Hello and welcome to Week 12, where we will introduce you to 5G networks.
The transformative nature of 5G networks is difficult to grasp. Much like the way airplanes transformed transportation, this new generation of wireless technology is predicted to change the way we interact with everyone and everything, and expand our ways of learning. Imagine smart objects, the Internet of Things, and theoretically groundbreaking download speeds all at your fingertips. Spooky? Or cool?
Content for our Open Education Resource (OER) can be found on our Google Site: https://sites.google.com/view/5g-networks/
You have a few tasks to complete at your leisure over the course of this week:
- Review the site content, starting with the Home and What is 5G? pages, and moving on to Applications for K-12 and Market Analysis.
- Complete the Padlet on the What is 5G? page, and let us know of any lingering questions or specific concerns you may have about 5G networks.
- Complete the Mentimeter on the Applications for K-12 page and let us know how you feel about the flipped classroom design.
- Complete the Padlet on the Market Analysis page to share your thoughts on investing in 5G networks.
- Come back to this launchpad and let us know what you think. Some questions for consideration are:
- How important do you think 5G is for supporting the many other learning technologies explored over the last 11 weeks?
- What challenges to the widespread establishment of 5G networks do you think will be the most difficult to overcome?
- Do you think 5G networks and related technologies will help reduce or exacerbate the digital divide/participation gap we see in education?
Also please feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions for improving our site, or if you think we left out any crucial elements.
Thanks and looking forward to your feedback,
Kendal, Scott and Greg
QUOTE FROM ARTICLE: “With the advantages of lower latency and much faster data speeds, more reliability and availability, and drastically increased network capacity, 5G networks will allow for the transformation of classrooms into more individualized places of learning. A poignant example is the model of the flipped classroom. In this type of instruction, students access lectures at home through their virtual class, then work on their “homework”, labs, assignments, and assessments at school. This essentially transforms the teacher’s role from a lecturer to a room of students, to a facilitator who can work individually with students and differentiate for their needs (Hertz, 2015). ”
No. Just…. No. I have to strongly disagree with this opinion. I have no doubt that the 5G networks will not change or transform classrooms in any way. “…students access lectures at home through their virtual class, then work on their “homework”, labs, assignments, and assessments at school.”… This is exactly what we did during the pandemic, and that did not work out well at all! For this flipped classroom idea to work, students (and educators) need to be trained in this methodology early on. And, you are just looking at this in the North American context. There are plenty of countries around the world where, if students are presented with this classroom style, they will struggle or fail because their teachers will struggle with it. Technology in this case is not the answer; methodology is. It almost goes back to the old “ cart before the horse” issue. You do not want technology to drive educational choice 4 methodology. You want sound methodology to drive the adoption of technology in classrooms.
Additionally, I take exception to the comment that a 5G network will make a 4G device work better. While connectivity may be improved, you’re not improving the processing power of the device. That will be your bottleneck. Arguably, you could offload that to a cloud-based application in some instances, but there will still be a bottleneck with the physical device itself. Upgrades and expenditures will be needed and there will still be haves and have-nots
Hey Trevor,
Thanks for taking part in our OER! I hope I can address some of your concerns…
When thinking about the flipped classroom, we must first address our traditional ways of disseminating information. We are in the midst of a shift where digital education is evolving beyond just taking our physical classrooms and making them digital. Using techniques such as making a worksheet digital and filming a lecture for students to watch in place of attending are no longer beneficial to students as the communication practices of students have changed. It’s hard to compare the asynchronous learning from COVID to the flipped classroom because one is done with intention, while the other was out of quick necessity.
Utilizing exploratory online learning techniques, encouraging students to follow the thread of their questioning, and providing a community of engagement is the benefit of this online environment. Whereas the in-person portion is a time for students to test their theories in a controlled environment, being able to access the facilities and supports that schools provide them. This enhances the overall learning experience of students and flips the role of the teacher from lecturer to facilitator.
Yes, for this model to work properly there needs to be true professional development for Teachers to feel knowledgeable, and an immense amount of support from both Administrators and Technical Advisors. But this would not be the same as the “stop and drop” online classroom of the Pandemic, but a thoughtfully laid out, mindful sea change to an environment that invigorates students and pushes them rethink what learning means to them.
In regard to the 4G device working better on a 5G network; as an Administrator, if I am able to hand students who have no technology a 4G device that has better connectivity and can offload to a cloud-based application, then how can I not call that a win? 5G devices will be expensive at first (remember Blu-Ray Players?) but it will in turn allow the price of other devices to decrease, thus allowing schools the chance to purchase more devices for less money to help ensure that everyone in the school has a digital device.
Again Trevor, thanks for your thoughts!
You make some good counterpoints Greg. But I offer you another counter to your counter 🙂 If we have reduced the prices of 4G devices and hand those to schools/students that cannot afford them, aren’t they incurring an additional expense that still will not let them experience the flipped, 5g, classroom of the future poorly? Because remember, cloud or no cloud, there is still a processing bottleneck with the 4g device itself.
Do you think 5G networks and related technologies will help reduce or exacerbate the digital divide/participation gap we see in education?
I think 5G will probably exacerbate the digital divide/participation gap. Those that can afford the switch to 5G will make the switch, and with that, experience better connectivity, enhanced security, and increased power efficiency, like you stated in the OER. However, those that cannot, will not make the switch. That means that those people who cannot afford to make the change will continue to “fall behind”, making it more difficult for them to catch up. Those that can afford it, will continue to move forward and with that, experience the many benefits that come along with 5G. In your OER, you shared a quote from T-Mobile about how they plan on levelling the playing field and connecting learners in rural or remote areas, but just like politicians, I don’t really believe these big tech companies. Will they actually follow through? I wouldn’t hold my breath. If so, that would be amazing, but I’m not sure it will actually come to fruition.
Hi Justine thanks so much for your comment regarding how 5G may impact the existing participation gap in education. This has been on my mind a lot during this course, as many of the technologies we have been introduced do come with a large price tag. As mentioned on the OER, many areas still don’t have access to 4G, and some regions are still on 3G (many small communities in Canada have no cellular network availability at all). So you are not alone in your skepticism, and it’s going to take a lot of planning and collaboration between public and private sectors to ensure that 5G has far reach and can give access to those that need it the most. Large mobile companies, tech companies, and governments are going to have to work together to ensure broad coverage and will take the early financial burden of developing infrastructure. The hope is that they can do it in an ethical way that does not limit those who already have barriers to access. And we should expect, as with most things, that as infrastructure spreads, efficiencies increase and we can see competition drive the cost of new installations down. I found this article to give me a little more optimism if you want to check it out: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/01/covid-digital-divide-learning-education/. Thanks again for your thoughts!
One thing that I found interesting and wanted to share is that 5G technologies are related to using the 5G spectrum… which is a communications frequency in a designated range. In some countries, these frequencies are treated like commodities, and the spectrum can be bought or sold in auctions to corporations or controlling organizations (see the last article). But in other nations, these frequency rights may be treated as natural resources. In other words, the state may vie for control of the resource, or at the very least, take a 50% stake. We, as citizens, should know and understand that this in an option! We can ask that our government have a controlling stake in 5G networks to ensure all citizens have access, not just those who can afford expensive devices. Wall street is against a nationalized 5G network, but that’s a real thing! It’s an option for countries to opt to keep their 5G spectrum for their own citizens. In 2018, US administration introduced some proposals around this idea: https://slate.com/technology/2018/01/nationalize-5g-proposal-what-it-tells-us-china-fears.html – I think I would prefer that then the alternative 5G Spectrum Will Turn into an Easily Tradable Commodity https://www.abiresearch.com/market-research/product/1033806-5g-spectrum-will-turn-into-an-easily-trada/
Thanks so much for sharing, Raquel!
I definitely agree that 5G communication frequencies should be treated like a natural resource, especially with the increased prices Canadians are already paying for internet access. From my understanding the Canadian government licenses the use of these frequencies, and had a specific focus on providing licenses to smaller regional telecom providers in an attempt to make the market more competitive and provide rural areas with greater access. However, Rogers spent the most on these licenses. One big piece of bringing the 5G network to Canadians is building the infrastructure necessary, and the majority of those patents are owned by Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and Huawei. This may be one of the areas that will cause greater friction in lowering the prices and increasing the access to Canadians in rural areas.
One area that I found interesting during our research was that some private schools have begun building private 5G networks for their students to gain access to some of the benefits 5G offers.
Do you think that schools should be partnering with 5G providers to build private 5G networks for their school communities in order to improve access?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/5g-spectrum-auction-1.6124271
https://www.whistleout.ca/CellPhones/Guides/5g-in-canada-wireless#:~:text=Who%20owns%205G%20technology%3F,is%20built%20with%20Ericsson%20equipment.
There’s definitely positives that 5G will bring to some of the learning technologies from the past 11 weeks with better speeds and connectivity. The common frustration within my school is connectivity issues and low download and upload speeds. With 5G these issues will be rectified and will make using technology a better experience in schools. I think one of the major obvious challenge is the cost of 5G. I’m not sure what installing 5G infrastructure entails but a district wide implementation will mean budget cuts from other areas of education. Would the benefits outweigh the cost? Lastly, I think 5G networks would exacerbate the digital divide. Unless the cost of implementation is extremely low or is done at a government level, the affected communities will not reap the benefits of 5G and will fall further behind in the divide.
Thanks for your comments on 5G networks, Jerry. Your concerns about the cost of 5G tower installation and 5G’s impacts on the existing digital divide in education are valid. The cost of either constructing 5G towers or paying for connectivity are going to be high, in particular in the early stages of its roll-out (we should expect, as with most things, that as infrastructure spreads, efficiencies increase and we can see competition drive the cost of new installations down). As for the digital divide, I agree there is a big potential for adoption of 5G networks by those that have the resources has the serious potential to amplify challenges for who do not. I think it will be key for there to be collaboration between governments, industry and the education sector to benefit the most learners.
Hi Kendal, Scott & Greg, Thank you for your great work on 5G! I think it is inevitable that 5G technology will exacerbate the digital divide gap. And it is going to be a while to see a more level playing field, I mean over several years. One notable example is that high speed internet access has been around for quite a while. I was however a bit surprised to learn that one of tasks a new infrastructure law enacted j in the United States just last year intends to accomplish is to provide high speed internet access to rural America! The same thing happened with fiber optic network. In the city where I live, the neighborhood where you live has been the primary determinant of who gets priority on fiber optic. Now do you deal with that is quite a challenge.
Thanks for the reply Seime!
I think Canada will have its hands full trying to “cover” the country with high speed internet access. I believe that governments at all levels need to step in and help address this lack; internet is not just a privilege anymore but an integral facet of education and a right for all people. The pandemic made this very apparent and I think it will be interesting to see where governments take this.
Thanks again for the reply!
During your OER activities, I found myself thinking a lot about the digital divide. I used to be mostly cynical, but I’ve come to a more hopeful place in this regard. I think investing in telecommunications infrastructure can be one of the most effective equalizers in terms of the digital divide. From my own experience working with learners in developing regions, they tend to use their mobile devices a lot more frequently for e-Learning activities, so implementing 5G could have a huge impact.
Thanks for you response Sage!
In my brain (though it’s old and beat up from falling off my bike too much) I see public/private partnerships as a way to move forward with this investment, especially with 5G. With the shorter wavelengths there is a need for more towers and if School districts could work with companies about installing on district lands, with some monies come back to the districts, that digital gap could be impacted for the better.
Have a great weekend!
5G, if implemented properly across states, could really be the catalyst to virtual online learning. If schools are connected to 5G networks, there will no longer be need to download any resources. We can just stream them online. There will also be huge effects on IoT, maybe there will be technology that can scan and track real-time the people that are on campus, and immediately identify threats and strangers.
Hey Leon,
The technology to scan and track is there; I have a friend who developed it for Disney during COVID so they could track people in their facilities. It would be the parental buy in in regards to schools being able to “track” their kids that would be the sticking point… though I find it interesting that most students I talk to have no qualms about leaving their location on in Snapchat so their friends know where they are. We’ll see what the future holds…
Have a great weekend!
Q: Do you think 5G networks and related technologies will help reduce or exacerbate the digital divide/participation gap we see in education? – I feel that with all new technologies comes an initial cost barrier that naturally exacerbates the digital divide due to affordability. Private education sectors who have diverse funding models will likely be the first to adopt these new technologies which can further the divide between public and private education institutions. Unless government chooses to support access through funding, this will remain a barrier to the participation gap we see in publicly funded education.
Hi Liana,
I totally agree with you! It is up to the government to recognized that internet networks are as important, and probably more in the future, as textbooks and whiteboards. That infrastructure needs to be invested so that Teachers feel safe and comfortable in delving into the possibilities and experimenting with their classes on the potential of of 5G access.
Thanks for your response and have a great weekend!
Hi Kendal, Scott, and Greg, you all did a great job with this OER! The question that stood out to me the most while going through your OER was “do you think 5G networks and related technologies will help reduce or exacerbate the digital divide/participation gap we see in education”. Personally, I feel like 5G will continue to exacerbate the digital divide and participation gap that we see in education. My view focuses on two reasons relating to accessibility of devices and the simple power of those devices. For starters, many areas have very limited connectivity to these networks and devices can be quite expensive. This natural barrier to entry means that automatically a large section of educational users cannot use this technology. Secondly, educational settings that do have current technologies and are unable to keep up with the “latest and greatest” will be at a disadvantage. Older devices will continue to get cheaper, but you are essentially adding a new tier of devices which can create an even greater spread. Newer devices come with more processing power which means that the user can do more and simply learn more using the device. As I said, these barriers to entry are not solely an issue with 5G devices as they are really an issue with introducing any new technologies. Those who are fortunate enough to be able to access them will thrive while those who cannot will be left behind. The problem is not just within the education industry, but really is evident across all industries.
Hi Joseph, thanks for your thoughts on 5G networks. Your reasoning on why 5G will increase the digital divide is super valid – great way to articulate that issue! This issue is absolutely prevalent across all industries, and as education has difficulties with funding in general, it has the potential to really exacerbate the divide between those that have and have not. Things will get more affordable, and more available spatially.. but there will of course be a lag, and there will definitely be some folks left behind. Part of this discussion has been the idea that perhaps the future will hold more collaboration between industry, government, and education orgs as a way to benefit more learners, but that will also likely mean more privatization of education, which could have benefits and challenges.
Great OER Kendall, Scott, and Greg! It is clear how important 5G networks are to achieving augmented reality, virtual reality, big data, game-based learning, and more. I see the challenges of accessibility worldwide as a potential problem of establishing 5G networks worldwide. I do think 5G networks have the ability to potentially reduce the gap, however it must be accessible to everyone. Furthermore, the access to not only these tools but to a teacher/facilitator must also be in effect. You used the quote by Bustillo, “Without quality education, little can be achieved when connecting education and labor force.” I love this quote, but I question what quality education really looks like? Because I think access to tools alone is only the first step, students also need one on one discussion, collaboration, and the ability to learn from teachers and facilitators as well. I really like your addition of the flipped classroom, it really made me think about how it’s not just about the accessibility of 5G networks, but the accessibility of the classroom environment as well to help students succeed.
Thank you so much for your comments, Emma! Your suggestions around what quality education requires apt. Also glad that you appreciated the flipped classroom design. It’s been interesting to review all of the OERs over the last few months and think about how 5G supports them.
Congratulations, week 12 group!
Most healthcare ecosystems have yet to discover the potential of 5G and extraordinary healthcare implementation opportunities. Although the new opportunities in healthcare are immense, medicine is conservative and slow to change, as is manifested by the scarcity of new, innovative applications based upon this ecosystem. Thus, the need to “avoid technology surprise” emerges – both laparoscopic and robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery was delayed for years because the surgical community was either unaware or unaccepting of new technology. Unfortunately, the same happens with Harm Reduction treatment strategies, especially in Latin America, impeding health professionals from thinking differently about matters like tobacco and obesity, which have become a global epidemic and still face indifference and intolerance.
