Catie Pletcher spent the first four years of her life in a house with no electricity.
The Ephrata school where Pletcher (sophomore-animal science) attended kindergarten through fourth grade was tiny -- two classrooms were used for each grade -- and offered few modern amenities.
"There were lights and plumbing, but no computers," she said.
More needs to be done to bring modern technology to rural areas such as Ephrata, suggests a May study co-authored by Penn State professor of geography Amy Glasmeier. The researchers place strong emphasis on the need for universal broadband Internet access.
Penn State will assist new broadband users by consulting with schools, businesses and residents of the Pennsylvania Wilds, a rural region in north-central Pennsylvania. The program is presented by the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP), a division of Penn State Outreach's Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
PennTAP will help people use their broadband connection for much more than just e-mail, Assistant Director of PennTAP Michael Berger said.
He said he's visited many rural Pennsylvania towns and thinks they need broadband access if they want to be competitive with other towns.
"If they don't start utilizing technology they're not going to be competitive," he said.
One advantage of broadband is the educational opportunities it brings to rural schools, which can be lacking in the support they can offer students, Berger said.
When Pletcher moved to State College at the age of 8, she learned she was reading at the level of a kindergartner. Pletcher was diagnosed with dyslexia and received special support to help her with her learning disorder.
"Without that I wouldn't have been able to make it to Penn State," she said.
According to the study, "there is no silver bullet or single solution to the challenge of broadband use," but it recommends teachers be given the necessary training to take advantage of broadband Internet and businesses be presented with incentives to bring new technology to rural areas.
"We support the belief that rural broadband deployment is important for Pennsylvania and for the nation," said Barry Denk of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which underwrote Glasmeier's study.
Companies have begun to bring broadband access to rural areas, but Denk said more needs to be done.
"It's an economic decision, they need a return on their investment to warrant the investment," he said. "It remains challenging for some providers to bring broadband."
