Why Broadband?

Educational Web sites are also seeking to take maximum advantage of the speed, social-networking possibilities, and technological wizardry afforded by broadband. Consider that 40% of parents who sign up for broadband access do so with the intention of helping their kids with schoolwork, according to research firm Grunwald Associates in Bethesda, Md. Examining the move from dial-up to broadband, Grunwald found that 13% of parents and 23% of youngsters report that students earned better grades as a result of the broadband connection, according to Grunwald's 2003 study of 2,300 students, ages 6 to 17. The study also showed that, with broadband, children end up spending 20% more time doing homework, despite all that online chatting.

Expect to see continuing major improvements in distance learning, too. Computer-networking gearmaker Nortel (NT ) is developing a system that will allow students to watch, say, an archeologist located at a dig site across the world in real time, says Walt Megura, the company's general manager of broadband networking. They would be able to talk with the professor and fellow students as freely as they would have done in a real-life classroom. Read the full story at BusinessWeek online