Hi Alexei, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this weeks OER. I really appreciate your perspective from the healthcare field, as it’s so important to think about how these technologies are going to impact education and implementation across sectors. In my mind, I think of healthcare at moving light speeds ahead of education, but reading your post I now think that’s just because education moves so slowly, that anything seems speedy compared to it (: This is a good point, that even though we may have access to a technology, it does take a cultural shift to be open to adopting new practices. In healthcare, there is so much to gain!
Hello Kendall, Scott, and Greg! Thank you for a great OER. To answer the question “Do you think 5G networks and related technologies will help reduce or exacerbate the digital divide/participation gap we see in education?” I do believe that currently it would exacerbate the digital gap we see today globally because of the facts presented in your OER. In the “What is 5G” section of the OER , the where has 5G been deployed table shows how there are still many countries around the globe that have invested in 5G, but it isn’t deployed yet. If we were to further progress at the moment by implementing more 5G technologies, some parts of the world would be left further behind (in my opinion) and this would create a bigger divide, to the point where some countries might never be able to fully recover and be on level terms. I do love the idea of implementing 5G technologies in education, and the classroom, but at the moment it would be very costly to do so. This is why I mentioned in the K-12 Padlet that it would be good if corporations and governments were to work together in order to develop more affordable 5G technology that can then be bought in bulk and then implemented in educational environments and curriculum.
Thanks for taking a look at our OER and for the feedback, Petros! I definitely agree with you regarding your thoughts on the digital divide having the potential to grow via the implementation of 5G.. and likely it’s going to be worst in places that are already behind. Your suggestion that corporations (both tech and mobile), governments, and educational institutions should work together in order to create accessible opportunities for 5G networks is likely the model that will work best moving forward to ensure as wide of access as possible.
Hi Kendal, Scott and Greg,
Thank you for the informative OER. More than just faster speeds and lower latency, 5G has value for the future of education and potentially for closing the digital divide. As many of our peers have mentioned above, to achieve a classroom of the future that includes technology that we’ve learned about in past OERS, it would seem that we need 5G to simply keep up with all the advancements and changes. In particular, I think 5G has large implications for the “Internet of Things” and how we stay connected with technology, as emphasized by the Microsoft Mesh video. I envision these interconnected capabilities of technology to be carried through using 5G in this fourth industrial revolution that we are now in. As for the digital divide, I can see both arguments. I was leaning heavily towards 5G widening the gap especially between developing and developed countries, however, I now recognize some of the advantages of 5G to enable access lower cost devices. Nonetheless, as with education (like healthcare as Alexei posted), those in publicly funded sectors may be slower to adopt, widening the gap between access in private settings.
Hi Jocelyn, thanks so much for your thoughts on 5G this week. Sounds like you have a solid understanding of the affordances and challenges that we will face as 5G rolls out across the globe. To be honest, I have waffled back and forth between feeling like 5G is setting us up for success, to being discouraged with how it may impact those without the resources to be early adopters. I also agree that there is potential for a great gap between private vs. public.
I would like to address the following two questions in my response post to your OER this week:
How important do you think 5G is for supporting the many other learning technologies explored over the last 11 weeks?
Do you think 5G networks and related technologies will help reduce or exacerbate the digital divide/participation gap we see in education?
My OER and Venture both examined the possible implementation of VR and immersive experiences in the classroom. I feel comfortable saying that without 5G VR capabilities will far outpace the ability of wireless internet in schools to handle the number of users burdening the system simultaneously. The types of experiences that classes will be able to access will become limited when compared to the overall capabilities of VR technology, because of the lag between technological advancements and school boards implementation of 5G in schools. I think that like most technology the digital gap in being able to access these technologies will increase but will slowly close as the technology becomes more affordable. Overall, 5G allows for more online interaction between students around the world, which also will increase their access to educational opportunities that are not bound by geography, offering a richer education experience.
Hi Katie, thanks so much for your thoughtful responses to our questions! Your deep dive into VR and immersive experiences in the classroom provides you with a unique lens to consider the challenges of 5G, and thanks for adding thoughts based on your background knowledge of what VR and immersive experiences require to be successful mainstream. I agree that the gap will most likely increase at first, but have the potential to close as technology spreads and becomes more affordable, and I am also hopeful that it will facilitate more online interaction globally, benefitting many. Thanks so much!