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CenterFuse Broadband Feasibility Report The VPN generally tries to establish both a download and an upload data path. The download path is used to download documents like homework assignments, with the biggest download being when the school homework involves viewing videos that are streaming from the school server. On the upload path the VPN is used when students send work with software that is sitting on the school network. The biggest use of the upload connection comes if the students want to connect with a video connection so that the teacher can see students and vice versa.A 2-way video connection uses both upload and download bandwidth simultaneously. The VPN for school software typically carves out at least a 1 Mbps both upload and download. That requirement will grow if video is engaged. Homes with more than one student can quickly hit the wall on upload speed using DSL from Consolidated for cable modem service from Charter. The Quello Study Teachers have understood for many years that students without good broadband and/or computers at home don't perform as well in class. There was recently a definitive study that quantified the impact of the homework gap. The study was released in March 2020 and was done by the Quello Center that is part of the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University.'2 I call this a definite study because it used study techniques that isolate the impact of broadband from other factors such as sex, race, and family incomes. The study involved 3,258 students in Michigan in grades 8— 11 from schools described as being in rural areas. The study was done in such a way to get results of schoolwork concerning students without violating student confidentiality. The study showed significant performance differences for students with and without home broadband. Students with no Internet access at home tested lower on a range of metrics including digital skills, homework completion and grade point average. Some of the specific findings include • Students with home Internet access had an overall grade point average of 3.18 while students with no Internet access at home had a GPA of 2.81. • During the study, 64%of students with no home Internet access sometimes left homework undone compared to only 17%of students with a high-speed connection at home. • Students without home Internet access spend an average of 30 minutes longer doing homework each evening. • The study showed that students with no Internet at home often had no alternative access to broadband, such as a library. 35%of students with no broadband also didn't have a computer at home. 34% of students had no access to alternate sources of broadband such as a library, church, community center, or homes of a neighbor or relative. One of the most important findings was that there is a huge gap in digital skills for students without home broadband. To quote the study, "The gap in digital skills between students with no home access or cell phone only and those with fast or slow home Internet access is equivalent to the gap in digital skills between 8th and 11th grade students." Digital skills not only require competence in working with technology, but also means the ability to work efficiently, to communicate effectively with others, and 12 http://quello.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads12020/03Broadband Gap Quell° Report MSU.pdf Page 46