Ohio keeps pace with national broadband adoption increases - sees a significant jump in targeted groups

By: Rachelle Manson

Home broadband adoption in Ohio is continuing to increase right alongside the national average.

According to Connect Ohio’s 2010 Residential Technology Research, 66 percent of Ohioans currently subscribe to some type of broadband service at their home, an increase from last year’s rate of 62 percent.

Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project national broadband survey results show that 66 percent of national residents have high-speed Internet in their homes, compared to 63 percent last year. The study was conducted among a sample of over 2,000 adults by Princeton Survey Research Associates and also shows the trends in broadband adoption, as well as the attitudes toward broadband and broadband
investment.

Pew is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping America and the world. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work
and home, daily life, education, healthcare, and civic and political life.
Both the Ohio and national broadband adoption rates rose from 55 percent in 2008.

With an overall increase of 10 percent since 2008, the data show that U.S. citizens and Ohio residents are becoming more connected to high-speed Internet service in their homes. Ohio residents are demonstrating the increasing value of broadband service as a resource for communication, healthcare, government, e-commerce, and a wealth of knowledge.

While broadband adoption statistics and the reasons for nontechnology use between
residents of Ohio and the United States are similar, the state is seeing more individuals using the Internet. Connect Ohio research shows that families with children are traditionally more likely to adopt. Groups that are slower to adopt technology include: under-educated individuals, senior citizens, and low income households, according to Connect Ohio’s 2010 technology research.

The national and state averages for minorities who have recently subscribed to high-speed Internet service have increased at a rapid rate this year. Among African-Americans in the state of Ohio, broadband adoption increased to 52 percent in 2010
from 46 percent in 2009. Across the country, 56 percent of African-Americans now subscribe to broadband, compared to46 percent in 2009.

The increase of broadband adoption across the state, as well as throughout the country, relates the increasing value of broadband subscribership and shows a steady decrease in the digital divide. For detailed survey results and analysis, visit http://connectohio.org/_documents/Binder1.pdf for the results of Connect Ohio’s survey, and http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Home-Broadband-2010/Summary-of-Findings.aspx for the complete results from Pew Research.

PARTNER Spotlight: eTech Ohio

By: Rachelle Manson

As a state agency, eTech Ohio is dedicated to enhancing learning by developing programs and using best practices to serve learning organizations while acquiring, integrating and sustaining educational technology. The use of technology helps Ohio
students and citizens learn the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century. Highlights of eTech Ohio’s ongoing commitment to providing technology access to Ohio’s 11 million citizens include:

E-Rate: The Universal Service Fund for Schools and Libraries, popularly known as the E-Rate Technical Assistance program,
helps ensure that eligible schools and libraries have affordable access to modern telecommunications and information services.

Video Conferencing: eTech Ohio is the leading agency in facilitating comprehensive video conferencing services around Ohio. Increased utilization of these services has resulted in a reduction of travel for state meetings, increased selection for schools and colleges that utilize distance learning, and a heightened capacity for real-time participation in professional
development—all of which have meant significant savings for the state of Ohio.

Longitudinal Data System: eTech Ohio is working closely with the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents to develop a Longitudinal Data System that will link K-12 and higher education information technology systems. With this system, Ohio’s educational institutions will be able to efficiently share and accurately manage, analyze, and use student
data as they move on to a 2-year or 4-year institution to further their knowledge.

21st Century Learning Environments/Professional Development: eTech Ohio’s innovative programs and services help teachers, technology staff, and administrators make effective use of technology for classroom and lifelong learning. Through various professional development classes and programs, eTech provides electronic information resources that can be used by
teachers and other education professionals.

The Ohio Educational Technology Conference: The Ohio Educational Technology Conference (scheduled for January 31 – Feb. 2, 2011, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center) is the third largest conference of its kind in the nation.

Broadcast to IP Network: eTech Ohio has forged strong partnerships with Ohio’s broadcast affiliates, education technology
entities, higher education, and others to eliminate duplicative efforts and to leverage existing programs and resources to better serve Ohio learners.

Summit County classes offered through Knight Foundation grant

Summit County residents can now take hands-on computer classes at any of the county library system’s 17 public library branches, thanks to a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“Knight Foundation founders Jack and Jim Knight wanted Akron to be an informed community. In the digital age, we do that by increasing access to a broader geographic area, and enhancing individuals’ computer skills and overall workforce readiness,” said Vivian C. Neal, Knight Foundation program director for Akron. This project will significantly expand and enhance the library’s workforce training offerings community wide.

