Evaluating High-Speed Internet Access and Its Impact on K–12 Online Course Offerings

• In Event: Roundtable Session 38
  In Roundtable Session: Using Digital Technology to Support Lifelong Learning

Abstract

This paper seeks to look at if the push for the use of Web 2.0 tools in flipped classrooms and in online classes that are being required in a growing number of states and individual school districts can be supported by the state of high speed internet infrastructure at the local level in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. While internet access may be wide spread, it is the connection speed that creates an issue of inequity as not all internet speeds can support online classrooms using Web 2.0 tools. The authors looked at internet speed data provided by the FCC in selected school districts in rural, suburban, and urban settings and compared the connection speeds against a growing mandate.

Authors

• Adam J Hocker, The Pennsylvania State University

• Stormy Stark, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park