High speed learning

American youth can use high speed internet in many different ways. It's easiest to think of teens using high speed connections to play games, download music and chat with their friends. But there are plenty of serious and productive ways for them to take advantage of high speed internet as well.  As a recent story from New Paltz, NY noted:

It's more than videos on YouTube or personal pages on MySpace or multiplayer Internet games like RuneScape.

It can make a difference in how well school kids learn, where they find jobs in the future, how they stay healthy.

Whether it's watching educational videos online, partaking in distance learning, or doing research for school projects, students can use high speed internet to get the most out of their studies.

But not all students.

Those on the wrong side of the digital divide are missing on these opportunities, falling behind their more fortunate classmates. No student's education should suffer just because they cannot afford high speed internet or because they live in sparsely populated, underserved areas.

The consequences of the digital divide in the classroom are apparent:

Teachers feel the difference too. "Some kids are very good with researching and search engines; some are completely in awe and don't care," said 20-year teacher Mike Cerullo.

Cerullo teaches technology in Roscoe.

They will need those computer skills in the future, said Benjamin Kudria, the 19-year-old co-founder of Game Face Web Design in Kingston.

"Broadband access is a very important thing if you are talking about the spread of technology and the Internet," Kudria said. "It's like good roads or telephone services."

For the sake of our education system and our economy, all students – and all Americans – must have access to affordable, high speed internet.

Beating broadband 'lag' (Times-Herald Record)