“Digital access is essential to first-class citizenship in our society. Without digital, you lack full access to information, you are second class economically and even socially,” said Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of Knight Foundation.
“If a job application at Wal-Mart or McDonald’s must be made online, how can we pretend that we have equal opportunity if significant portions of our communities don’t have access? Libraries can be part of the solution.”

The Akron project consists of computer training staff offering four to five programs per week at branch library locations. The Akron-Summit County Public Library purchased two mobile carts complete with laptops, peripherals, and wireless Internet
connections.

Topics include basic computer skills, basic Internet, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, ebay, resume workshops, typing, mouse skills and website creation classes. Each class can accommodate 15 people.

“Over the course of three years, the library plans to provide hands-on computer training to more than 7,500 people at branch libraries,” said Library Director David Jennings. “The public’s need for hands-on training is at unprecedented
levels,” Jennings said. “More people are realizing each day that it’s increasingly difficult to navigate the modern world without some basic computing skills and knowledge. This grant enables the library to bring the classes right to your
community.”

In addition to Summit County’s library system, Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library also received a separate grant from the Knight Foundation for a new computer lab.

Grants help provide new computers for Putnam County students

Students in Putnam County will be better connected to technology over the next five years through the purchase of 50 netbooks, 40 Apple iPads, and 33 desktop computers for schools through three 21st Century Learning Center Grants, which total over $2 million.

The computers were purchased by the Putnam County Educational Service Center, which supports nine school districts with funding sources for technology, curriculum, social workers, and after-school support. This new technology will
impact about 3,000 students in the county.

In addition, the center held summer technology camps for students in fifth through eighth grades.

“It’s an exciting time for us since we’re a rural area where residents aren’t usually exposed to technology,” Curriculum Coordinator Pat Smith said. “These computers will help bridge the gap and provide valuable training to our students. In addition, we’re working with Northwest Ohio Educational Technology to also provide computer training for parents and teachers.”

Smith said the new technology is vital to county students.

“The students will be able to visually learn and to develop career-readiness skills,” she said.

The center also hosts Connect Ohio’s monthly Putnam County eCommunity Strategies meeting.

Connect Ohio awarded $6.9 million in Recovery Act funding to advance sustainable broadband adoption throughout the state

Connect Ohio’s Public Adoption Through Libraries/Every Community Online Adoption Project has been awarded $6.9 million in federal funding in an effort to increase sustainable broadband adoption for over 200,000 state residents. The program offers free computer training sessions provided at public libraries and community colleges
throughout Ohio and will introduce new users to a wide range of communication, education, and healthcare tools available online.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) matching grant is awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure,
enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

The overall project cost is just under $10 million. Connect Ohio’s two-year program provides the necessary equipment, training, technical support, and public awareness components to create publicly accessible training sessions in Ohio’s public libraries and community colleges, educate new computer users and help them take advantage of the powerful social and economic tools available through high-speed Internet service.

“This project will provide more than 200,000 Ohioans with free hands-on computer training to prepare them for a technologically-driven society,” Connect Ohio Executive Director Tom Fritz said. “Currently, just 66% of Ohio households subscribe to broadband service, leaving more than three million Ohioans on the wrong side of the digital divide.”

Connect Ohio will be facilitating the $6.9 million grant as an extension of its
ongoing work to expand broadband. The $10 million program is enabled not only by the federal grant, but also through more than $3 million in assistance and contributions from a number of primarily non-profit partners, including The Ohio Public Television Stations, Ohio Public Radio, The Ohio Association of Broadcasters, State Library of Ohio, the Ohio Public Library Information Network, 202 local library systems, and more than 530 individual branches. Columbus State Community College, Central Ohio Technical College, Sinclair Community College, Rio Grande Community College, and Belmont Technical College are some of the educational partners committed across the state.

Online technology needs survey to help guide eCS teams

By: Rachelle Manson

A Technology Needs Survey is currently being conducted across the state in order to measure broadband service use and better identify the needs of Ohio organizations.

eCS county team meetings have been used to reach out to team leaders and other professionals in the area in order to increase participation and to inform local economic development, chamber of commerce, port authority and Community Improvement Corporation centers of the survey and its benefits.

The results will be shared with participating institutions, who will then pass along the information to their membership. Community anchor institutions such as schools, libraries, hospitals, and government offices are also asked to participate in the online survey. The valuable feedback will be used to inform broadband providers of what they can do to improve business-class services in the state. The survey aims to gather current Ohio organizations’ connection information, technology application usage, application workshop interest, and broadband bandwidth needs.

