|
|
|  | |||
|
Find Your Congressman & Senators |
|
| |||
Opportunity to Help Shape National Educational Technology Plan and National Broadband PlanSeptember 23, 2009—The U.S. Department of Education has begun work toward development of a National Educational Technology Plan. An 18-member Technical Working Group of professionals co-chaired by two U.S. Dept of Ed. officials--Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement, and Marshall “Mike” Smith, Senior Counselor, Office of the Secretary--has been appointed. In addition, Congress has required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a National Broadband Plan by February 17, 2009. The FCC is holding a series of workshops on diverse topics related to uses of and affordable access to Broadband. In both proceedings, numerous options and opportunities have been created for interactive participation of individuals, groups, and educational institutions to submit ideas for the plans. Both plans are expected to be released early in 2010. Therefore, it is suggested that ideas be submitted by the end of calendar year 2009 for both plans. Without adequate bandwidth many of the recommendations for transforming education that involve online learning, cannot be achieved. Therefore, both plans need to be developed concurrently and in relationship to the other. The Educational Technology Plan "focuses on four areas in which technology has the potential to transform education": learning, assessment, teaching, and productivity. Regarding the Broadband Plan, in his Sept. 17 testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell urged an "imaginative, pragmatic, flexible… open and interactive" broadband approach to help "unserved America." He opposed "a heavy-handed, top-down, command-and-control industrial policy approach in an attempt to promote more broadband access and usage." For more information on the two initiatives and how to submit comments, read the Legislative Update from Education Legislative Services. National Educational Technology Plan | |||||
|
© 2011 The Association of
Educational Publishers | |||||
