MSU study: Pandemic gains in broadband access for rural students are fading

22 Aug 2023

MSU study: Pandemic gains in broadband access for rural students are fading

A new study from Michigan State University warns that gains made to address broadband and internet connectivity in Michigan rural communities are beginning to fade. According to MSU research, one in three, or 32.5%, of rural students still lack adequate, fast broadband home internet, despite progress achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students who have no access, those who can only go online using a smartphone, and those with slower home internet struggle to complete homework and stay connected. They are also more likely to experience deficits in academic performance and well-being. Approximately 18% of Michigan residents live in rural communities, […]

03 Mar 2023

Digital Opportunities Compass: Metrics to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy

2023-03-03
Ashley Wilson
Article, Blog, Quello Center, Report, research

Digital Opportunities Compass: Metrics to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy Reposted from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Daily Beat, February 28, 2023 (access original post here). © Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 2023.” The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which includes the Digital Equity Act of 2021 (DEA), establishes a broad framework and significant funding to advance broadband connectivity and digital equity. The law recognizes key factors and populations to address when striving for digital equity. To fully realize the full benefits of digital technology for individuals, communities, and society at large […]

18 Jun 2018

The Natural Stupidity of Artificial Intelligence by A. Michael Noll

2018-06-18
William Dutton
Blog, engineering, Opinion, Quello Center, telecommunications

The Natural Stupidity of Artificial Intelligence A. Michael Noll June 17, 2018 © Copyright 2018 AMN Clearly, the future is coming, but at times we seem mostly to be chasing the past. Artificial intelligence is today’s “new” rage. But I think it is mostly hype and faith, coupled with a blind, and perhaps deliberate, ignorance of what was done decades ago. In the 1960’s, digital computers were programmed and used at Bell Telephone Laboratories (Bell Labs) to “compose” music. Today the same algorithmic approach is called artificial intelligence. Digital computers were also programmed in the early 1960s at Bell Labs […]

08 Jun 2018

New Director of the James H. and Mary B. Quello Center: Professor Johannes M. Bauer

2018-06-08
William Dutton
Announcement, Blog, Department of Media & Information, economics, Media and Information Department, Quello Center

True to news in the digital age, we’ve been scooped by the Internet and Twitter, specifically. But if you have not seen the news yet, we are most pleased to report that Johannes M. Bauer has accepted an offer from the College of Communication Arts & Sciences to serve as the next Director of the Quello Center, and the new Quello Chair in the Department of Media and Information. His appointment is effective August 16, 2018. Professor Bauer has been affiliated with the Quello Center since its inception in 1998, and during his tenure as Chair of the Department of […]

01 Jun 2018

68th ICA Conference in Prague—Voices

Between 24-28 May, thousands of communication scholars from all over the world gathered for the 68th International Communication Association Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. The College of Communication Arts & Sciences had a particularly strong presence at the conference with more than 80 faculty and students presenting their research. The Quello Center’s Assistant Director Bibi Reisdorf and Research Fellow Laleah Fernandez were among those presentations with some of the results from the Quello Search Project. As part of the large program, the team working on the Quello Search Project, Grant Blank (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford), Elizabeth Dubois (Department […]

16 May 2018

The Danger of Talking about ‘Junk’ News

Discussion of so-called fake news is gradually – maybe rapidly – shifting to the concept of ‘junk news’, and I fear this could be a dangerous move. I agree that the concept of fake news has many downsides, not the least of which is the degree it has been politicized. However, the shift to junk news might have even worse implications. My main concern is that it provides more of a rationale for blocking or filtering news, as if it were spam, for example. This evening, the science reporter at PBS, Miles O’Brien, delivered an informative story about ‘Junk News‘. […]

16 May 2018

An Interview with Vint Cerf at MSU

2018-05-16
William Dutton
Blog, engineering, Interview, Net Neutrality, Quello Center, speech

On May 10th, 2018, Google’s ‘father of the Internet’, Vint Cerf gave the Quello Lecture at MSU, entitled ‘The Unfinished Internet’. Before the interview, he was interviewed by Scott Pohl of WKAR public radio. Here is that interview: http://wkar.org/post/googles-father-internet#stream/0

01 May 2018

Vint Cerf Speaking at MSU on 10 May @ 3:30PM

2018-05-01
William Dutton
Announcement, Blog, Department of Media & Information, engineering, FCC, Media and Information Department, Net Neutrality, policy, Quello Center, speech, telecommunications

THE QUELLO CENTER PRESENTS INTERNET PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE BY VINTON CERF THURSDAY, MAY 10TH @ 3:30 PM // COMM ARTS RM. 147 The Internet grew out of a successful US Defense Department experiment in packet switching and became a platform upon which a wide range of new applications have evolved. New technologies such as smart phones have reinforced the utility of the Internet by spreading access to it at increasing bandwidths and geographic scope. The Internet is estimated to have reached about 50% of the world’s population. As this decade comes to a close, what challenges remain and what […]

23 Apr 2018

Notes on the RSA Cybersecurity Conference, San Francisco, by Ruth Shillair

2018-04-23
William Dutton
Department of Media & Information, policy, Quello Center, research

[Written by Quello’s Ruth Shillair and posted by Bill Dutton, with her permission] I was honored to be selected as one of the 50 cybersecurity scholars from around the world to attend the annual global RSA cybersecurity conference. It is a gathering of 50,000 cybersecurity professionals and researchers held in San Francisco. The theme this year was “Now Matters” and cybersecurity issues certainly something that we need to address “now” rather than in the future. The overwhelming theme that I saw was that cybersecurity has gotten over the “silver bullet” fantasy. We realize there will be no killer app or […]

13 Feb 2018

MSU’s Crisis Forum: Notes on a Discussion at the Quello Center

2018-02-13
William Dutton
Blog, Opinion, policy, Quello Center, Workshop

MSU’s Crisis Forum: Raising Questions Notes on the Forum of 9 February 2018 The Quello Center hosted a one-hour ‘conversation about communication and the abuse scandal’ on 9 February. A small group of colleagues shared their views on communication issues related to the sex abuse scandal as it continues to unfold at MSU. The discussion was held in the Quello Center Meeting Room under The Chatham House Rule, so that no quotes would be attributed to any participant. It was a lively discussion of sensitive topics that raised many questions. The key theme arising from the discussion was around ‘listening’. […]

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