The survey can be accessed at http://www.connectohio.org/ecommunity_strategies/Technology_Needs_Survey.php.

Connected Nation helps Ethiopian school build computer lab

Connected Nation, Connect Ohio’s parent organization, recently raised over $6,000 to build a new computer lab for a school in Ethiopia.

Destiny Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was founded in 2005 by an Ethiopian couple named Hareg and Yonatan to give some of the poorest children in the city the opportunity to get a quality education.

The school has shown rapid growth since its establishment. Today, it employs 42 staff and educates more than 400 students in grades K-8. To help those that cannot afford schooling, Destiny’s sponsorship program includes forty students who currently attend free of charge and are given money for medicine and food thanks to the generosity of others.

In a country where 42 percent of the population has access to clean water, 39 percent live on less than $1.25 per day, and only 36 percent of adults can read, Destiny Academy is paving the way for a better future.

“Setting up the computer lab will serve as a bridge to connect the students with the present technology,” said co-school founder Hareg.

“It will give them access to the rest of the world. To the majority it will be a unique opportunity to touch a computer. We believe education is the only way out of poverty and deprivation.”

Connected Nation Communications Director Jessica Ditto recently traveled to Ethiopia to volunteer at the school. Inspired by her efforts, the Connected Nation team collected funds for the computer lab.

Ohio inmates to receive limited access to e-mail

By: Rachelle Manson

A number of correctional institutions in Ohio along with 13 other states are now allowing inmates to receive e-mail. This new system provides inmates a vital technological tool to communicate with others in today’s society.

Not only is this system a way for the correctional institutions to become “technologically savvy,” but the state believes the e-mail system will reduce costs as well as the amount of contraband that enters the institutions.

The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) stresses the importance of offenders staying in contact with loved ones.

“The new e-mail system for inmates aims to enhance opportunities for correspondence with family and friends in the community,” said Jessica Dennis, a spokeswoman
for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. “This support in the community is imperative for offenders returning home.”

At this time, DRC has not measured the success of this newly introduced system. It hopes to provide data to the public after 6 months as well as after a year of the
implementation.

JPay, Inc. is the company under contract with DRC to provide this service. Individuals who would like to correspond with an inmate will purchase a package
with prices varying by the number of pre-purchased messages. The messages will then be reviewed, printed, and delivered to the indentified inmate. The inmate will respond with a handwritten note which will be scanned to the sender’s e-mail account.

*information from DRC news release

Attracting jobs with high-speed connectivity

JACKSON TWP. —

A faster Internet network could attract more jobs and make services more efficient, officials say.

Roughly 50 officials from the public and private sector attended a countywide summit on broadband connectivity Friday at Stark State College of Technology.

OneCommunity, a nonprofit open network provider, has been awarded a $45 million stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand its community broadband network. The Cleveland-based group plans to install about 100 miles of fiber-optic cable in Stark County at an estimated cost over $2 million.

Part of the grant requires a 35 percent local match.

SHARING SERVICES

Governments, businesses, schools, hospitals and other nonprofit agencies across the county could benefit from such high-speed connections.

For example, county and local government offices could use the same network, regionalizing databases, making it more efficient and less costly, said Stark County Auditor Kim Perez.

He said the current trend has been for these offices to pay for their own Internet service and data center. As a result, most offices are not able to share information.

The same possibilities exist for police and fire departments.

If a crime occurs in one town, officers in other communities could be put on alert quicker, said Beach City Police Chief Jim Wood.

PROMOTING GROWTH

Scot Rourke, president of OneCommunity, said his agency would install the fiber lines — similar to a main waterline — and provide a network for public and private sectors. Additionally, local service providers could connect their lines to the agency’s line for individual customers. That might reduce costs, he said.

He said the agency does not want to compete with current service providers, such as Time Warner or Massillon Cable, and openly invites them to use their lines.

Rourke said high-speed connectivity would help increase economic growth and civic progress in Northwest Ohio and Stark County.

Stark State President John O’Donnell said two important assets for potential new businesses are strong workforces and high-speed connectivity.

“We have the best workforce,” he said.

But the county lacks sufficient high-speed connection. “We just don’t have the fiber highway to attract modern-day jobs,” said Perez, who hosted the summit.

“We’re behind the times, and we need to be able to move Stark County forward to attract new jobs. Without connectivity, it’s not going to happen.”

County and local officials now must determined if they will provide the matching funds.

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