Tech Note: Testing Internet Connection Speed

Campus Internet access is famously fast although some home connections finally rival the big pipes of colleges. Even on campuses, slow-downs may occur. On a former campus of mine, access dropped to a crawl daily, 11am to 1pm. Yep, lunch hour.

You can test the speed of your Internet connection by logging into an MSN web site and entering just two pieces of information.

Enter your Area Code.
Select the type of connection (dial-up, LAN/WAN, DSL/Cable).
Then just click on the Test It button.

My results were consistent across several trials. The measurement is made against CNET servers. CNET is my favorite "tech help" resource, as noted in a previous blog.

Other sources for speed info:

McAfee Internet Connection Speedometer includes basic information about connection speed.

Speakeasy Speed Test is the most entertaining of the sites. Click a city name and a test with that server will ensue, complete with animation for both download and upload speeds.

AT&T High Speed Internet Throughput Test also gives you choice of server location with a pull-down menu. The site also offers reasons for the difference between the test result (potential throughput speed) and the download time you experience at other web sites you visit.

Visualware's Test My Connection Speed web page offers just what the company name implies: visuals. The site casts the results in terms of quality and, specifically, what you can expect of VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) calls.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Email contact: bold[AT]marybold.com. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.

Top Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities

High response made Military Advanced Education and its parent company KMI Media Group double its list of "Top Military-Friendly Colleges & Universities" for 2008. (The list is now doubled, from 30 to 60 institutions.) Selections were made by an independent panel.

The magazine's "Top 20" also had to expand, to 22:

1. American Military University
2. American Sentinel University
3. Capella University
4. Central Texas College
5. Coastline Community College
6. Columbia College
7. Columbia Southern University
8. ECPI College of Technology
9. Excelsior College
10. Grantham University
11. Kaplan University
12. Park University College for Distance Learning
13. San Diego City College
14. Southern Illinois University Carbondale
15. State University of New York Maritime College
16. Strayer University
17. Thomas Edison State College
18. TUI University
19. University of Maryland University College
20. University of Oklahoma
21. University of Phoenix
22. Western Governors University

All 60 of the institutions recognized by Military Advanced Education are listed alphabetically in a special report.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Email contact: bold[AT]marybold.com. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.

TLT Group's Flashlight Online: Matrix Surveys

Flashlight Online is the Web 2.0 tool for evaluation offered by The TLT Group. The non-profit corporation's name stands for Teaching, Learning, and Technology and is recognized in the distance learning community as a source for free and low-cost training and resources.

The Flashlight Online products are available to institutional subscribers and access is open to multiple individuals within the institution. Flashlight has advanced from version 1.0 to 2.0 and now focuses on the concept of matrix surveys. Course evaluation is a major use of the tool.

The TLT web site is complex; a quick way to orient to the organization is through the free Friday afternoon webinars and the web page (called FridayLive!) that describes them. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a link to the archive of Friday sessions—it holds an impressive 4 years' worth. (Also a good opportunity to view TLT's webinar tool: Adobe Connect.)

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Email contact: bold[AT]marybold.com. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.