Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

7 strong facts that support school broadband

Broadband access is more important than ever, and the public agrees

broadband-internetU.S. public opinion isn’t too positive when it comes to technology in the nation’s schools.

Feb. 4 poll results from the bipartisan Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission reveal that voters–both parents and nonparents–gave a “C” grade to the state of technology in U.S. schools.

“Parents and nonparents prove to be pretty intensely concerned about where classroom technology is in America today,” said Joel Benenson, president of the Benenson Strategy Group, which led the survey.…Read More

eRate survey highlights broadband needs

Most schools need more broadband to handle mobile deployments and say eRate doesn’t meet their technology needs

eRate-broadband
Nearly one-third of school districts (29 percent) did not apply for federal eRate assistance because they assumed the program would have insufficient funds for their needs, according to a new survey on school eRate and broadband needs from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).

The current eRate funding level fails to meet schools’ broadband infrastructure needs, and almost half of responding districts (43 percent) said none of their schools are equipped to meet the goal of having 100 Mbps of internet access per 1,000 students as things are today. Only 25 percent of school districts said 100 percent of their schools meet this goal, which has been adopted and championed by the State Education Technology Directors Association, the LEAD Commission Blueprint, and by President Obama’s ConnectED initiative.

(Next page: How many districts can support broadband connectivity?)…Read More

A failing grade for broadband

The internet is becoming as critical to student success as textbooks and blackboards—in many parts of the country, even basic homework assignments require access to the web, Slate.com reports. This reflects not only a greater variety of educational resources available online to students, but also the rising importance of digital literacy as a fundamental skill. But even as companies create innovative new educational technologies—like cloud-based literacy programs, Skype-based tutors, and virtual math games—many policymakers and entrepreneurs are overlooking a critical factor that stands in the way of widespread adoption of these tools: adequate and universal broadband infrastructure…

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House Democrats punt on net neutrality

Net neutrality was the Obama administration's top campaign pledge to the technology industry and a major priority of the current FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski.
Net neutrality was the Obama administration's top campaign pledge to the technology industry and a major priority of the current FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski.

In the latest development in the fight over so-called “net neutrality” regulations, House Democrats have shelved a last-ditch effort to broker a compromise between phone, cable, and internet companies on rules that would prohibit broadband providers from blocking or degrading online traffic flowing over their networks.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., abandoned the effort late on Sept. 29 in the face of Republican opposition to his proposed net-neutrality rules. Those rules were intended to prevent broadband providers from becoming online gatekeepers by playing favorites with traffic.

The battle over net neutrality has pitted public interest groups and internet companies such as Google Inc. and Skype against the nation’s big phone and cable companies, including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., and Comcast Corp.…Read More

e-Rate gets facelift with wireless pilot, community access

Dark fiber will be eligible for e-Rate discounts under an FCC ruling.
Dark fiber will be eligible for e-Rate discounts under a new FCC ruling.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Sept. 23 voted to upgrade and modernize the federal $2.25 billion-a-year e-Rate program by allowing schools to make e-Rate funded, internet-enabled computers available to the community after normal school operating hours—a step that supporters and stakeholders say will help students and community members build important digital literacy skills.

The FCC also voted to let e-Rate participants use funds to connect to the internet in the most cost-effective way possible, including through existing state, regional, and local networks or by employing unused fiber-optic lines already in place.

The agency also approved a pilot program that will support off-campus wireless internet connectivity for mobile learning devices. The pilot will explore the benefits that low-cost, accessible mobile devices can bring to students, including helping to close the technology access gap between children from affluent communities and those from economically disadvantaged areas.…Read More

Wireless broadband network set to launch next year

U.S. schools, businesses, and consumers might get more options in wireless service starting next year, with the launch of a new wireless broadband network that aims to provide competition to the incumbent phone companies, reports the Associated Press. Private-equity firm Harbinger Capital Partners on July 20 revealed details of the launch of its wireless network, LightSquared, which should cover 92 percent of the population by 2015. But there are financial and regulatory hurdles to overcome. And in another wrinkle, LightSquared won’t initially be offering conventional cell-phone service, just data. It’s possible to send phone calls over data connections, but that technology is not fully mature or standardized. Still, LightSquared represents a rare new entrant in the wireless market. Only two other companies, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., have firm plans to build nationwide networks using the same, fourth-generation network technology that LightSquared will use. Sprint Nextel Corp., through its Clearwire Corp. subsidiary, is building a third one with a different 4G technology that’s likely to get less support from equipment makers. Consumers won’t buy service directly from LightSquared. Instead, it will sell access wholesale to other companies that can resell it to consumers. LightSquared plans to start providing service in the second half of 2011 in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Baltimore…

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