How well are U.S. schools really connected to the Internet?

It looks well connected, but this is actually a map of the NSFNET in 1991.

I’m curious …

The Education Superhighway 2016 report states: “75% of all students in America are connected to high-speed broadband (K–12 schools), and 88% of school districts meet the minimum requirements for wireless service.”

What I want to know is: Does it really work?

I am in decent hotels many days when the wireless and broadband are so inadequate that I have to do a personal connection with my mobile device. I was in a school district recently where I was told that only about half of their electronic devices actually worked.

Today a map of the Internet looks more like this!

So I would love to hear your responses to any or all of the following questions:

Is the broadband in your school or schools sufficient for the use it gets? Is it quick, slow, delayed, only available at certain places?
What percentage of school-sponsored devices work dependably—and what percentage of time do you use electronic devices in your classroom?
Are you elementary-, middle-, or high school-based?
For your low-income (free and reduced-price lunch) students, what percentage have Internet at home?

Thank you!

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Ruby Payne2020-06-26T15:09:33-05:00March 29th, 2017|K-12 Schools|

About the Author: Ruby Payne

In her two decades as a consultant on education and economic class, Ruby has published more than a dozen books and spoken extensively around the globe. Ruby empowers educators and community leaders to address issues of poverty in classrooms, communities, businesses, hospitals, churches, and social services. Through aha! Process programs and conferences, Ruby has certified thousands of trainees in her Framework for Understanding Poverty and Bridges Out of Poverty models. Her book Emotional Poverty won an IPPY Award from the Independent Publishers organization, which named it one of the best educational resources of the year. Over her distinguished career, Ruby has worked as a teacher and principal, written K–12 curriculum in all subject areas, and assisted in strategic planning and staff development programs for multiple organizations. Ruby’s work guides educators and community leaders through her extensive library of resources. She aims to equip everyone she meets with the tools to write a future story full of hope.