Education to Open China to Broadband?; Michigan
Teachers Get Computers
Education as Rationale for Building
Broadband--in China!
A short piece in the New York Times Online, from Reuters news
service, focuses on an executive from Cisco Systems who says that lack of content is an "obstacle to the widespread adoption of broadband
technology" in China. However, the executive goes on to say that offering
education--which Asians value, he says--provides a compelling reason for
China to invest in a powerful broadband infrastructure. He believes that
because the Chinese value and hunger for education, China will be willing
to pay the high costs for such an infrastructure. This isn't the first
time education's been touted as a compelling reason to build computer infrastructure
(consider the government E-Rate program in America, which funds wiring
K-12 schools). However, it does point to the prominence the Net and WWW
will have in realigning who teaches, who learns, and when, where, and how
those things happen. The article doesn't say, but does Cisco plan to offer
courses too? For the full Reuters story go to http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-cisco-broadband-.html.
Computers to All State Teachers in Michigan
Putting sense--and even more money--where their technology money is, Michigan
political leaders and lawmakers have approved a program that will provide
either a laptop or desktop computer to the 90,000 teachers who are eligible
for the program. Each participating school will receive $1200 per teacher
towards the purchase of a desktop or laptop that the teacher can use exclusively--at
home or office--in a long term loan arrangement (just like businesses do
for their employees who need to be digitally literate and connected). Rebecca
S. Weiner reports in more detail in her New York Times CyberTimes Education
column at http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/11/technology/11EDUCATION.html.
(Posted 10/13/00)