Creative Classroom Online - Tech for Learning


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	FEATURE: Kathy Schrock's Tech Quest

Kathy Schrock's Tech Quest
Which Internet connection is best for my school?
by Kathy Schrock

It's mind-boggling to think how much communication has changed since Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone call 124 years ago. Now, we take for granted the services of cellular phones, faxes, and even the Internet. Yet, believe it or not, many of us still access the Web using Bell's original copper phone lines! After all these years, isn't there a better way to go? In this column, I answer that question: Which Internet connection is best for my school and classroom? To get answers, we'll go on a Tech Quest together. Each letter in "quest" stands for a step we'll take. In addition, each quest is aligned with one of the standards from the International Society for Technology in Education's "ISTE Recommended Foundations in Technology for All Teachers." For more information, visit http://www.iste.org/standards/ncate/found.html If you have a Tech Quest you'd like me to address in a future issue, e-mail me care of Creative Classroomat ccmedit@inch.com.

Kathy Schrock, a technology coordinator in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, created Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators on the Discovery Channel school site: http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/

The Quest: The Best Internet Connection

Questioner: Who is going on the quest? It may be you, an administrator, a parent, or the technology specialist at your school.

Understanding: What is the purpose of the quest? What are my options for connecting to the Internet? Which one is best for me?

Explanation: Exploring options for finding an in-depth answer. When choosing a school's connection, consider these factors:

the number of users who will be on the Internet at one time

the type of information that will be accessed (will it take lots of time to download?)

the reliability of the service 4 the monthly cost of Internet access lines. Then explore the following options:

CONNECTION COMPARISONS

Dial-up connection For this connection -- which is what most computer users have at home -- you'll need a regular phone line, a modem, and an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP), such as Earthlink or Microsoft Network. It's fine for one or two users at a time, but it's slow -- the maximum speed is only 56 kilobits per second or 56K bps. (Bits per second, or "bps," measure how much data can travel at once.)