Connection Speed Research Articles

ОЦЕНКА ЭНЕРГЕТИЧЕСКИХ ПОКАЗАТЕЛЕЙ УСОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАННОГО ПРИВОДА МНОГООПОРНЫХ ДОЖДЕВАЛЬНЫХ МАШИН, ТИПА «КУБАНЬ-ЛК1»

The issues of assessing the energy performance of the improved drive of a multi-support irrigation machine (DM) operating in motion in the Kuban-LK1 circle are described. It is noted that in order to increase the efficiency of DM cart drives and increase the speed of their movement, it is necessary to develop geared motors with a high gear ratio. The most promising option seems to be the use of energy-intensive gearmotors equipped with wave transmission. The rationale for the use of highly efficient gearing is given through theoretical studies. It is indicated that today, in the design of machines of this type, wheel gears with ineffective worm gears are used, as a result of which a blocked connection and uneven peripheral wheel speeds are formed in the transmission of running systems, which leads to a decrease in efficiency. operation of gear motors. It is possible to eliminate such negative qualities of the operation of the Kuban-LK DM by equipping it with gearmotors with wave transmission. Experimental studies of the machine were carried out at Ozery JSC, Kolomensky district, Moscow region, on a prototype of an 8-bogie electrified multi-support DM “Kuban-LK1”. On four trolleys (No. 2, No. 3, No. 7 and No. 8), gear motors with wave transmission were installed on each wheel. Potatoes were watered. Agricultural background is a field planted with potatoes. The slope of the field along the water supply pipeline and in the direction of movement of the carts did not exceed ± 0.01. As a result of the research, operational indicators were obtained, presented in Table 1, which allowed us to draw the following conclusions: power consumption of the support trolley with a modernized drive when operating; two electric motors, is 300 - 370 W. Under the same conditions, a serial drive consumes 630 – 670 W. Thus, power savings occur due to increased efficiency. drive (η) from 0.5 to 0.8 and its unlocking, on average, by approximately 1.8 times.

Develop the ubiquitous computing wearable IoT devices using IoT-distributed framework

Body Area Sensor Network (BASN) communication methods meet clients' multi-level requirements through Wearable Internet of Things (WIoT) systems. Transparency at management levels, heterogeneous support, and distributed communication to users are requirements of the PCS. Providing essential functions is a serious problem. A flexible Ubiquitous Computing (UC) architecture presented in this study is used to improve the reliability of end-user communication in the WIoT-based health sensor approach. According to this method, demand and sharing variables provide the foundation for the evaluation of resource allocation through recurrent learning. A proposed method could be used to implement end-user mobility management on WIoT healthcare sensors for data transmission, resource allocation and sharing. To show the integrity of the approach, some parameters were used in the actual evaluation and performance predictions. In the ubiquitous ecosystem, the uninterrupted flow was guaranteed to reduce the likelihood of a request being blocked. Memory control to density assignment at the framework level through storage management helps reduce backlogs and failures when allocating resources. The proposed approach enhances storage utilization, bandwidth, and request management besides lowering connection speed, backlogs, and request failure compared to the existing systems.

GIS-based model for the assessment of the smart sustainable development of municipalities of Northeast Bulgaria

In recent years, Bulgarian municipalities have introduced smart development systems. The Bulgarian state is at the top of the world rankings regarding household internet access and connection speed. The authors develop and validate a GIS-based model for the analysis and evaluation of sustainable cities. The authors conclude that in a global digital economy and society, Bulgarian regions need to improve the accessibility of WI-FI networks to meet the challenges of Smart Development. In recent years, the authors have observed a growth of Smart Cities initiatives in large areas of Northeast Bulgaria. However, Bulgarian municipalities in the study area are lagging in deploying smart governance systems.

Understanding rural-urban differences in veterans' internet access, use and patient preferences for telemedicine.

