Online Learning for Rural Students

Autor/in	Leichty, Reg
Titel	Online Learning for Rural Students
Quelle	In: State Education Standard, 21 (2021) 1, S.12-17 (6 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1540-8000
Schlagwörter	Electronic Learning; Internet; Access to Education; Rural Areas; Federal Programs; Federal Aid + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Education; Access; Bildung; Zugang; Bildungszugang; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum
Abstract	The pandemic brought the rural broadband gap into stark relief, as schools shuttered and many families lacked the internet access and devices necessary to connect their students to high-quality online learning. State boards of education can help solve the rural broadband connectivity challenge and expand learning opportunities. To do so, they should support efforts to better map broadband access, champion additional connectivity funding for rural community anchor institutions like schools and libraries, invest in digital literacy initiatives to highlight broadband's benefits, and work with other state leaders to dedicate resources for expanding telecommunications infrastructure to locations where markets fail to provide consumers home connectivity options. Nationally, most schools have at least the minimum broadband capacity required for classroom-based online learning; the few that do not are disproportionately rural. According to Education Superhighway, 99 percent of schools, serving 46.3 million students, have access to the 100 kilobit per second bandwidth that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says is the minimum required for classroom-based digital learning. Education Superhighway estimates that only 743 schools nationally--mostly located in "hard to reach" rural areas and small towns--lack this minimum connectivity level. Connecting these schools must be a high priority, but it is not near enough. The bandwidth required for learning evolves, so policymakers must commit to expanding broadband speeds for all schools. Only 38 percent of all school districts, including 57 percent of America's smallest rural school districts, have reached the FCC's more aspirational online learning broadband speed of 1 megabit per second--10 times faster than the minimum. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Association of State Boards of Education. 2121 Crystal Drive Suite 350, Arlington, VA 22202. Tel: 800-368-5023; Tel: 703-684-4000; Fax: 703-836-2313; e-mail: boards@nasbe.org; Web site: https://www.nasbe.org/category/the-standard/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01