Internet Access Outside of Schools Is as Important as Access Within Schools
I was prompted by a conversation with a colleague to write this post about rural school districts and broadband access. Because I work mainly with rural districts, I'm very aware of the issues that internet access raises. While rural schools usually provide internet access at good speeds, they are only able to do so because of government subsidies. Once students in rural districts get home, internet access is often woefully slow or non-existent. The internet has replaced television and print media as the primary conveyor of information for our society. Because rural students are unable to access broadband internet at home, they are at a disadvantage educationally and socially. First, let's consider how rural populations access the internet to see how lacking the access is. Contrary to popular belief, most rural and low socioeconomic populations do access the internet daily. In my research, I have found that ~95-97% of people in rural districts use th...