Subj : Isolation Diary To : Mike Powell From : Barry Martin Date : Tue Apr 07 2020 07:05:00 Hi again, Mike! > I'm not sure how things were switched over around here. The crisis > might prove to be the kick in the seats the rural school districts > needed to 'get with the programme'. In the past some had to make up > quite a bit of time because of nasty winters. (Part of the basis for my > comment on the Indiana seniors.) With the schools closed there have > been some problems with students not able to connect to the Internet, > though the news stories seem to be emphasizing lack of WiFi -- > terminology sloppiness?? MP> In our state, it seems like several of the at least semi-rural MP> districts were the ones more prepared. The largest city, MP> Louisville, has been out of school for 3 weeks or a month now, MP> but they are just starting their distance learning tomorrow. Wow! Yes, does seem backwards. I sort of expect the reasoning to be related to geographics: large cities have their students clustered closer together so easier to get them on a bus. The buses use the roadways to get the students. Big snowstorm, roads are generally kept open, or closed for a day. The rural schools have their students spread out over miles, in winter the roads are sometimes not that in good condition even without the snow; students can't make it in to school. Might be for this reason the rural schools were better prepared: they had to use distance learning ove the years. > There was a news story where school buses in Burlington (larger city in > SE Iowa) were being used to prove WiFi. ...So LIS, Burlington is a > bigger city, not like some of the situations where the student lives on > a farm in the middle of nowhere. ...The concept didn't quite make sense > to me before. now I'm even more confused by it! MP> Louisville is also planning to provide WiFi hotspots to students MP> who do not have access to the Internet. They are also supplying MP> several hundred with a Chromebook. As the reports I have seen MP> have not been specific on the "how," I wonder if they are MP> planning to offer the WiFi in a similar manner. Possible. I'd presume Burlington isn't the only one to have thought of it. I'd also guess there is or has been created some sort of web group where teachers and administrators share ideas. And yes, when I hear "we're going to provide all our students with " I also wonder where all the money to purchase and support comes from. Sometimes donations but often not. Virtual bake sales, here we come! ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... "To bake apple pie from scratch, first create the Universe." Carl Sagan --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .