Democracy and Access to the Internet

["Thomas W. MacFarland" <tommy@ALPHA.ACAST.NOVA.EDU>]

Greetings:

I'm in the process of preparing a MS-level course which
will cover topics on how the Internet IS and COULD be
used in education.  One of the areas that seems to be
quite problematic is the issue of democracy and access
to the Internet.  Quite simply, if the Internet is
AVAILABLE to only a select few, does this network then
fit into the ideals of American education?

As such, please let me ask:

1.  What system do you use to access the Internet:

    -- Do you use a state-sponsored network, such as the Florida
       Information Resource Network (FIRN)?  Is there a charge for
       this service?  Are there restrictions on who can obtain an
       account?  How did you find out about this service?

    -- Do you use a commercial network, such as Delphi, panix, etc?
       Does your school subsidize subscription to a commercial
       network?

2.  Do you have to pay for telephone connection to the host
    computer?  Again, do you receive financial help for any
    telephone charges associated with Internet access?

3.  Do you use the Internet for personal reference selection, or
    do you ALSO have your students use the Internet for their
    research/communication purposes?

To conserve bandwidth, please do NOT post to this listserv.
Instead, send responses to tommy@alpha.acast.nova.edu and I'll
post a summary in a few weeks after responses are received.

Thanks a bunch!

Tom MacFarland
---
Thomas W. MacFarland           tommy@alpha.acast.nova.edu
Nova Southeastern University   1-800-986-2247