantage of modern digital learning," the FCC noted
What is "modern digital learning"? Why does everything to do with digital learning need so much bandwidth? Perhaps so everybody in the class can watch Youtube tutorials and the teachers can relax and go home early? I think the teachers need some "digital learning" and the FCC needs to focus on getting a good and stable internet everywhere.
I dunno, why not find out, rather than being indignant and basically attacking teachers for making use of the internet as a teaching tool?
Internet access was recognised as an invaluable tool for education over a decade ago in the UK. Most schools have at least 100MB connectivity over here (obviously, if they're a school with 20 kids like some around here, that will not be the case, or if they're a school with 1500 kids). We saturate our line here.
There are so many resources available for schools now, its ridiculous to start going around blithely arm waving and shouting "why?" without actually looking into it.
I dunno, why not find out, rather than being indignant and basically attacking teachers for making use of the internet as a teaching tool?
I'm not sure why you would think that I'm attacking teachers for making use of the internet as a teaching tool. I think it's a great resource and hope it becomes available to all. I think the part you missed is my (perhaps subtle to you) reference to bandwidth and resources. I've seen what the school system is doing in that regard and it is often resource hungry fluff in relation to what is being taught, and perhaps learned. My point (since you didn't get it the first time) is that it would be more beneficial to get bandwidth to those that don't have any, as opposed to getting more bandwidth to those that already have some.
"... the first thing I do is duckduckgo it."
I have been using duckduckgo as well for a while now but seeing you write it out like that, as analogous to 'google it', I am struck by the need to abbreviate it for efficiency.
Therefore, I propose that henceforth we use 'ddg it', pronounced 'dig it', as in 'dig for it'.
This internet meme is provided royalty free for everyone to use. You're welcome.
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