The Federal Communications Commission has approved final rules for a new broadband subsidy program that could help struggling families pay for internet service during the pandemic. From a report: The agency’s $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program provides eligible low-income households with up to a $50 per month credit on their internet bills through their provider until the end of the…
Tag: digital divide
Building the University of the Future
By Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO Even before COVID-19 changed the ways we live, work, and learn, universities were facing major challenges. Almost half of the higher education institutions in the U.S. had no formal online programs in 2018, and last year, fewer than 50 percent of faculty had ever taught an online course. Meanwhile, universities […]
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The No-Code Generation is Arriving
An anonymous reader shares a column: In the distant past, there was a proverbial “digital divide” that bifurcated workers into those who knew how to use computers and those who didn’t. Young Gen Xers and their later millennial companions grew up with Power Macs and Wintel boxes, and that experience made them native users on how to make these technologies do…
Live2Coursera: Coming Soon as a Zoom App
By Shravan Goli, Chief Product Officer, Coursera In August, we launched Live2Coursera to help instructors quickly move online by integrating Zoom lectures into their private courses and content libraries on Coursera. While this helped address the initial challenge of transitioning instruction online, internet connectivity and access to devices still impede learning for many students. Instructors […]
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Announcing Coursera for Campus free pricing options and academic integrity upgrades
By Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO The pandemic has been a catalyst for universities to make online learning core to the student experience. In March, we launched the Campus Response Initiative to give students and faculty free access to Coursera for Campus during pandemic-related closures. Since then, we have grown from 30 universities using Coursera for […]
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Engineers Set New World Record for Internet Speed
“Imagine being able to download every single movie and TV show on Netflix in less than a second,” writes Gizmodo: Researchers at University College London have the ability to do that with a new world record they set for fastest internet — 178 terabits a second, or 178,000 Gbps. Lecturer and Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow Dr. Lidia Galdino and…
Amazon Satellites Add To Astronomers’ Worries About the Night Sky
Welcome to the age of the satellite megaconstellation. Within the next few years, vast networks, containing hundreds or even thousands of spacecraft, could reshape the future of Earth’s orbital environment. From a report: Much of the attention on these strings of satellites has been placed on the prolific launches of SpaceX and OneWeb, but the focus is now turning to Amazon….
What We Need Now is ‘Universal Basic Internet’
Yes, economist Tyler Cowen and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov (now the chairman of the nonprofit Renew Democracy Initiative) co-authored an opinion piece this week arguing that Covid-19 “is illustrating that some aspects of a Universal Basic Income may be more necessary and more workable than previously thought. But there is one big piece missing: The economic output required to…
How Alexander advanced his IT career with a Professional Certificate
My journey with information technology growing up in Sierra Leone I grew up in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, at a time when computers were a luxury and largely inaccessible. I got lucky when I was eleven and was able to use the computer for the first time when my mother was assigned a work […]
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NYC Internet Plan Aims To Provide All New Yorkers With Broadband Access
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNET: New York City unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to bring universal internet access to its 8.5 million residents by partnering with private internet service providers, a move Mayor Bill de Blasio says will help close the digital divide. The Internet Master Plan would create partnerships between the city and ISPs to facilitate permitting…