Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become all the
rage in education, but accessibility issues have the potential to bring the
model to its knees.
The Fairfax County Public School grappled with problem
as students struggled to finish their homework using an e-textbook because they
either didn’t have broadband access at home or a fast enough connection,
according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. If a school district in a wealthy suburb
of Washington, D.C., has students that have no or limited broadband access, how
will less affluent districts or those in rural areas where broadband access is
limited fare?
A Pew Internet & American Life Project survey last
year found that only 66% of American adults have broadband access at home. Just
one-fifth of elementary- and secondary-school teachers in the U.S. said that
all or most of their students had access at home. In addition, many
telecommunications providers have moved away from unlimited-access smartphone
plans and Internet providers could just as easily move away from similar
unlimited high-speed home options.
While some libraries are up to speed, many remain behind
in the technology race, according to a 2012 study by the American Library
Association. That research found that more than 40% of public libraries didn’t
provide enough Internet access to meet the demands of patrons, while 65%
reported not having enough public computers.
Of course, students can always head out to their
neighborhood Starbucks, and maybe even their college store, since many
retailers now offer high-speed access as a service to customers.
“The question is, ‘What is the new basic?’” said Martin
Hilbert, research fellow at the Annenberg School for Communications and
Journalism, University of Southern California. “There will always be
inequality. But 100 years after the introduction of the car, not everybody has
a Ferrari, but everyone has access to some form of motorized transportation
through buses.”
