Studies of these communities tried to establish whether there are positive effects associated with the provision of this technology. Broadly speaking, findings indicate an increase in social capital for members that are connected to the network in these communities (e.g. people know more of their neighbours, more voluntary involvement, feeling of community etc.).

I just came across Cybermoor, a UK-grown effort that has provided broadband access, communication tools and computer literacy courses to about 400 people in the remote village of Alston in Cumbria. Although I am a bit astonished how they managed to spent between half and a million Pounds on wireless broadband, the returns seem to have justified the project: more jobs and an increase in property prices of 25%. Have a look at the nice little video below and if you like what you see and you are British: please notice that the European Union gave money for this project

[youtube]hNziJDdVDzE[/youtube]

Thanks to Rolf Luehrs for that tip.

“To put the matter briefly, if secondary education is to be successful, it must successfully compete with cars and sports and social activities for the adolescents’ attention, in an open market. The adolescent is no longer a child, but will spend his energy in the ways he sees fit. It is up to the adult society to so structure secondary education that it captures this energy.”

Written long before the advent of the Internet with its many exciting distractions, this conclusions seems ever so relevant today. If we knew all that 45 years ago, what did we do in the meantime?