An Email from Todd – On Net Neutrality

I received the following email in response to my latest post on net neutrality. It came from my son – truthfully I had no idea that he read my blog and I was impressed that he wanted me to know what he thinks about the topic. Since he did not write his comments for public consumption, I asked permission to share what he had to say.

Hi Dad,

I just read your blog post on net neutrality (very well written). Anyways, I just wanted to share with you a couple of thoughts I have on the subject. During the editing of the film I am currently working on, I have listened to hours of interviews with people from all over the world. One of the questions always asked in these interviews is “where do you get your news and information from? Three times out of four the answer is “the internet”. I have footage of people waiting in line outside an internet cafe in Kabul, Afghanistan. They are there to read the news and communicate with people all around the world. A lot of these people don’t even have electricity in their homes, yet they depend on the internet for information. I feel that the difference between the haves, and have nots in todays society is not currency but access to information. For corporate interests to have control of this information, be it by censorship or by making it financially unattainable, would be disastrous. The ability for all people to be able to create and consume content without financial, ethical, or political pressures is key to the future of the world. I don’t think that is an exaggeration. We are quickly becoming a global community and there is no turning back now. It is paramount that everyone remain in the loop.

A little background – Todd works on documentary films. In the project he describes he is one of the Final Cut Pro editors putting together a piece on what people around the world think of the United States.

Loading

Net Neutrality

Senators Dorgan (North Dakota) and Snowe (Maine) had an editorial in today’s local paper concerning net neutrality (GF Herald – you may have to complete a free registration). I assume this editorial ran in many other papers as well. If I remember the details correctly, these Senators offered an amendment to assure net neutrality that was rejected. Net Neutrality basically concerns the issue of whether the company that “owns the pipe” has a right to control what content moves through that pipe. (Note – I use the term “pipe” here so I can cross reference my comments with the comments offered by Senator Stevens.). Others see this issue a little differently. The position of the providers has been presented based on the right of such companies to make a profit because these companies provide access (see comment taken from the editorial):

““They don’t have any fiber out there. They don’t have any wires. They don’t have anything. . . . They use my lines for free – and that’s bull. For a Google or a Yahoo or a Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes for free is nuts!”, the CEO of one the nation’s biggest network operators told Business Week magazine in November.”

Please consider this position carefully. I am guessing as an Internet user you realize you do not have free access to the Internet or if you do such access is paid for by the school or library providing you access. If you have home access, you may also realize that operating a server will require that you pay a fee above what you are presently paying to download information and using low volume upload services such as email. If you doubt this, try activating a server from home and you will likely immediately discover (at least I have from performing the test) that your service provider will expect a higher payment to allow such an activity. The same is true of Yahoo and Google (contrary to the implication of the statement I have quoted) and on a scale that is based on bandwidth. These companies do not pay for access based on the money they make, but on the bandwidth they use. It is a falsehood to claim there is no cost to Google to offer their services and make the money they make (on ads).

The net neutrality “issue” is really about the opportunity to control what content moves through Internet pathways. For companies offering multiple services (e.g., cable movies, voice communication), net neutrality reacts to the concern that providers will use the opportunity to control what content moves through the fiber they control to prevent users from accessing Internet services (e.g., online video, VOIP) that conflict with other money making opportunities of the provider. It is obviously in the interest of a phone company to block or slow VOIP services across a DSL line. This has nothing to do with making money when Google or Yahoo makes money.

The worst problems with the present situation will occur in locations where options are not available (I assume Maine and North Dakota would make good examples). If I live in North Dakota and have access to a cable system, I may be able to use VOIP, but I might find video downloads (perhaps distance education content) may move so slowly or not at all. It will not be that my provider objects to my learning online – but rather that the provider may confuse educational video with entertainment video.

Providers certainly have a right to make money for the service they provide. However, the service they provide is access to content/services. This is not the same as access to content/services as long as such content/services do not represent competition for other business ventures of the provider.

