What is your ConnectionSpeed??

Before beginning an online class, you need to know whether you have a dial-up connection to the internet (using a telephone line) or a high-speed connection. Using a dial-up connection for casual browsing of the internet is fine, but when you are attempting to sign-on to Blackboard and then navigate the various links, this can quickly become frustrating.

Do you really want to spend 45 minutes typing an assignment and just when you are about to hit the send button, get booted off of the server? This is a serious and valid concern. Time is precious and wasting it by waiting for a slow dial-up connection to load your pages will make your Online Learning experience a frustrating one.

Dial-up Pros:

• Expensive
• Not available everywhere

Not everyone can afford the expense of having a constant cable connection, but there are alternatives. Libraries provide high-speed internet connections for free! If you have a local library close by and can make those daily visits, then your online experience will be better than if you used dial-up. Do you really want to tell your professor that you couldn't complete your assignment because you couldn't maintain your internet connection?

Want to know how fast your computer is when connected to the internet? Click on the link below and click the city that is closest to you. This will automatically check your download and upload speeds. If you choose the city that is furthest from you, you will notice the much slower ConnectionSpeed.

Check your computer's ConnectionSpeed here:

-- JamesBishop - 12 Nov 2005