Very interesting comments from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel direct the program toward broadband connectivity for all schools:
From Chairman Wheeler:
“According to a 2013 survey, 72 percent of schools reported broadband speeds that are inadequate for their teaching needs. I visited one school where the network would crash if too many students pushed “Enter” simultaneously. I recently saw an article in the Detroit News about a Michigan elementary school in which students were midway through a 45-minute online math test when the system crashed as a result of inadequate bandwidth. Most of the students lost all of their work and had to retake the test.
In California I learned of a school that had to bus students to another school in order that they
could take the online tests. I also heard that students that haven’t had the opportunity to practice in an online test environment often perform worse than those from schools that are already online.
But despite the clear need for speed, only about half of the E-Rate’s funds go for broadband
connectivity. And far less than half of E-Rate funds goes for the kind of 100 mbps and higher speeds necessary for today’s learning environment. Most disturbing in an era when WiFi is at every burger joint and coffee shop, is how the E-Rate program is not helping to put WiFi in all classrooms.”
Recent comments from
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