Internet

Ed Markey, Boston Teachers Union push for more internet access for students learning at home amid coronavirus

Destiny Viator 23 hours ago

There’s no school this fall without the internet, but as remote learning gets underway in districts across Massachusetts and kicks off in Boston on Monday, not every student has access to a network.

“Right now we’re trying to connect students with 60- or 90-day free trials with Wi-Fi access. But what happens after those free trials end?” Boston Teachers Union president Jessica Tang said on Friday.

Even among students who do have access to the internet, some have such poor connections that they’re “dropping in and out,” she added. “Obviously that’s a major disruption to remote learning.”

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is calling for $4 billion in the next round of coronavirus relief funding to change that.

“The internet is like oxygen for young people and their education,” Markey said Friday, appearing with Tang outside the Boston Teachers Union Pilot School in Jamaica Plain. “If the internet is not made

… Read More

Is It Time For The Internet To Be A School-Managed Public Utility?

Destiny Viator 2 days ago

School has opened across the country, but in many districts that means class via internet—if those students are among those fortunate enough to have access to fast, large-capacity internet connections.

How many aren’t connected? The answer is that nobody’s exactly sure. One study says that 33 million citizens live without the net. The FCC says that 19 million Americans lack access to broadband at threshold speeds; they also say that 99.99% of the US population has access to some kind of internet. None of the surveys really capture the picture on the ground. Here’s a house that has a good internet connect—except when it rains. Here’s a home where the connection is good—unless five people have to connect their devices at the same time.

So as schools shift to online education, we have more tales of students sitting in parking lots to grab the wi-fi. Schools (and

… Read More

Students without internet at home are getting left behind, says Sen. Ed Markey, urging FCC to boost connectivity

Destiny Viator 3 days ago

Sen. Ed Markey and a coalition of more than three dozen Democratic senators urged the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday to boost internet connectivity for students whose homes have turned into classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Democratic senators, in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, urged the FCC to “immediately utilize the E-Rate program” to provide internet access for students at home during remote or hybrid learning, with 16 million children across the U.S. lacking internet access.

“These students are disproportionally from communities of color, low-income households and rural areas,” the senators wrote. “Without urgent action by the FCC, we are deeply concerned that they will fall further behind in their studies. The current emergency demands that you take immediate action to help our nation’s most vulnerable children. We specifically call on you to utilize the E-Rate program to close this ‘homework gap’ without further delay.”

Markey authored

… Read More

Hamden schools lost internet for nearly a full day on second day of classes

Destiny Viator 4 days ago


  • Hamden High School Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media / New Haven Register


    Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media


Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media



Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media


HAMDEN — Schools districtwide were without internet access on day two of the school year, according to a district email sent Wednesday morning.

Karen Kaplan, director of innovation, technology and communications, said the administration investigated the situation and the internet was functioning again between 2:30 and 3 p.m.

Hamden public school students returned to classes Tuesday under a hybrid model that alternates in-person schooling and learning remotely at home.

Across the district, about 30 percent of students have opted for full remote learning, an option the district created for parents who didn’t want to or couldn’t safely send their kids back to in-person schooling.

Around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, the internet outage cut students off from

… Read More

First of 82,000 devices purchased by Connecticut for needy students learning from home will begin arriving this month

Destiny Viator 5 days ago

Connecticut school districts will soon begin receiving tens of thousands of laptops for students in need through the state’s Everybody Learns initiative.

Announced in July, the program seeks to end the state’s digital divide and improve online learning by providing families who do not have adequate access to devices and connectivity with new laptops and home high-speed internet.

“From the beginning of this pandemic, we knew that our state had an obligation to tens of thousands of school children around Connecticut to make sure they had the tools necessary to further their educations, as we didn’t know how long this public health emergency would last,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a news release Tuesday. “Now, our students are in a position where they have the tools necessary to participate and engage with this technology, and we can keep as many students as possible connected throughout this school year.”

In

… Read More

Discounted Internet Available For Braintree Students In Need

Destiny Viator 6 days ago



a young boy using a laptop computer sitting on top of a table: The service will offer subsidized internet and speeds of 100 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload for students enrolled in hybrid and remote learning

© Shutterstock
The service will offer subsidized internet and speeds of 100 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload for students enrolled in hybrid and remote learning

BRAINTREE, MA — Braintree Public Schools have partnered with the Braintree Electric Light Department to offer discounted high-speed internet for families struggling financially.

