Tag Archives: Broadband

Module 2 Post 1: BC Connectivity Map

Several initiatives are being taken to improve broadband connectivity in BC.  Such initiatives are intended to increase the percentage of rural residents who have access to the internet.   The BC Connectivity Map shows how far broadband connectivity stretches across the province. I find it particularly interesting that, while 100% of residents within my town’s municipality have access to broadband coverage and mobile coverage, only 50% of the population within the surrounding First Nation reservations have broadband coverage.  Mobile coverage is still virtually non-existent.  Observations and anecdotal evidence within our school suggest that the technology skills of our First Nation students are continuing to lag behind.  How much does this lack of connectivity contribute to this digital divide and does it limit the implementation of new teaching approaches, such as flipped classrooms and BYOD initiatives?

Government of British Columbia. (2015). BC broadband connectivity map.  Retrieved from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=07995D6F9B7947E2AD602A101FBCAFA6&title=BC%20Broadband%20Connectivity%20Map

Module 1- Post 5: FirstMile

The FirstMile is a website developed by a partnership between the University of New Brunswick and three First Nations organizations that provide broadband and digital services to communities in their respective regions.  The website focuses on providing connectivity from the perspective of a community of First Nations with the underlying goal that broadband systems are established by and used deliver services to their own communities. The website offers community success stories, news, research publications, and other resources relating to matters of First Nation ownership, control, access to local broadband networks and the data flowing through them.  It provides an interesting look at the way in which First Nations communities are attempting to reframe broadband development and infrastructure in First Nations and inuit communities.

Module 1- Post 4: First Nations Innovation

Exploring the subject of First Nations sovereignty, specifically as it relates to information and communications technology, I visited First Nations Innovation.  First Nations Innovation is a website directed to remote and rural First Nation communities which are using broadband networks and information and communications technologies. The website offers many publications and resources that offer interesting insight into the push for First Nation ownership, control, access and possession of ICT tools, infrastructure and capacity as well as examples of how First Nations are using technologies for community, social and economic development.