Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The Community College Research Center conducted a study of online education at
two statewide community systems, one in the southern United States and the other in
the western United States. Their study revealed that students who take online courses are
less likely to complete and perform well in them, compared with students who take the
same courses in a traditional classroom setting. The study also showed that the online
experience widened the achievement gap between white and black students and between
those with higher GPAs and those with lower GPAs [69].
The Community College Research Center study provides evidence that a shift to-
ward online education could exacerbate differences in success rates that already exist
between different subgroups of students. It reinforces Warschauer's point that the dif-
ference between the “haves” and the “have nots” in society is not simply a question of
access to a technology or even information.
The corporations that operate the long-distance Internet backbone connections in the
United States have suggested that they may begin
tiered service
—charging more for
higher-priority routing of Internet packets. These companies have said that tiered service
will be needed in the future to guarantee a satisfactory level of service to companies that
require it, such as voice over IP (VoIP) providers [70].
Content providers such as Google and Yahoo! have combined with the American
Library Association and consumer groups to oppose any notion of tiered service. These
groups have asked the US Congress to enact “net neutrality” legislation that would re-
quire Internet service providers to treat all packets the same. Consumer groups suggest
that if tiered service is enacted, only large corporations would be able to pay for the
highest level of service. Small start-up companies wouldn't be able to compete with es-
tablished corporate giants. Hence tiered service would discourage innovation and com-
petition. Another argument against tiered service is based on the concern that compa-
nies controlling the Internet might block or degrade access to nonfavored content or
applications [70]. For example, a customer with an AT&T/Yahoo! DSL connection might
find that high-definition video content from AT&T channels performs better than high-
definition video from other providers [71]. Net neutrality advocates say this is unfair and
must be prevented, pointing out that 95 percent of consumers have only two choices for
broadband access: the local cable company or the local telephone company [72].
Opponents of “net neutrality” legislation suggest that allowing people to pay more
to get a higher quality of service can sometimes be to the benefit of consumers. For ex-
ample, rapid delivery of data packets is more valuable to a person using the Internet for
videoconferencing than a person who simply sends email messages. Internet backbone
providers argue that even though there is currently enough bandwidth, the rapidly in-
creasing popularity of YouTube and other online video sites will soon fill the Internet's
data pipes. A significant amount of money is needed to upgrade the Internet infrastruc-
ture to support the higher-bandwidth applications of the future. This money ought to
come from the companies that are selling access to the data-intensive content [70].
In a 2007 report, the US Federal Trade Commission concluded the market was be-
coming more, not less, competitive and suggested that Congress “proceed with caution”