The expansion of telemedicine (e.g., telephone or video) in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) raises concerns for health care disparities between rural and urban veterans. Factors impeding telemedicine use (e.g., broadband, digital literacy, age) disproportionally affect rural veterans. To examine veteran-reported broadband access, internet use, familiarity with, and preferences for telemedicine stratified by residential rurality. Three hundred fifty veterans with a VA primary care visit in March 2022 completed a 30-min computer-assisted telephone interview. The sampling design stratified veterans by residential rurality (i.e., rural or urban) and how primary care was delivered (i.e., in-person or by video). Counts and weighted percentages are reported. After accounting for survey weights, 96.2% of respondents had in-home internet access and 89.5% reported functional connection speeds. However, rural- compared to urban-residing veterans were less likely to experience a telemedicine visit in the past year (74.1%vs. 85.2%; p = 0.02). When comparing telemedicine to in-person visits, rural versus urban-residing veterans rated them not as good (45.3%vs. 36.8%), just as good (51.1%vs. 53.1%), or better (3.5%vs. 10.0%) (p = 0.05). To make telemedicine visits easier, veterans, regardless of where they lived, recommended technology training (46.4%), help accessing the internet (26.1%), or provision of an internet-enabled device (25.9%). Though rural-residing veterans were less likely to experience a telemedicine visit, the same actionable facilitators to improve telemedicine access were reported regardless of residential rurality. Importantly, technology training was most often recommended. Policy makers, patient advocates, and other stakeholders should consider novel initiatives to provide training resources.

Uncovering Covid-19, distance learning, and educational inequality in rural areas of Pakistan and China: a situational analysis method

Challenges to education in rural areas have been reported for a long time, and the respective governments are continuously making efforts to address them. However, the eruption of the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the total closure of schools and a surge in internet and distance learning. Hence, there is a need to assess the situation periodically to gauge the effectiveness of government efforts in tackling these challenges and understand the impact of the virus outbreak on the education landscape. This study focuses on rural areas of Pakistan and China, utilizing the Situational Analysis Method (SAM). The study findings revealed several key points. Firstly, in both rural Pakistan and China, Covid-19 led to an increase in the number and scope of distance learning activities. However, there is a need for better experiences to effectively manage distance learning for students, parents, and teachers. Moreover, specific issues peculiar to rural China include shortages of relevant facilities such as computers, smartphones, and poor connectivity. In contrast, rural Pakistan faces challenges of unpreparedness and higher teacher workloads. Secondly, since internet connectivity is an essential component for distance learning, rural Pakistan shows higher internet penetration compared to rural areas in China. Nevertheless, internet connection speed in China remains higher and consistent, whether in urban or rural regions. However, both countries struggle with poor internet connection in rural areas due to the lack of enough potential customers. Thirdly, rural education in both countries is plagued by poverty, inadequate funding, and many students having to endure long and hazardous journeys to school. Specific issues in rural China include poor parental care due to migration and a shortage of teachers, while rural Pakistan grapples with limited educational opportunities for children and women, insufficient educational training for teachers, issues of social norms, and attacks on schools by extremist groups.

5G желісі негізінде IoT енгізу тиімділігін бағалау

In recent years, wireless technologies have been actively developing at the global level. In the market of wireless technologies, 5G technology has become the most complex, large-scale and interesting topic in the study of wireless communication systems. The purpose of this work is to study the effectiveness of the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the 5G network, to build the 5G-IoT architecture and create a mathematical model. Also, to demonstrate the advantages of 5G network over existing technologies. The current LTE (4G) cellular network will not be sufficient and efficient to meet the requirements of simultaneous connection of multiple devices, high speed, high bandwidth and low latency Quality of Service (QoS). Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Zigbee, Sigfox technologies cannot fully satisfy the basic requirements of IoT. In order to solve these problems, we considered 5G network as the most promising technology. This research work consists of the following parts: the first part reviews 5G and IoT technologies, their scope and advantages, the works of other authors in this field, the second part considers the architecture and mathematical model of 5G-IoT, the next part presents the results and their analysis, and the last part a conclusion was made

Online Learning Experiences for Speaking Activities among Malaysian Undergraduate ESL Students

