A pretty good article from EdWeek on the Bandwidth Demands Rise as Schools Move to Common Core was published a couple of weeks ago. The title was great, which wrapped the need for bigger pipes around the Common Core. Basically, if we are going to learn everything we need to learn, at the rates (of learning) required for our kids to be competitive around the globe, we need higher speed connectivity. We can’t get held up by a buffering video or an important file taking hours to download.
While Don Knezek, talks about having 2 1/2 times the bandwidth for the number of people serving (I like that number), CoSN talks more about the type of adoption – or trying to account for the stuff people are actually doing.
“Most folks identify needs as the amount of equipment you have connected,” Mitchell adds, but “it is more about the levels of [technology] adoption for your teachers, students, and staff.” ~ Bailey Mitchell (Board of Directors, CoSN
Bandwidth costs a lot of money. FCC supports schools and districts with the Erate program (great program. hard work, but great.). The cost is also coming down. But maybe more importantly, connectedness is being offset by personal expenditures. People don’t want to wait for YOU to get them the speeds to get their content. They want to just do it on thier own. Owning their own connectedness.
It’s more important than the car they drive.
This article takes a peak into the minds of some of our learners. Where do you sit on the fence? Would you rather have a fast connection to content that you get to drive 24 hours a day … or a fast car that you get to drive 1 hour a day on average?