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The issue of net neutrality is not just one of freedom on the internet, but freedom in education, as well. Our educational institutions from preschool through post-graduate studies have come to rely heavily on the internet as both primary and secondary instructional media. Our colleges and universities require an open internet as a research tool for students, and a communications tool for instructors to reach an increasingly geographically diverse student body - with "virtual" classrooms comprised of students from all over our nation and sometimes, the world. Allowing corporate interests to overshadow our educational needs is counterintuitive to the technological and innovative progress our educational system has acheived over the past few decades. Thanks to the widespread availability of the internet, more people than ever have access to the educational resources it affords. Distance learning programs are gaining popularity, and the success of these programs depends largely on the open and free exchange of information on the internet.
Students, teachers, proponents of academia and higher education, IT professionals and journalists - stand up for the free exchange of information online! The internet belongs to all of us!
How opposing net neutrality rules will negatively impact education in America
Dear Representative
I am an undergraduate student at Strayer University, currently pursuing a degree in the diverse and ever-expanding field of computer science. I'd like to offer, if I may, a brief statement on the importance of "net neutrality", as it relates to the study of information technology, and the utilization of such technology by every imaginable rung on the educational ladder, from public to private, preschool to post-graduate studies.
Keeping the internet free and open, by implementing a rule for net neutrality as proposed recently by the FCC, is vital to the success of our students and educational institutions in America. Without this rule, internet providers are given the demonstrated ability to control what content users who access the internet via their subscription services are able to view. They are able to effectively slow download and upload speeds, restrict the user's access to streaming audio and video applications, or completely deny the user the freedom to view certain content at the sole discretion of the provider.
There are those in the media, and even a few in the Congress it seems, who seek to distort the public's perception of what "net neutrality" really means by presenting the rule as "more government control" of the free exchange of information on the internet. To the contrary, the real underlying principle of net neutrality is not one of control, but freedom from control. A position, such as the one expressed recently by officials at the FCC, that will preserve the internet freedom of every American is the precise opposite of the "control" that these naysayers insist such a rule would allow.
For instance, Senator John McCain has announced his plans to introduce a bill he calls “The Internet Freedom Act of 2009”, which would give the internet service providers the freedom to control the content that is accessible from their networks, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands or even millions of American students and teachers without the educational resources they require. Senator John McCain recently stated that the proposed net neutrality rule would stifle innovation and hurt the job market when in fact the opposite is true.
Allowing corporate interests to overshadow the collective rights of the American people could undoubtedly lead to very severe negative consequences in our schools and our work force, particularly in the field of information technology.
In recent years, a growing number of institutions of higher education have begun offering distance learning programs using the internet as an instructional medium - a virtual blackboard of sorts - to reach "non-traditional" students who prefer asynchronous, independently focused study over a traditional classroom setting that, for various reasons such as work schedule or transportation constraints, they would not have access to otherwise. Businesses of all sizes from around the world depend on these distance learning programs for industry-specific continuing education and professional certification programs for both current and prospective employees.
Distance learning education via the internet relies heavily on streaming video and audio, as well as the utilization of the worldwide web as a research tool and a way for instructors to communicate with a geographically diverse student body. Technology is the driving force for innovation, and over the last few decades the internet has allowed us to take leaps and strides towards achieving a truly progressive educational system in our country, and opened the doors of opportunity to those who have, for so long, stood patiently outside waiting to be granted entry.
It is in the best interest of our nation to preserve the open exchange of information online by supporting the proposed rule for net neutrality and opposing Senator McCain’s “Internet Freedom Act”. The sheer volume of misinformation being put forth into the public scrutiny must be counteracted and a significant effort must be made to set the record straight on this very important issue.
Please join me in calling on students, teachers, proponents of academia and higher education, institutions of learning, IT professionals, journalists and anyone else who has a vested interest in keeping the exchange of information free and open on the internet. Don’t let misinformation and political doublespeak muddy this debate. The internet belongs to all of us.
Thank you.
[Your name]