Monthly Archives: May 2012

Anoka County part of NTIA Study

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The ARRA-funded Connect Anoka County / Zayo fiber project is one of 12 CCI (Comprehensive Community Infrastructure) grants selected to participate in a study that the NTIA is conducting to evaluate economic and social impacts of the BTOP grants. The study will assess the impact that the BTOP grants are having on broadband infrastructure and in achieving economic and social benefits in the community.

The Blandin Foundation’s MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) project was selected for a similar evaluation for adoption projects. It’s great that the Federal government is taking evaluation a step farther than you might think they would. All of the award recipients have to track a range of items such as jobs, people trained, miles built – the items obviously vary depending on the type of project. This evaluation seems to go that extra step to see if life was made better through the investment – both from a social and economic perspective. It seems like we’ll glean more info that can be used both in and out of the federally funded/supported projects.

Blandin had the evaluators to visit some MIRC sites last fall. (I did a series of posts on our Minnesota tour with the evaluators.) It will be fun to see the results of that visit and learn more about what happened with Anoka County.

Understaninding the Need for Community Networks

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The Institute for Local Self Reliance has created a video “to explain why communities consider building their own broadband networks”. It’s goes hand in hand with their recent report of in-depth case studies of community networks. Few folks know community networks as well as ILSR. They are big proponents of community networks.

Mobility Fund – parts of MN qualify

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Last week the FCC released a map of areas that are eligible for Mobility Fund service. Parts of Minnesota – especially Northern Minnesota – qualify:

According to ComputerWorld…

The Mobility Fund, created in 2011 as part if the FCC’s revamp of telephone subsidies under the Universal Service Fund, will award up to $300 million to mobile providers that bring service to new areas. Winning bidders must deploy either 3G service within two years or 4G service within three years of the award. …

The FCC will award the funds in a reverse auction, in which mobile providers will compete to be the lowest-priced provider to bring service to an area. Bidders will compete both with others that may be seeking support in the same area, but also with carriers bidding for support in other areas.

The FCC on Wednesday released a public notice detailing the procedures for Phase I of the Mobility Fund. The window for filing short-form applications opens on June 27 and closes on July 11. The auction will be a single-round, sealed-bid auction, and the FCC will require that the winning bidders provide coverage to at least 75 percent of the road miles in each census tract for which they win support.

In addition to the Phase I funding, the FCC will also offer an additional $50 million in one-time support to tribal lands and $500 million each year for ongoing support of mobile services.

Cell Phones a Plus in the Classroom

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This post is a little different that usual – but I ran into something that I thought was too good not to share – an article that outlined a couple of smart ways to use cell phones in the classroom. I’ve had a few offline discussions with different people about the merits of online learning and technology in the classroom. The following suggestions demonstrate that it’s not a question of if cell phones belong in the classroom, it a matter of making good use of them.

Cell Phones for Oral Reports…

Ideas for the Classroom

  • Have students do their oral reports using Google Voice. If they don’t like how they sounded the first time, they don’t have to send the message. They can re-record until they have something with which they are happy.
  • Use Google Voice as an assessment tool to easily capture student’s reading level. Not only to have you have a recording, you have a transcript too and a place to keep notes. Rather than talk to a parent about how a student has progressed across a year, let them listen to it their child themselves.
  • Have students share something interesting about themselves and post the recordings on a class page or in a blog where other students can listen or comment.
  • Text Talk: Classroom Stories – Spanish
    • Students in Spanish class can practice their language skills on the phone. On their own time, students call the teacher’s Google Voice number and read something in Spanish or create a dialogue which is sent to the teacher’s Google Voice account.

Cell Phone Video

  • Ideas for the Classroom
  • Have students act out chapters of a book they are reading and record it using video. Acting out a chapter helps solidify understanding.
  • Record mini lessons and how to’s using the video on your cell phone. These can be stored on the classes online space as well as emailed or texted to students.
  • For teachers using the reading workshop, taping accountable book talk between pairs or in book clubs is powerful. Students can go back and look at their talk to see how they did and what they might change, teachers can listen in on conversations they wouldn’t usually be able to and doing so provides documentation of growth.

Leech Lake Upgrades Tech Skills

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Leech Lake Temporary Employment Program received a grant from the Blandin Foundation (via MIRC) that will help boost digital literacy skills and increase access to computers for the whole community. They have trained more than 90 people already this year. The program was featured last week on Lakeland Public TV.