Loading

Podcasting Lectures – The Dilemma

SlashDot includes a post today that is concerned with the issue of podcasting lectures and the potential problem of absenteeism.

I had a personal reaction to the post that would likely be different from the reaction of many. I follow and contribute to a small literature on the positive and negative consequences of offering students online representations of lecture content (e.g., notes, audio). In this case, the “hard copy” literature associated with this issue probably predates and is more robust than the online discussion.

For example, a good deal of the “hard copy” consideration of making lecture resources available to students is grounded in an old literature that examines student limitations in note taking. The cognitive demands of taking notes may reduce the “processing of lecture content” AND “generate a poor account of the lecture” to review later. Alternative representations of a lecture (whether outlines, PowerPoint images offered to students, or podcasts) offer benefits by addressing such limitations OR by providing an alternative for students who missed class for “acceptable” reasons.

The SlashDot analysis mainly offers advice on mechanisms for assuring that students will still come to class and can access a podcost (e.g., a password distributed in class).

BTW – my research seems to indicate that students prefer “complete notes” (taken by a skilled note taker) to an online audio “transcript” of the lecture. This makes sense to me. A good set of notes can be read quickly and easily scanned for problem areas. In addition, online notes have been “preprocessed” by an “expert” student.

I do encourage you to read the comments associated with the SlashDot post.

Loading

Engelbart’s HyperScope

Those familiar with the history of hypermedia should recognize the name Douglas Engelbart. Engelbart is credited with creating the mouse and was an early advocate of hypermedia (actually hypertext). Recent interest in collaborative online authoring seems very similar to Engelbart’s original ideas. The National Science Foundation is sponsor of a project to apply some of Engelbart’s original ideas and this project has resulted in the recent release of HyperScope.

Read/Write web blog description of HyperScope project.

Early mention of Engelbart in this blog.

Loading

Geotags in Flickr

I heard about adding geotags to Flickr images today and had to give it a try.

Examine this Flickr link

I apologize for the example – it was a picture that existed in my Flickr account from a recent trip and I knew exactly where the picture was taken. If you try the link, you will see me with a “trophy” fish. In the annotation associated with the picture, you will find a link (the geotag) that will take you to the map location of the lake where the fish was caught.

The page for generating the geotags can be located at http://www.beeloop.com/.

Now that we have learned how this works we intend to generate a Flickr account for Cindy’s trip to Europe and geotag some of her images.

With a little creativity, this capability would seem suited to lots of educational projects. Even the tool for linking to precise map locations can be used to generate the code necessary to embed a link to a specific location – e.g., my office (courtesy of BeeLoop SL – the Mapware & Mobility Solutions Company). My office is initially difficult to see – click the + button on the slider a few times and the building will become visible.

Tech Crunch description of new service

Loading

Google For Education

Google appears to bundling several of their apps (gmail, calendar, chat) and promoting them to educational institutions. If I understand the promotion, it appears that institutions are allowed to create an interface that would feature the school logo, etc. as a way to “brand” the site for the school. The sites will feature the familiar google ad words.

This promotion will put Google in competition with companies or initiatives of many institutions to create a portal through which alumni, students, future students, etc. will experience an institution online. Perhaps the approach will appeal to some smaller schools. However, I must admit I wish my institution would offer me the same email capacity, secure browser-based email, and spam control quality as Gmail.

Loading

College Textbook Followup

The NY Times “Your Money” section carried a piece on ad-supported textbooks. The columns is informative for those interested in the “cost” issue and primarily explores one solution – ad supported texts. Among the other options explained is Pearson’s ebook subscription plan (access is for a fixed amount of time).

The Times column seems to indicate that instructor independence in selecting textbooks has been an obstacle to innovation. I certainly understand why profs would not like the department or institution telling them which book or which “plan” they were to assign. I also would be somewhat concerned about requiring students to adopt an ebook. Perhaps those occasions on which both a book and ebook are available would provide the way to ease into allowing students options.

Loading