Speaking practice is crucial for ESL (English as a Second Language) students. Nevertheless, accomplishing speaking activities via online learning might be difficult for the college students at universities in Malaysia as they are non-native English speakers. There have been several studies about students' perceptions and preferences on online learning. Nonetheless, there was only a little research conducted to ascertain deep online learning perceptions and preferences of the undergraduate ESL students in Malaysia. The current article's goal was to look at ESL learners' opinions on the experiences through online connected to speaking activities at a public institution in Tanjong Malim. The mixed-research method of study was used. In this article, observation checklist, semi-structured student interview, and questionnaire were employed to get the information from the sample. The sample was then subjected to statistical analysis and standard deviation, mean score, as well as percentage to identify the Malaysian undergraduate ESL students toward online learning platforms, the difficulty that the learners encountered during the online learning, and the strategies implemented by undergraduate ESL students. Whereas the interview result was analysed by thematic analysis. The findings indicate that the use of technology for distant learning for undergraduate ESL students to improve speaking abilities was progressing well. This signifies that the students perceived that they have knowledge to use the online platforms with mean (x)= 4.07. However, several students noted that their main concern when undertaking online speaking exercises was the connection speed with mean (x)= 3.93. As a result, soliciting thoughts or ideas to boost their engagement in online speaking projects was beneficial to the pupils with mean (x)= 3.97.

Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Pemilihan Virtual Private Server (VPS) Menggunakan Metode MOORA

Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a hosting solution where one physical server is divided into several isolated virtual servers. Each virtual server operates independently with the resources assigned to it. VPS uses virtualization technology that allows multiple virtual servers to run on one physical server. The main advantage of VPS is the ability to have complete control over the server without the need to manage complex physical infrastructure. In addition, VPS also offers a higher level of privacy and security compared to share hosting. However, in choosing a VPS, several problems can arise. Too few resources can hurt website or application performance, while too many resources can result in waste and unnecessary costs. Also, issues such as downtime, poor connection speed, or server constraints can cause disruption to the hosted website or application. To choose a VPS that suits user needs, the MOORA method is used as a decision support system. In this case, 9 VPS providers were selected which would be evaluated based on the criteria of CPU, RAM, Storage, Bandwidth and Cost. After applying the MOORA method, alternative A4 with a Yi value of 1,590 was declared the best alternative, and the Exabytes provider was considered the best VPS service provider.

Mathematics teachers’ perceptions and challenges in using blended learning for optimum mathematics delivery in the post COVID - 19 classrooms

The study examined mathematics teachers’ perceptions and challenges in using blended learning for optimum mathematics delivery in the post Covid-19 classrooms in Anambra State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Two research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. The population for the study was 89 mathematics teachers in Awka Education zone of Anambra State. The population was made up of 54 mathematics teachers in urban areas and 35 mathematics teachers in rural areas. A 20-item “Questionnaire for Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions and Challenges in using Blended Learning for Optimum Mathematics Delivery (QMTPCBLOMD)” was validated by three experts and rated on four Likert scales. Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the reliability co-efficient of the instrument. The Cronbach Alpha reliability co-efficient was estimated at 0.84. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while the hypothesis was tested using z-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that both urban and rural mathematics teachers perceived blended learning as the learning process that provides forum for interactive learning, promotes e-learning, fosters collaborative learning experience, incorporates both personalized and group learning, helps to share mathematics information and ideas globally and promotes student-centred learning. Challenges in using blended learning include lack of ICT compliance, low level of interest in mathematics, time factor, low speed connectivity and poor funding of secondary education. There was no significant difference between the mean response of perceptions of urban and rural mathematics teachers in using blended learning for optimum mathematics delivery in the post COVID-19 classrooms. It was recommended among others that both mathematics teachers and students should be ICT compliant and adequate time should be given for teaching of mathematics. Then capacity building workshop on blended learning should be organized for both mathematics teachers and students and government should fund secondary education adequately.

3G, HSPA AND 4G LTE NETWORK RELIABILITY AND ACHIEVABLE INTERNET SPEEDS ON AIRBORNE AIRCRAFT UP TO 10.000 FT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL

Nowadays, we are witnesses of 5G mobile technology advancements and many countries plan to or already have introduced this technology to public usage. However, the older technologies such as 3G, HSPA and 4G LTE, because of their physical properties, ways of datagram transfers and frequency bands used, are still very suitable for usage in cases that assume longer distances between terminal device and cell towers. Having that in mind, a research was conducted during 2021. and 2022. in order to test i.e. verify or refute the hypothesis that 3G, HSPA and 4G LTE technologies will be reliable enough to provide a satisfactory connection on aircraft flying up to 3 km (10.000 ft) above ground level, quality enough to establish Internet connection speeds of at least 1Mbps, which would be enough to serve as a medium for innovated, Internet-based data links similar to CPDLC/ACARS. Through a series of 14 airplane flights, both above plains and mountain regions, first-hand data was gathered and analyzed accordingly, so reliable conclusions about presented hypothesis could be made. Empirical research results were accompanied with research results made on well-known computer radio propagation simulator TAP7.