Benton County increases technology use through Community Education

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Thanks to the folks at Benton County MIRC Project for sending me the following. It’s fun to hear how a little can go a long ways when you get technology tools in the hands of community connectors and potential e-fluencers!

Through projects called Sauk Rapids-Rice Prepares for 2020 and Foley is an Intelligent Rural Community at Home, at Work and at School, Sauk Rapids-Rice Community Education and Foley Community Education have increased opportunities students, the community and business owners have to learn about and access technology and broadband in Benton County.

Through these projects Sauk Rapids-Rice Community Education and Foley Community Education have increased open computer lab times for their communities and students, are provid-ing basic computer skills classes and broadband classes through the U of M Extension.

Foley Community Education has also been providing LEGO Robotics classes for school age students. “LEGO Robotics allows students and teachers to collaborate with others around the world through LEGO Robotics forums and resources,” said Stephanie Amberg of Foley Public Schools. “Students are provided an opportunity to collaborate together and challenge their minds.”

Sauk Rapids-Rice Community Education also purchased 12 iPads to be used by students, Adult Basic Education, Community Education and during on site experiences at local senior communities. “Teachers use them in their classes. Students really like working on them, especially for math concepts and math fluency activities,” said Sandy Grosland, Director of Sauk Rapids – Rice Community Education. “One teacher uses the iPads with the document camera and projects information onto the smart board to use with a large group. They have also used them for short stories in English.” Grosland also indicated that the school board is using the iPads during school board meetings to access all agenda information rather than using paper copies.

What’s your broadband worth?

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I get a lot of suggested topics and volunteers to help write blog posts. I always wonder what the angle is and I rarely decide it’s a good idea – but this infographic came last week and caught my eye. Here’s the explanation I got from the introductory email…

Last year, the FCC published a report that shows most broadband Internet providers aren’t providing the speeds and quality customers are paying for. The information is highly technical, and fairly overwhelming for the average consumer.

High Speed Experts has taken this information and displayed it in an easy-to-digest infographic format so that your readers can clearly see what their provider offers and whether or not they’re getting the best value.

Broadband Internet

Now it doesn’t take much sleuthing to see that they favor Verizon FIOS and they sport a Verizon FIOS ad on their homepage – but I still think that graphic is worth sharing – partially because it echoes conversations I’ve heard at the Minnesota Broadband Task Force meetings in the small group discussions on digital inclusion. The truth is many, if not most, residential users are unaware of their broadband options, they’re unaware of what’s the best fit for them and they don’t know if they’d got the best deal around or are being robbed.

I know that the National Broadband Plan was working on “transparency in the retail broadband market” and I know progress has been made with maps and speed tests. In fact with the handy National Broadband Plan Action Agenda, I can see that the tasks related to consumer benefits are 80 percent done. Maybe what they need to reach the 100 mark is some slick packaging!

Broadband businesses bring in an extra $200,000 in MN

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Connect Minnesota recently released a report on business use of broadband. Here are some of the highlights as reported by their press release:

  • Broadband-connected businesses bring in approximately $200,000 more in annual median revenues than non-broadband adopting businesses
  • About 83,000 Minnesota business establishments have websites
  • 47,000 Minnesota businesses use the Internet to advertise job openings or accept job applications
  • Online sales in Minnesota account for approximately $6.2 billion in annual sales revenue
  • More than one-half of Minnesota businesses in the healthcare sector (55%) use the Internet to stay in touch with their customers and patients
  • 40,000 businesses in Minnesota are still not connected to broadband and are unable to actively participate in the digital global economy

Connected Nation also put out a broader report based on the surveys in the nine states where they work. It’s interesting to note that  the broader reports broadband-connected businesses bring in approximately $300,000 more in annual median revenues than non-broadband adopting businesses; that number is reduced to $200,000 in Minnesota.

Minnesota Broadband Task Force – Next Meeting May 8 in Winona

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The Department of Commerce just posted the agenda for the next Broadband Task Force on the Connect Minnesota site. They are meeting in Winona. It looks like a lot of the time will be spent in small groups discussing the various aspects of broadband. The advantage of the small group time is that the groups seem willing, happy even, to welcome attendees to the discussion. The disadvantage (for someone who takes notes) is that it’s impossible to track everything that’s happening. Last month it was suggested that the small groups report back to the whole task force after their discussion. I think that will help with the flow of information.

