(Terre Haute) Tribune-Star
When state Rep. Tonya Pfaff, a Terre Haute teacher, talked in May about the dizzying transition educators faced when schools were abruptly closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, she noted that being asked to suddenly teach remotely carried a variety challenges.
E-learning — a process in which teachers communicate with their students virtually using digital technology and the internet — is a relatively new and wonderful option for imparting educational instruction. It has been highly successful in many ways and carries tremendous potential for the future.
But, as Pfaff pointed out, the remote learning transition underscored a big problem that still awaits resolution. Not all areas of the state and nation have access to reliable internet services. No internet, no teaching. No teaching, no learning.
As a math teacher at North Vigo School, Pfaff had to navigate the obstacles posed by gaps in broadband internet access as she worked to teach her students during disruptive times. As a state representative, she saw firsthand the importance of investing in expanded broadband service to all regions of the state so that students in rural or underserved areas would not be deprived of the same educational opportunities afforded to everyone else.
Indiana, with leadership from Gov. Eric Holcomb and support from lawmakers such as Pfaff, broadband internet expansion is taking place. It should have happened sooner, of course, and it’s not coming at a pace we’d like to see. But it is coming, and more and more funds are being allocated to it.
This week, the governor announced it had received 72 applications requesting nearly $100 million in funding from the the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant program.
According to the governor’s office, the applications in this second round of the program came from 21 different service providers and cover more than 4,100 of the eligible census blocks in 47 counties. The first round awarded $28.4 million for 14 expansion programs across 18 counties.
Expanding internet connectivity is important in education and in so many other ways, including telehealth. Reliable broadband services is an issue related both to economic development and quality of life. Too many people still don’t have this essential service, and it is creating an inequality among the citizenry that must be eliminated.
Indiana’s broadband expansion program is making progress. It must continue to expand until there are no more digital deserts.
