- From: Anne Pemberton <apembert@crosslink.net>
- Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 18:16:01 -0700
- To: "Bailey, Bruce" <Bruce_Bailey@ed.gov>, "'W3C-WAI-GL@w3c.org'" <W3C-WAI-GL@w3c.org>
At 10:58 AM 10/5/00 -0400, Bailey, Bruce wrote: >I imagine the average kindergarten to be lucky to have a 28k modem. If I >caculated it right, that story would take about 15 minutes to load! Can you >image what your browsing experince would be like if this was typical for any >given site? (Let alone, ten minutes for any given page!) School districts that are equipping classrooms with the Internet aren't necessarily using modems, but using efficient networks with a DSL (etc) connection. The Lily Frog program required about 10 minutes to download, which was done before the students entered the lab (our classrooms will be wired in the next phase, currently we only have internet in the library and adjoining computer lab). Ten minutes was insignificant for the content the sitee afforded, and was neglible compared to the 10 days to six weeks it takes to order materials and media by mail! Oh, and Bruce, I was using the Internet with kids back when it took as long or longer to download a scene from Shakespeare from gopher, and that was all text! I found the wait worthwhile then, and the wait worthwhile now. The best alternative wait is weeks, even months and years to wait for tv or video to happen.... I'm not saying that ALL sites have to be done in flash, not all sites have content that is maximized by such a presentation ... but I am saying that because flash provides the essential elements for accessibility, it should be supported by those genuinely interested in accessibility. Anne PS: least you think I'm teaching in a posh school district, I should tell you that we are a rural school district in traditional tobacco-growing country in south-central Virginia. Teacher pay is among the lowest in the state, but we do have parents who want "more" for their children and the community makes sacrifices to bring this about. Admittedly, Virginia is a leader among states in providing Internet services to schools. Anne L. Pemberton http://www.pen.k12.va.us/Pav/Academy1 http://www.erols.com/stevepem/Homeschooling apembert@crosslink.net Enabling Support Foundation http://www.enabling.org
Received on Thursday, 5 October 2000 17:47:13 UTC