IT Infrastructure & Management Video

Are Rural Students Getting Shortchanged in the Digital Age?

April 7, 2016 7:00

Rural schools are often charged outrageous rates for lousy Internet service, an ongoing equity challenge that has drawn increasing attention from Washington. Correspondent John Tulenko visited the Calhoun County school district, which was paying $9,275 in monthly bills for the slowest Internet service in all of Mississippi. For years, the district’s 2,500 students haven’t been able to do Internet research in school. Computerized state testing last year was a disaster. And the district long ago gave up on buying the new digital technologies that are transforming schools just an hour away. But all that could be about to change, thanks to the Federal Communications Commission’s recent overhaul of the E-rate program. Education Week talks with students, educators, and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to gauge whether billions of new federal dollars and new rule changes to the program can finally help bring affordable high-speed Internet access to America’s rural schools. This video segment appeared on PBS NewsHour on February 16, 2016. Education Week Video

Video

Classroom Technology Video Teachers, Try This: Digital Literacy Lessons for Elementary Students
Students are encountering technology at an early age. It's important they know how to interact safely with a digital world.
3:07
Photo of teacher helping students with their tablet computers.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Student Well-Being Video How Urban Schools Bring Lessons to Life Through Gardening
School gardens can connect classroom lessons with the wider world while offering lifelong learnings for students.
3:55
Student Well-Being Video What’s Behind the Political Criticisms of Social-Emotional Learning?
The Trump administration says SEL is being used to veil discrimination. What does that mean for schools?
Students from Suelllen Vesperman’s first grade class dance to the Macarena as they participate in an exercise through the InPACT program at North Elementary School in Birch Run, Mich., on March 2, 2023.
Students from Suelllen Vesperman’s first grade class dance to the Macarena as they participate in an exercise through the InPACT program at North Elementary School in Birch Run, Mich., on March 2, 2023.
Emily Elconin for Education Week
Student Well-Being Video The First Rule of SEL for Older Students? Don’t Be Boring
Middle and high schoolers are a much tougher audience for social-emotional-learning lessons.
2 min read
A high school student introduces herself to her classmates and guests in an AP research class.
A high school student introduces herself to her classmates and guests in an AP research class.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed