Cuba, N.M., schools overcome big digital divide using Starlink

To swiftly address the dearth of equitable internet connectivity exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Las Cruces Public Schools collaborated with a variety of funding, research, and outreach partners to bring nearly all of its 24,000 students online in their homes.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to shift to remote learning, districts issued wireless hot spots to students as a cost-effective solution to help those living in homes without internet access their school work. While hot spots helped a large number of students, a present digital divide — specifically in rural areas — has made connecting harder for others, but government funding is ramping up to expand broadband access.

At least 40 percent, or 2,000, students from Lockhart ISD didn’t have access to reliable internet. To address the issue, the school district built seven towers. They also installed antennas on individual homes so they can receive the signals from the towers. As a result, 1,300 students got connected. “This is about equity,” Estrada said. “Every one of our Lockhart Lions needs to have access to the opportunities they deserve to grow and truly thrive.”

A school district in Virginia has implemented a two-prong solution to provide internet access to rural students during the pandemic. The indoor solution allows students to make appointments to be inside the school to access the internet. The outside solution, equipping three schools in the district with equipment to boost their Wi-Fi signals, allowing students who can’t make indoor appointments a way to access the Wi-Fi. “We just took advantage of something that was already happening in the district."

JamieSue Goodman, an employee at Google, was part of the team that developed an Applied Digital Skills curriculum that teaches students how to use technology to accomplish real-world tasks. Available for educators worldwide, 360,000 students have used the materials since its launch and 50,000 teachers have registered on the site. Students and teachers alike attest to how fun, engaging, and useful the education is.

Three school districts in northwestern Alaska are using a high-speed fiber-optic cable connection to increase connectivity and offer students new opportunities to use educational technology that their peers in other parts of the country take for granted.

Far from its location in Boston, Southern New Hampshire University is offering refugees at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya a shot at getting an education. SNHU offers associate's and bachelor’s online degree programs in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, and Lebanon. A degree could be life changing, given that only 1 percent of refugees have access to higher education. The online program is “self-paced, offered in English, and costs less.” So far, 84 have enrolled and 24 have graduated.

Many families in rural New Mexico still do not have high speed internet access at home. In Farmington, the public school district, a local college, and nonprofits are working to close the gap in the digital divide for students by addressing access to technology and the internet.

A rural county in Texas brought broadband access to locals with the help of internet service provider Nextlink, the Citizens Broadband Radio Service and Tarana Wireless. Following a $2.6 million investment, over seven months, the partners built infrastructure that offers download speeds of 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 megabits per second.

South Dakota State University's Expanding the Circle program provides online graduate courses and tuition support to help faculty at tribal colleges update their credentials in line with new accreditation requirements. Since the program was rolled out, the retention rate for online graduate coursework has risen by roughly 30 percent.