Here’s the agenda:

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
Winona Health, 855 Mankato Avenue, Winona, MN 55987
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

  • 10:00 10:15 Greetings and introductions, approve meeting minutes
  • 10:15 11:30 E Health Presentations
    • Welcome and Background on Winona Health Mike Allen
    • Mayo Beacon Project—Lacey Hart
    • Beacon Project and A Vu Media—John Goodman
  • 11:30 12:15 Subgroup work time
    • Coordination Across Government Levels Leader: Danna MacKenzie – Westview Conference Room, 1st Floor
    • Best Practices/Incentives Leader: Dick Sjoberg – BA Miller—main meeting room
  • 12:15 12:45 Lunch
  • 12:45 1:30 Subgroup Work Time
    • State of Broadband Leader: Matt Grose – Westview Conference Room, 1st Floor
    • Broadband Adoption Leader: Shirley Walz – BA Miller—main meeting room
    • Monitor/Understand Impact of FCC & PUC Decisions; Cost of Broadband Leader: Gary Evans – Lab Conference Room, 1st Floor
  • 1:30 2:10 Subgroup reports to full task force and feedback
  • 2:10 2:25 Public comments
  • 2:25 2:30 Other business/Upcoming meetings/Adjourn meeting

A sneak peek at ebusiness training in Minnesota

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The University of Minnesota Extension has been offering hands-on, ebusiness training throughout the state, often through the MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) program. We’ve featured some stories about the training. This week I’ve received a nice testimonial from an attendee from the classes held in Lac qui Parle (on their tricked out Computer Commuter). I wanted to share the testimonial because I think it gives a good glimpse at what happens in the class and what it means to the attendees.

So shared with permission from the owner of The Cellar Door…

When I took the Computer Commuter Classes on Websites & Social Media I had 50 people who “liked” my business on Facebook. Today I have 206 and it continues to grow every week. Neil showed me how to switch back & forth from my personal site to my store site & how to utilize it. I post pictures of each item that comes in and nearly every picture is either commented on or liked. Sometimes it is shared with a Facebook page that has an audience of 1000+. Customers have come in to purchase something, solely because of a picture that was posed.

An important component has been making it personal, another idea that came from the classes. Facebook helps me connect with younger customers. During the class I realized that my website pictures were slow to download and have since updated the site to make it faster and more entertaining. I have enjoyed continual increase in sales and traffic.
These classes really helped me use the internet to my advantage at little or no cost. It has saved my hours of time trying to figure these things out on my own. At one of the classes I learned how to email a survey. After our Retail Group events, I am able to send one out and receiver invaluable feedback from other retailers in a fraction of the time it took me before learning about this tool.

These classes have been a springboard of ideas for me as an entrepreneur in a small town with limited resources.

Thank you.
Annette Seivert, owner of The Cellar Door in Dawson, MN

Akamai State of the Internet – Where is MN? Not on the list.

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The latest Akamai report on global broadband speeds and rankings is out – based on Q4 2011 research. The news isn’t great for the US, it’s even worse for Minnesota. Here’s a partial list of what Akamai tracks:

Average Broadband Connection Speeds – The US comes in 13. Japan dominates the list of top global cities, especially in the top 50 cities. At number 51, Boston is the top US city listed. There are 22 US cities listed; none were in Minnesota.

Average Peak Connection Speeds – The US comes in 10. Japan and South Korea dominate the top city listings. North Bergen, NJ ranks top (for US city) at 24. The list includes 30 US cities in the top 100; none are in Minnesota.

Broadband Connectivity (broadband adoption) – The US comes in 12 for connectivity over 5 Mbps; we rank at 35 for connectivity over 2 Mbps. (The Isle of Man comes in number 1 with 97 percent!)

Narrowband Connectivity – The US comes in 27 for narrowband connectivity.

The report looks at global ranking and ranking by geography. Minnesota is not listed – not once. In the past we have occasionally ranked. Minnesota Broadband buffs will know that part of the Minnesota Broadband Bill was an aspiration to be a national and world broadband leader…

It is a goal of the state that by 2015 and thereafter, the state be in:
(1) the top five states of the United States for broadband speed universally accessible to residents and businesses;
(2) the top five states for broadband access; and
(3) the top 15 when compared to countries globally for broadband penetration.

We’re not getting closer to that goal.

Why Videoconferencing in Worthington Schools?

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With help from the Blandin Foundation, Worthington School District is installing videoconferencing equipment. In fact, the equipment is expected to arrive sometime this week. Once it’s installed they’ll be working with Video Guidance to set up and learn to use the equipment.

So that’s kind of exciting. I was interested in what they planned to do with the technology once in place – and I got one of the best responses I’ve seen from Maggie Kraemer at the school…

My goal/hope is this equipment will allow students in Independent School district to experience a world that is larger than Nobles County. I want them to see live knee surgery, talk with scientists, compare notes their peers in other countries, tour world-class museums – I want to open the world to them. I hope to increase understanding and open students’ minds to the possibilities that exist in our great big, beautiful world. Some of my teachers have thoughts and dreams of their own others will need more structure; to this end, I’m going to enter in to a contract with CILC. This URL will show you some of what CILC has to offer – I created it for my teachers yesterday –http://www.screencast.com/t/CmWheD6P8A

The video is definitely worth the four minutes it takes to watch. You could get some good ideas, learn about some good sites and get a little enthusiastic about the teaching that’s happening in the state.

Blandin eNews Monthly Recap: May 2012

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April News from the Blandin on Broadband Blog

Blandin Commits to Broadband Through 2014
At the Blandin Foundation’s March board meeting, trustees chose to continue the Foundation’s investment in high-speed broadband through 2014. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Es

New Broadband Maps
An early Spring seems to have given rise to new broadband maps. The NTIA recently released a map that tracks progress on all of their ARRA-funded projects, including Blandin Foundation’s Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) initiative. http://wp.me/p3if7-1G5 Connect Minnesota also unveiled updated maps with an improved interface. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FW

Conferences & Convening
Many broadband-related events were held in April:

  • The Minnesota Broadband Task Force met at Unisys in Eagan in April. It was an opportunity for Task Force members to hear about some of Dakota County’s forward-thinking planning in terms of streamlining technology policy and developing public-private partnerships to promote improved infrastructure. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Fz
  • The Minnesota High Tech Association Spring Conference highlighted business applications of broadband including social media and cloud computing. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Gb
  • The University of Minnesota and Department of Homeland Security lead discussions on cyber security from the personal, enterprise and national perspective. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FU
  • At the Humphrey Institute, the TISP Forum featured Eagan’s data center as an example of a successful public-private partnership. Presenters spoke about how policies, specifically State tax credits for data centers, have an impact on business and infrastructure in Minnesota. http://wp.me/p3if7-1F6

Local Broadband News 

Anoka County
Anoka County’s ARRA-funded fiber project progresses; they will soon be looking for Last Mile providers for partnership. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Gi

Brainerd
Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC) went to Washington DC for the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association’s Legislative & Policy Conference to speak with Rep. Chip Cravaack and Sen. Al Franken about their concerns with recent changes and proposed changes with the FCC. http://wp.me/p3if7-1ES

Brewster, Heron Lake, Lakefield, Okabena, Round Lake
Fiber construction is nearly complete in Brewster, Heron Lake, Lakefield, Okabena and Round Lake. http://wp.me/p3if7-1EM

Cloquet Valley
With support from the Blandin Foundation, Cloquet Valley is organizing an investigation into bringing better broadband to seven rural townships north of Duluth. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Gf

Duluth
Nextera Communications plans to expand its wireless services to the Duluth area. http://wp.me/p3if7-1EU

Faribault, Fairmont, Alexandria, Marshall and Crookston
PCs for People visited Faribault, Fairmont, Alexandria, Marshall and Crookston where they were able to accept local computer donations, process and repair the donations and leave working computers to be awarded to local, deserving recipients. (Check the article for towns planning a future visit from PCs for People.) http://wp.me/p3if7-1FK

Fergus Falls
Forward Fergus Falls sets a goal to become a telework leader. With the help of the local broadband provider, businesses, residents and a new Telework Center they are well on their way to meeting the goal. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Ez

International Falls
PCs for People and Rainy River Community College partner to get computers and broadband connection into the hands of households that wouldn’t otherwise have it for a MIRC-sponsored project. http://wp.me/p3if7-1F2

Marshall
Local businesses receive University of Minnesota Extension website development training. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FG

Minneapolis
The Minnesota Opera creates a stir with innovate use of Twitter during performance. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Fp

Morris
University of Minnesota Morris solves landlord-renter issues with a website that helps keep everyone informed of their rights, their responsibilities and the local rental market. They maintain a database of licensed and available rental properties. http://wp.me/p3if7-1EJ

