New SC program boosts virtual education access for rural and low-income students
A new program in South Carolina wants to boost access to virtual learning for rural students.
The program, called “datacasting,” uses television signals from SCETV to transmit a one-way, encrypted internet signal, state officials said at a Wednesday press conference.
“If we want to be prosperous and happy and healthy, we have to educate our children,” Gov. Henry McMaster said at the press conference. “This is part of a broad plan. This is not something we thought up overnight.”
The program is still in a pilot program at the York 1, Fairfield County and Jasper County school districts, according to SCETV documents. Should the program prove successful, officials want to expand it to 5,000 students throughout the state.
Officials are not sure when they could expand the datacasting program beyond its pilot phase, said SCETV President and CEO Anthony Padgett.
Padgett and other officials who spoke at the press conference stressed datacasting is just one tool that can help them provide online learning access to rural students.
“It will probably take several initiatives,” to significantly improve rural access to broadband, Padgett said. Statewide, there are 435,000 people who lack access to high-speed internet, which is necessary for modern education methods including conference calls, videos, email, etc., according to a previous article from The State.
The goal is to “increase availability of online resources in areas that lack broadband,” S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman said at the Wednesday press conference. “If there’s any good that’s come out of this pandemic, it’s that everyone across the state is working together to improve broadband access.”
The program is funded by a $2.3 million CARES Act money split up over 3 years and $1.3 million in state money, according to SCETV documents. The money pays for laptops and datacasting receivers for rural families, training, tech support and more.
The federal money is a part of a $15 million federal grant to improve wireless internet access for rural families.
Datacasting is not a new technology; it has been used to beam information to first responders for years. However, the technology has never been used to provide educational materials, SCETV officials said.
“We have a unique set of technology and equipment at our disposal,” said Richard Cohn, the chair of SCETV’s board. “It’s our duty to use this to improve the lives of South Carolinians.”
“This is truly a game-changer,” Cohn said.
Students will only need to open a laptop or smart device to receive the signal, which will download assignments. But since the signal is one-way only, students are unable to turn in completed assignments using datacasting.
SCETV is working on a streamlined way for students to turn in completed assignments, and in the meantime teachers may establish conference calls with students to discuss assignments, said Stephanie Frazier, SCETV’s vice president for education.
Another option is for students to download and complete assignments at home, then drive to a location where there is public Wi-Fi access or a government-provided hotspot to upload completed assignments. For schools using a “hybrid” model — that is, a mix of online and virtual classes — students can complete their virtual work at home and turn it in when they return to school, Frazier said.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 2:12 PM with the headline "New SC program boosts virtual education access for rural and low-income students."