Digital Content Chronicle

SETDA releases broadband report

SETDA released a report on broadband - The Broadband Imperative: Recommendations to address K-12 Education Infrastructure Needs - May 21.  The report examines current trends driving the need for more broadband in teaching, learning and school operations; provides state and district examples of the impact of robust deployment of broadband; and offers specific recommendations for the broadband capacity needed to ensure all students have access to the tools and resources they need to college and career ready.

For those who have not yet gone to the Dick Tracy School of the Obvious, one of the key trends driving the need for broadband is the growing use of digital content in the classroom, with everything from plain text to photos to short instructional videos to video streaming not only being downloaded into classrooms, but also uploaded as more and more students create content as well as consume it.  Schools must have abundant broadband in order to take advantage of this wealth of content.  As Christine fox of SETDA noted at the press conference releasing the report, just as a teacher should not be afraid that turning the lights on in her classroom will dim the lights in other teachers' classrooms, so she should not worry about the impact internet use in her classroom may affect other rooms.  

While we may be a little biased, the report is not only an excellent read, but also it is a courageous and important document.  In praising the document at the press conference, Karen Cator said that the report provided both an important backdrop and context for broadband and went beyond what the National Broadband Plan and the National Educational Technology Plan did by creating clear goals for policymakers.

We can have all the digital content possible, but if it cannot get into schools and homes it is worth less than the electrical pulses it travels on.

http://www.setda.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=353&name=DLFE-1517.pdf

Vetting content in the Time of Digital

As states have changed their laws to include digital content as a part of the definition of a textbook, they also are modifying their approach to adoption of textbooks, especially the vetting process.  The old vetting process created winners and losers. In contrast, the new process provides guidance.  Indiana is a case in point.  No longer do textbooks (now broadly defined) go through a process whereby the state says one is acceptable and one is not.  Instead, the state reviews textbooks and publishes its findings.  School corporations are free to use or ignore the review provided by the state.  Likewise in Texas, the State Board of Education still has its review process, but school districts are able to purchase whatever materials they choose, whether approved the State Board of Education or not.  

School districts in non-adoption states are also changing their processes for vetting content as teachers access more digital content.  Dian Schaffhauser has an excellent article in the April issue of T.H.E. Journal about this, highlighting Vail, AZ, Georgia Virtual School and Henrico County Public Schools with insightful comments and opinions from a variety of perspectives including OER guru and leader David Wiley and Peter Cohen, CEO of Pearson School.  It is a well-done article, worthy of a read.

The core of most vetting processes is whether or not the textbooks/content meet the state standards (or the Common Core State Standards).  I agree with Karen Fasimpaur, who said at a talk at the NSBA conference last week, that with the CCSS it is time to stop thinking of content "in alignment with the standards or not."  It is not a binary choice, but rather a range of the extent to which content is aligned to standards.  

An e-Textbook in Every Student's Hand by 2017

Later today, with SETDA Executive Director Doug Levin in attendance, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will join Education Secretary Arne Duncan to unveil the Obama Administration's "Digital Textbook Playbook" to accelerate the K-12 transition to digital textbooks. USA Today has the scoop:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will recommend today at a summit of industry and education officials that states modify the textbook adoption process, allowing K-12 schools to use taxpayer funding once reserved for printed books on iPads, Kindles and the like — as well as software.

They'll begin pushing publishers, computer tablet makers and Internet service providers to work together and lower costs if they want to sell their products to the nation's 50 million schoolkids.

Administration officials say Web-connected instructional materials help students learn more efficiently and give teachers real-time information on how well kids understand material. "We spend $7 billion a year on textbooks, and for many students around the country, they're out of date," Genachowski says. In five years, he predicts, "we could be spending less as a society on textbooks and getting more for it."

Among the challenges the Obama Administration has identified and are seeking to address through this initiative: state textbook procurement rules, device and content interoperability, connectivity costs and managing the transition.

SETDA welcomes the federal-state partnership to drive innovation and cost-savings in the antiquated K-12 texbook market. This initiative can help us meet our goal of being able to provide high-quality, rich, up-to-date, standards-aligned and fully-accessible instructional resources to every student in the country - without overloading students backpacks and at a substantially lower cost.

The Digital Learning Day- A Day for Empowering Teachers and Promoting Innovation

Join SETDA in participating in a ground breaking digital learning event without worrying about the cost of travel not to mention the stress of getting to the airport on time. All you need is a computer with an internet connection and a desire to be innovative. The Alliance for Excellent Education’s invites EVERYONE (teachers, students, parents, community members, etc) to participate in the first-ever Digital Learning Day on Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

Participation is easy, flexible and innovative! In fact, the Digital Learning Day website, gives you a list of simple activities to show your support. So far-

• 25 national membership organizations, including SETDA, are core partners and a broad array of stakeholder groups (principals, school board, content area specialists, and instructional technology professionals are participating)
• 36 states and the District of Columbia are currently are planning to host their own statewide celebration of Digital Learning Day to support the Alliance’s national efforts.
• More than 1,455,000 students and thousands of educators that have already registered to participate. 

What can you do?

• Share the Toolkits and resources to support educators at all the state, district, school and classroom levels have been created.

• Register to Watch the Digital Learning Day National Town Hall meeting on February 1, 2012 and participate virtually. If you plan to watch on February 1 at 1:00pm EST, you must register at http://digitallearningday.eventbrite.com.

• Showcase your success. Submit a video of how you are innovating to give the students you work with the best learning experience possible! Better yet, have your students take the lead and show us how digital learning works for them! 

(Retrieved from www.digitallearningday.org, Jan 25, 2012)

 Visit http://www.digitallearningday.org/sign-up to stay connected, get updates, and receive exclusive information on what you can do to support this effort by taking less than five minutes to sign up and join the wave of innovation and momentum that is building for this groundbreaking event.

 We hope to “see” you online at the National Town Hall meeting!

(artwork used with permission from http://www.digitallearningday.org/toolkits/artwork)

 

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