The influence of tab overheating on thermal runaway propagation of pouch-type lithium-ion battery module with different tab connections

Thermal runaway (TR) of lithium-ion batteries is the main safety obstacle to the further development of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric energy storage systems (EESSs). Understanding the mechanism of TR propagation is one of the primary ways to improve the thermal safety of the lithium-ion battery. In this paper, an electro-thermal model coupled with the lumped thermal runaway model is applied to investigate the TR behaviors induced by tab overheating and the TR propagation in a battery module with different tab connection methods. The electro-thermal model is used to calculate the heat generation at tabs and the cell body during the normal charge/discharge process, and the lumped thermal runaway model is applied to calculate the TR behavior and TR propagation in the battery module. The results exhibit that the TR behavior and TR propagation are influenced by different aspects (C-rates, insulator, and tab connection modes) in the battery module. The largest quantity of heat generation is at 3C-rate, about 0.98 kJ, because of the heat accumulation in the battery. Besides, the quantity of heat generation that induce TR in lithium-ion batteries in this paper is lower than that from the reference, which means that tab overheating is more dangerous than other heating strategies for triggering the thermal runaway of batteries. The trigger time of TR decreases with the increasing C-rate and the tab connection modes mitigate the TR propagation in the battery module at a low C-rate because of the increasing heat dissipation rate, while the TR propagation is accelerated in the battery module at a high C-rate. At low C-rate conditions, the parallel tab connection exhibits a more significant effect on mitigating the TR behavior, and the effect of mitigation decreases with the increasing C-rate. At high C-rate conditions, the series tab connection accelerates the TR propagation to the adjacent battery, while the parallel tab connection speeds up the TR propagation of all the connected batteries. This work is important for understanding the TR propagation mechanism and improving the thermal safety of pouch-type lithium-ion batteries in EVs.

Economic growth and broadband access: The European urban-rural digital divide

This paper estimates the regional effects of high-speed broadband coverage on economic growth in a panel of 1348 regions across all European Union Member States between 2011 and 2018. We distinguish between different connectivity speed levels by aggregating the available regional data across all existing broadband technologies, and investigate how regional differences in the contribution of broadband coverage to real economic growth can quantitatively explain the persistence of the European urban-rural digital divide. In order to make our results robust to endogeneity and disaggregated data availability issues, we employ a bootstrap-based bias correction for the dynamic fixed effects estimator. We find that expansions in the provision of lower-speed broadband access accelerated annual per capita growth in both urban and rural regions through diminishing returns to scale, but that the effects were weaker in those regions characterized by larger ruralization. High-speed broadband coverage, on the contrary, could only be significantly related to rural economic growth and had no impact within their urban counterparts. We find evidence that the costs of these high-speed rural connectivity expansions had not yet been offset, but that they exhibit increasing returns to scale with cut-off levels nearing full coverage. These results indicate that the high-speed digital expansion of rural Europe is a potential gamechanger for further rural development policies through its role as a general-purpose infrastructure, and consequently argue in favour of increased efforts to close the urban-rural digital gap.

Why material advancement is necessary approach for the 5G wireless era?

The proliferation of mobile devices, enormous data volumes, and faster data transfer speeds have driven the development of 5G wireless communication. This type of network offers widespread connectivity, minimal latency, and swift data speeds, characterized by three key features: massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO), high base station and device densities, and new technology adoption. This article explores the use of nanomaterials such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, metallic nanomaterials, and metamaterials in wideband millimeter-wave nanoantennas to meet the antenna requirements of 5G networks. It also discusses the challenges of commercializing 5G and developing nanomaterials, proposing an atomistic modeling approach as a means of generating innovative nanomaterials for use in 5G and other technologies.

