05/11/15
Detailed School District Connectivity Reports - Now Available
Connect Alaska today is releasing summary connectivity reports for 53 Alaska school districts. The reports feature the following information about the school districts: average download speeds, monthly cost of broadband, type of connectivity, and technology available in the classroom. This is the first comprehensive data release of its kind – specifically designed to inform education and government stakeholders about the use of broadband technology at all public K-12 schools in Alaska.
05/07/15
The Rural Telecom Congress Hosts Annual Summit
The Rural Telecom Congress (RTC) recently hosted their annual summit. Check out the summit website for panel discussion videos, audio files, and PDF presentations from the recent conference have been posted, including an excellent presentation by Anne Neville. Great content worth checking out.
04/29/15
FCC Offers $10 billion for Broadband Network Upgrades
Today, the FCC formally offered the nation’s largest telephone companies, including AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, CenturyLink, FairPoint, and Windstream, $10 billion in subsidies to offer broadband service to over 4 million homes and businesses that are currently unserved. Today’s offer is a critical step in “Phase II” of the Connect America Fund, which will subsidize the construction of 10 Mbps down/1 Mbps up broadband networks in these areas over the next six years.
04/10/15
100% of Alaska School Districts Submit Broadband Data for School Audit
Contributed by James Dunn – One hundred percent of Alaska school districts have submitted important information on broadband connectivity, wireless and wired network capacity, equipment, and district Wide Area Network connectivity as part of the Alaska School Broadband Audit initiative, a multi-faceted series of projects undertaken by Connect Alaska in partnership with the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
03/28/15
Alaska Looks to Reduce Budget in Education
Alaskan legislators are looking at education programs for budget cuts. The following excerpt from the Alaskan Dispatch News explains which programs would take the biggest hits: Best Beginnings, an early childhood reading program; Parents-as-Teachers, which assists parents with educating their children; the ANSWERS data system program; the Online With Libraries program; the Live Homework Help program; the Statewide Literacy Program; broadband assistance for rural schools; and others.
03/19/15
Alaska Schools Make Critical Transition
In an article from the Alaskan Dispatch News we share that, “This month, for the first time, Alaska's students will log onto computers to take a statewide exam – one that abandons pencils and paper and stands to test the strength of servers and bandwidth across the state.”
03/18/15
Grant Opportunity: Alaska Native Education Program
More than $16 million and an estimated 33 awards are available as part of the Alaska Native Education (ANE) program. The purpose of the program is to support innovative projects that enhance the educational services provided to Alaska Native children and adults. The deadline for Transmittal of Applications is April 27, 2015. Applicants must be from one of the Alaska Native organizations.
03/04/15
FCC Reports Alaska Internet Speeds Far Behind Nation
It is difficult to get basic commodities to and around Alaska, with more than 200 villages unconnected by roads. This issue hits Internet speed hard. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has increased its download and upload speeds to better match the technology of today. However, a recent report from the FCC shows Alaska far behind when it comes to Internet speed.
More can be found from the full article by Alaska Dispatch News.
03/04/15
Alaskan School District Lists Innovations
The Annette Island School District (AISD) has put together a list of innovations that demonstrate a leadership model for all Alaskan School Districts.
In one place you can now see what others are working on and share what you are innovating.
02/19/15
Broadband: A Critical Element of Education in Alaska
Connect Alaska today is releasing its latest study, Broadband: A Critical Element of Education in Alaska. The study summarized the results of 55 one-on-one interviews of school educators and administrators, the majority in rural and bush areas, in which nearly three-quarters of the state's K-12 schools are located.