Northeast Minnesota
The Northeast Service Coop (NESC) provides an update on their ARRA-funded middle mile network, which includes 415 miles constructed in 2011. http://wp.me/p3if7-1Ew

St Paul
Bridging the Digital Divide conference brought several community development practitioners together to discussion tactics for improving access and adoption to technology in unserved communities. Recommendations including training, application and a policy approach. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FI

Sibley County
Sibley County Commissioners vote to move ahead with fiber plan http://wp.me/p3if7-1G2, after originally postponing the vote. http://wp.me/p3if7-1FZ

Events

May 2 – Virtual Tour of Connect MN Maps – 10 am http://tinyurl.com/88gstzr

May 8 – Minnesota Broadband Task Force meeting – (Winona) http://tinyurl.com/7n2syt8

Looking for more events? Check out TechDotMN’s calendar http://tech.mn/events/. Many events are based in the Twin Cities but it is a comprehensive list. (If you have an upcoming event, consider submitting it.)

Looking for local MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) events? Check the MIRC Google calendar: http://tinyurl.com/3oz5uzh or University of Minnesota Extension MIRC calendar http://tinyurl.com/66vxghj

Stirring the Pot

PART ONE

NTCA, the industry organization for rural telecom coops, came out with a very nice white paper this week “The Smart Rural Community.” http://tinyurl.com/cgjjpay I chuckle to myself (the hazards of the home office) as I ponder whether one would rather live in a smart community or an intelligent community.  Or which makes the better acronym for communities here in Minnesota – MIRC or SMiRC!  No one likes a smirc!

More importantly, the report highlights great examples of active use of technology applications in rural communities, including some here in Minnesota, that are facilitated by quality networks, engaged providers and forward looking businesses, educators, health care administrators and farmers. I am excited to think that our MIRC demonstration communities have enough excellent examples in all these areas to fill an entire book.

The NTCA report highlighted the leadership of their member coops in these case studies and that is great to see.  In our MIRC project, there are a couple of the 11 communities where providers have been very actively engaged and sharing leadership of effort to drive adoption of broadband.  In just a few others, providers are regular partners and participate as called upon for specific activities.  I believe that the balance of the communities could benefit from stronger interaction and shared effort to achieve the common goal of more users with more uses of broadband.  With reluctant providers or where there are multiple providers, these types of partnerships can be difficult. Yet the goal of expanding the pie and driving sophistication and bandwidth use should be one that provides a platform for collaboration.  As we move forward and continue our broadband and Intelligent Community activities, I am very interested to hear about how we can enable better collaboration between providers and communities.

A surprise treat near the end of this document – a statement by the NTCA establishing 20 Mb to the home as the minimum required for a smart community.  This is a clear rejection of the FCC’s woefully inadequate 4 Mb standard for rural communities.

PART TWO

The new Connect MN maps are out and the areas unserved by broadband continue to shrink.  By the end of 2012 construction season, additional areas will be served.  My favorite map is the one that shows the density of unserved areas below.  As we know, there are places in Minnesota where few people live; the BWCA and some of the large peat bogs in north central and northwest Minnesota are examples, but there are still quite a number of areas (gold and brown) where good numbers of people live and are unserved.  I have been working with some of these people in Redwood County, Kanabec County and the Cloquet Valley area north of Duluth between the iron range and the North Shore.  I have received calls from rural Isanti County and the Wadena School District.  They live in areas with no broadband and providers with no plans to provide broadband.  These areas have a long way to go and not many tools designed to help them.

The second map shows (dark green and blue colors) the places that generally meet the NTCA standard of 20 Mb, which also matches the top end of the State of MN broadband goal.  Many community networks actually meet this standard as do some rural areas that are served by cooperatives.  So the state broadband task force has two significant tasks – encouraging broadband deployment to those without access and encouraging upgrades to those with broadband that currently do not meet the state or NTCA standard for a smart community.

Bill Coleman helps communities make the connection between telecommunications and economic development.  As principal in Community Technology Advisors http://tinyurl.com/3f4dx7g for ten years, he assists community, foundation and corporate clients develop and implement programs of broadband infrastructure investment and technology promotion and training. Bill is working with the Blandin Foundation on the MIRC Initiative http://tinyurl.com/2c6mhh4, Community Broadband Resource Program http://tinyurl.com/cseu7e and other broadband projects.