The association between white matter tract structural connectivity and information processing speed in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

BackgroundInformation processing speed (IPS) deterioration is common in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients [1] and might severely affect quality of life and occupational activity. However, understanding of its neural substrate is not fully elucidated. We aimed to investigate the associations between MRI-derived metrics of neuroanatomical structures, including the tracts, and IPS.MethodsSymbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), and Color Trails Test (CTT) were used to evaluate IPS in 73 RRMS consecutive patients, all undergoing only interferon beta (IFN-β) therapy during the study. At the same time, 1.5T MRI including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data was acquired for each recruited subject. We analyzed volumetric and diffusion MRI measures (FreeSurfer 6.0) including normalized brain volume (NBV), cortical thickness (thk), white matter hypointensities (WMH), volume (vol), diffusion parameters: mean (MD), radial (RD), axial (AD) diffusivities, and fractional anisotropy (FA) of 18 major white-matter (WM) tracts. Multiple linear regression model with interaction resulted in distinguishing the neural substrate of IPS deficit in the IPS impaired subgroup of patients.ResultsThe most significant tract abnormalities contributing to IPS deficit were right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (R ILF) FA, forceps major (FMAJ) FA, forceps minor (FMIN) FA, R uncinate fasciculus (UNC) AD, R corticospinal tract (CST) FA, and left superior longitudinal fasciculus FA (L SLFT). Among volumetric MRI metrics, IPS deficit was associated with L and R thalamic vol. and cortical thickness of insular regions.ConclusionIn this study, we showed that disconnection of the selected WM tracts, in addition to cortical and deep gray matter (GM) atrophy, might underlie IPS deficit in RRMS patients but more extensive studies are needed for precise associations.

Tele-ultrasound imaging using smartphones and single-board PCs

BACKGROUND: Mobile devices are widely available and their computational performance increases. Nonetheless, medicine should not be an exception: single-board computers and mobile phones are crucial aides in telehealth.
 AIM: To explore tele-ultrasound scope using smartphones and single-board computers
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study focused on capturing ultrasound videos using external video recording devices connected via USB. Raspberry Pi single-board computers and Android smartphones have been used as platforms to host a tele-ultrasound server. Used software: VLC, Motion, and USB camera. A remote expert assessment was performed with mobile devices using the following software: VLC acted as a VLC server, Google Chrome for OS Windows 7 and OS Android was used in the remaining scenarios, and Chromium browser was installed on the Raspberry Pi computer.
 OUTCOMES: The UTV007 chip-based video capture device produces better images than the AMT630A-based device. The optimum video resolution was 720576 and 25 frames per second. VLC and OBS studios are considered the most suitable for a raspberry-based ultrasound system owing to low equipment and bandwidth requirements (0.640.17 Mbps for VLC; 0.5 Mbps for OBS studio). For Android phone OS, the ultrasound system was set with the USB camera software, although it required a faster network connection speed (5.20.3 Mbps).
 CONCLUSION: The use of devices based on single-board computers and smartphones implements a low-cost tele-ultrasound system, which potentially improves the quality of studies performed through distance learning and consulting doctors. These solutions can be used in remote regions for field medicine tasks and other possible areas of m-health.

Payment facilitators’ effects on the digital economy

Trade and commerce are the straightforward process of exchanging products, services and worth. While electronic trade or digital economy is identical in essence, the process of exchanging goods and services is made simpler as the medium changes. The digital economy is a platform where people, machines, algorithms and organisations (like corporations) continue to interact with one another in an infinite assortment of options to exchange goods, services, ideas, information and products via the internet, which provides communication options. Because of the increase in connection speed and the adoption of technology, many people were able to participate in the digital economy. The digital economy provides significant quantities of goods and services that people would not be capable of producing without machine and software support. To keep pace with the digital age, money and value transfers must also be digital. Payment systems, which are one of the first technologies to adopt new technologies, have always been very close to digital adoption. Therefore, technology is critical to its continuous development to provide better, safer and faster services ever since the emergence of the first payment cards. Payment facilitators (PayFacs) have played an important role in the inclusion of larger audiences, emerging from the technological infrastructure that had been created by banks and card schemes, the actors that have long invested in this field.

