Internet Service Upgrade Coming to Poor and Rural Schools
By EDWARD WYATT
Published: September 20, 2010
New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission is expected on Thursday to approve an overhaul of the $2.25 billion E-Rate program, which subsidizes Internet service for schools and public libraries, to give schools more options for faster Internet service, allow for community Internet service and to begin pilot programs for digital textbooks.
The proposed E-Rate order would allow schools and libraries to use federal funds to lease unused local communication lines — known as dark fiber — to connect to the Internet, a potentially faster and lower-cost connection than currently offered through many local telecommunications companies.
Some schools still do not have broadband connections, the F.C.C. noted in its National Broadband Plan, released this year. The company that administers E-Rate received at least 200 requests in the 2009 fiscal year for money to pay for dial-up Internet connections. The program mostly serves schools in poor and rural communities. At its monthly meeting on Thursday, the F.C.C. also will consider allowing schools to open the use of Internet resources paid for with E-Rate funds to the local community after school hours and when school is not in session, which is currently not allowed under E-Rate regulations.
“For the good of our economy, we need all of our kids to be digitally literate,” Julius Genachowski, the F.C.C. chairman, said in an interview. Job postings are increasingly available online only, he said, while a growing percentage of jobs require basic digital skills as a prerequisite.
The commission also is expected to approve a pilot program that supports off-campus wireless Internet connections for use with mobile learning devices, like digital textbooks. That would allow schools to update their textbooks more frequently and save students from having to carry back-breaking loads of textbooks home each night.
The E-Rate program, which is financed by a fee collected from all telephone users, came under fire from Congress in 2004 for wasteful spending. Changes in accounting regulations and program rules led to a temporary suspension of new grants that year.
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Personally, I don't find this a waste of money in the least. The thought of some schools not having internet connection is frightening, as our ever changing world is depending more and more upon it. Schools need to have internet connection to properly teach to their students as well, considering the internet has many sources ready and available for teachers to adequately explain the subject at hand.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is the right of all students to get the best education possible, and in order to do so, they would need internet to learn more about the greater world at large.
I think this is a great idea. There are many children who come from homes that have trouble just giving them the necessities of life. How could they then afford the internet? The internet is must in today's educational world. The internet can connect you with news and knowledge from all over the world. Teachers many times give students assignments that require the internet. How is one of these poor students going to do that project if they don't have the internet? I think providing faster internet at school gives children a more fair chance in being successful in the future.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the 2.25 billion dollar investment is a good idea. The chance for places that have no internet to get it and for schools across the country to get higher signal for better learning. You might say that 2.25 billion is a lot of money to be spending on upgraded internet and providing it to places where internet isn't found but then you look at our government spending and we spend 2 billion on a b-2 bomber airplane, which we have 12 of them. By doing this project, we would increase learning and would teach people how to use the internet as an effective tool.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you aaron on this because a vital part of the american educational system is the internet. Most of the learning done in the class is done by using classroom laptops or their own laptops. I strongly believe that the 2.25 billion dollar investment will help America's children and young adults exceed in their learning end of story.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that this is a very good idea. If, in fact, these "dark fiber" connections are cheaper, than in the long run, if the digital textbooks work well, there would be money saved from not buying paper textbooks. The internet is a very important tool for students to use, and it can greatly advance education. I have no problems with making this investment, as long as the federal government actually has the money to invest, which is my only worry when it comes to this issue.
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