The service will offer subsidized internet and speeds of 100 Mbps download and 30 Mbps upload for students enrolled in hybrid and remote learning. Program participation is based on a qualification process administered by the Braintree Electric Light Department.

To qualify, families must complete the following process:

  • Contact the Braintree Electric Light Department’s support services manager, Gail Cohen at gcohen@beld.com or 781-348-1125
  • BELD will confirm family address is serviceable by their system.
  • BELD will provide financial guidelines, application forms, and certification agency contact information.
  • The family would apply to the certification agency for qualification based on income.
  • Once the certification agency
… Read More

T-Mobile pushes internet for virtual school

Destiny Viator 7 days ago

NEW YORK (AP) — T-Mobile is pushing to offer internet service to schools that are doing online learning with a program aimed at low-income students who don’t have access. In the U.S., millions of students don’t have high-speed internet or computers at home — a difficult enough situation when it was just about trying to get homework done, but a much bigger problem when many school districts have moved part or all of the school day online during the coronavirus pandemic.



These undated photos provided by T-Mobile shows, from left, T-Mobile executives Matt Staneff and Mike Katz. T-Mobile is pushing to offer internet service to schools that are doing online learning with a program aimed at low-income students who don’t have access. (T-Mobile via AP)

© Provided by Associated Press
These undated photos provided by T-Mobile shows, from left, T-Mobile executives Matt Staneff and Mike Katz. T-Mobile is pushing to offer internet service to schools that are doing online learning with a program aimed at low-income students who don’t have access. (T-Mobile via AP)

School districts are spending big to address the crisis. The L.A. Unified School District is investing $100 million in online

… Read More

Namecheap Offers Free 20 Minute Virtual Class On Internet Basics for Students & Online Novices

Destiny Viator 1 week ago

Entry-level lesson covering domains, web hosting, SSL and online security; Plus, most teachers & students with .edu email addresses eligible for FREE .me domain and website builder to create a first website!

PHOENIX, Sept. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Namecheap, the world’s second-largest domain registrar and leading provider of online products and services, today unveiled a virtual class lesson aimed at students and online novices. The free 20-minute YouTube video lesson covers the “Internet basics”, and everything someone would need to know to launch their first website. Additionally, through Namecheap for Education’s NC.ME initiative, almost all students and teachers in the US are eligible for a free .me domain, web builder and more — so that teachers and students can create websites together.  

Namecheap’s “The Internet Basics You Need to Launch Your First Website” covers three main aspects of websites:

  • Domains: What is a domain name? How does DNS
… Read More

Mid-Michigan church opens its doors as internet hotspot for virtual-learning students

Destiny Viator 1 week ago

FLUSHING, MI – A Flushing church has opened its doors for students virtually learning in the community amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flushing United Methodist Church, 413 E. Main St., is providing free internet access for more than 30 students from 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday with social distancing inside the building’s fellowship hall.

Flushing Community Schools has committed to virtual learning until at least Oct. 5.

Flushing schools delay start, opt for virtual learning-only in first month

In a letter to the board, Superintendent Matt Shanafelt said the change to the start-of-school plan would help assure the highest degree of staff, student and community safety.

Pastor JJ Mannschreck said the idea to allow students in came from a church member.

“We have a mom in our congregation who is an educator herself. She is digitally teaching,” he noted.

The church member saw a Facebook post from another house of

… Read More

All K-12 students in need have access to TELUS high speed internet for only $9.95 per month

Destiny Viator 1 week ago

In partnership with local school boards and educators, TELUS helps ensure all K-12 students in B.C. and Alberta have access to high speed internet to support virtual learning throughout what will be an unconventional school year

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Even though it’s still early September, the 2020-2021 school year is shaping up to be the most unusual to date. No matter what may happen, students are learning and studying online more than ever before, and TELUS is stepping up to help students and families in need across B.C. and Alberta stay connected by giving them access to high speed internet at home. The TELUS Internet for Good program provides high speed broadband internet for only $9.95 per month. Previously, eligibility for the program was limited to families that were receiving the maximum Child Care Benefit from the federal government. However, in April, TELUS partnered

… Read More