EXPERIENCES OF CONDUCTING ONLINE EXAM PROCTORING IN LOW-RESOURCE SETTINGS: A SRI LANKAN CASE STUDY

Online tests are becoming increasingly common as online learning gains popularity. Online assessments are more prone to academic dishonesty than traditional exams. Ad hoc online proctoring techniques have been used by institutions to prevent academic misconduct during online tests. In contexts with unreliable infrastructure, such as slow internet connections and a lack of compatible equipment, it is challenging to figure out how to employ technology to proctor online tests swiftly and efficiently. The goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of the context and requirements for scaling up online exams in Sri Lanka as well as to investigate what options for improving the subsequent deployment of online proctoring systems in low-resource settings exist in order to maintain the caliber of academic programs. In this work, an in-class assignment for a Software Engineering course at a higher education institution in Sri Lanka was manually proctored using video conferencing software in a completely remote context. A post-exam feedback survey was used to collect information about participants' experiences with online proctoring. The survey was supposed to reveal the experiences about the devices used, internet connectivity, the factors that led to stress and perceptions about cheating during the exam. The data obtained from both the assignment and the survey was analyzed in order to make well-informed decisions about the future deployment of online proctoring technologies. This paper presents evidence of the experiment that strongly recommends that online exam proctoring solutions be developed after a careful examination of the constraints such as internet connection speed, stability, and affordability, as well as sudden power outages of the environment in which they will be utilised, in order to unlock the true potential of e-learning technologies.

The Research on the Bandpass Filter for 5G N79 Band

With the continuous development of communication technology, 5G technology has gradually replaced the original 4G network and has been applied to all walks of life with its advantages of faster connection speed, lower delay, and larger capacity. The RF front-end market has also benefited from the prosperity of 5G, and filters are the most significant business segment in the RF front-end market. Filters are widely used in the 5G network technology hardware because it can significantly ensure the signal's integrity. The shield stripline bandpass filter and the high-resistance silicon-based bandpass filter using, which use Integrated passive devices (IPD) technology, are two ordinary filters on the market. This article will briefly outline the structure and performance of the two filters and use the comparison method to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two filters. Finally, some reasonable solutions are proposed for improvement, such as adding a defective ground structure to the strip linear filter to reduce the insertion loss, replacing the material of the IPD filter with glass, and using active components instead of IPD to make the filter.

Media and Information Literacy Among Brazilian K-12 Teachers: A Case Study at Guarujá Municipal Education System

The aim of this study was to map the access, use and appropriation of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by K-12 teachers in the city of Guarujá, on the coast of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The investigation was carried out throughout the distance training workshops and distance learning activities offered by the Research Center for New Communications Technologies Applied to Education from the University of São Paulo – School of the Future-USP. An Innovation Ecosystem in Basic Education program was conceived in order to conduct the activities and needed to be adapted to fully digital circumstances due to the global COVID-19 emergency in 2020 and 2021. This change ended up allowing the collection of important information about teachers' perceptions of their digital competences. Among the results pointed out, activities started to be carried out digitally, including by non-conventional means, such as through social networks and also mediated by cell phones; the mandatory experience with the digital environment made the teachers understand that it will not be possible to return to a relationship of certain distance with the computational resources. This scenario makes recurrent difficulties even more serious, such as lack of technical support and maintenance, low Internet connection speed and pedagogical support for creating class content with computers.

The impact of the digital divide on synchronous online teaching in Kazakhstan during COVID-19 school closures

This paper examines how factors associated with the digital divide such as ICT access, digital skills, and outcomes influenced synchronous online teaching in urban and rural schools in Kazakhstan during COVID-19 school closures. In addition to school location, this paper addresses how the speed and steadiness of the internet connection, and teacher characteristics such as age, qualification, and experience influenced teacher usage of synchronous teaching and learning mediums. Data in this paper consists of a nationally representative sample of nearly 4,000 teachers. This study found that the digital divide narrows when schools provide teachers with ICT access. While both, the speed of the internet and rural–urban residency have statistically significant effects on the use of ICT tools by teachers when considered separately, the interaction term between these two covariates was not statistically significant. Results indicated that age, experience, teacher workload and professional qualification were important determinants in teachers’ ability to engage in synchronous teaching.