The Wall Street Journal lead tech story today is headlined: Internet Access Turns School Buses Into Rolling Classrooms. The note on the picture tells us: “A program providing wireless Internet access on buses enables high-school senior Ethan Clement to do classwork online during long rides to and from school in rural Arkansas, and offers her advanced classes and far-flung mentors.”
The tipping point toward mobile learning is coming closer, but inertia lingers. It is interesting that the following section from the WSJ story excuses dropouts so easily — letting the fault be a bumpy bus.
In any event, for Ms. Clement, connecting is smoothing a road into science:
The project, known as the Aspirnaut Initiative, gives some high-performing students laptops or video iPods and sets them up with online courses and educational videos during their long bus rides to and from school — a round trip that often starts before dawn and ends after dark.
A number of participants have dropped out, unable to focus on studying as the bus bumps along gravel roads. But for students such as Ethan, the Aspirnaut Initiative has opened new worlds. The two college professors who run the program have become her mentors. For the first time, she said, she feels confident that she can aspire to a career in science. “It’s not just for big-city people with good connections,” she said.
