Blog Juice for Educational Technology

The mayor of New Orleans has vowed to build a citywide wireless Internet network, and offer it free to residents. This could be a terrific boost for schools anywhere seeking to increase their technology offerings. The system could be completed in about one year. At 512 kbps, the New Orleans network is about seven times the speed of dial-up service, but slower than high-speed services provided by telephone and cable TV companies. Users will have to sign up with the city for an account, AP reports. More on this from Washington Post here. Technology mag Red Herring points to potential problems, however. We say go for it, Mr. Mayor. Your city needs some good news.

Nearing three months after the levies broke, no public schools are open, and nearly an entire generation of New Orleans public school students has vanished, reports the Boston Globe. “Administrators, like frustrated detectives, are struggling to find them… Between 30 and 40 percent of New Orleans schools–many of them crumbling, sadly beautiful art deco hulks even before the storm–will probably have to be bulldozed.”