Internet

摘要

A lack of higher Internet speeds in schools could slow implementation of digital textbooks andnonline assessments designed to replace standardized tests, said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncannat NCTA's Cable Show Wednesday. Urging the cable industry to support President Barack Obama's recentlynannounced initiative to improve school bandwidth, Duncan said to take advantage of the latestnwave of education resources, “most schools will require bandwidth they don't have right now.” FCCnCommissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said she expects her agency's efforts to make Obama's ConnectEDninitiative happen to be “well under way” by the start of the school year in the fall, though she said it wouldn“take a lot of work.” Rosenworcel said the effort represents a chance to update policies and infrastructurenthat haven’t been updated since 1998, the era of the “Information Superhighway.” Duncan said the cablenindustry needed to assist with ConnectED “as fast as you can," saying providing schools with faster Internetncould be accomplished for a small fee added on to monthly cable bills, which he compared to the pricenof a postage stamp. Duncan said digital textbooks could represent a significant change for students, sincentypically textbooks are purchased in seven-year cycles. “We know information is changing by the minute,”nsaid Duncan. “In education, we change far too slowly." Discovery Education Senior Vice PresidentnScott Kinney said that with digital textbooks, educators can “take that content and literally update it overnight."nDuncan told the NCTA audience that he hoped children would look back and “know the cable industryndid the right thing.” Technology has changed how teachers and parents deal with education, DouglasnLevin, State Educational Technology Directors Association (STEDA) executive director, also said atnthe show Wednesday. Technology is different because kids have access to smartphones and tablets andnthe content is rich, said Levin. For educators to make full use of this technology, they must understandnhow to use it, said executives from Common Sense Media, Discovery Education, STEDA, Cable in thenClassroom and Partnership for 21st Century Skills. While 96 percent of teachers think technology programsnare important to prepare young people for their future, only 18 percent understand how to bringntechnology into the classroom, according to the Leading Education by Advancing Digital Commission, angroup that advises the FCC and Department of Education. This technology enhances teaching and learningnbecause it speeds up the delivery of content and teachers can get updated information overnight. "Wendeliver our services over a browser on a cloud platform. When the Higgs Boson particle was discovered,nwe had the capability with this cloud database to include an article or video that is published overnight sonteachers who go back that service, they have access to that content," Kinney told us. Common Sense MedianPresident Amy Guggenheim Shenkan identified three key initiatives for the organization. It wants tonempower parents to make good decisions about what their kids should watch, create learning ratings tonassess potential in digital content and deal with education to help kids and educators develop learning insidenand outside the classroom, she said. "We want to create a learning system for consumers and make itneasy for educators to find great content," said Shenkan. Creating digital citizenship education was key tonCable in the Classroom and Common Sense Media. "We want to have Internet safety and security and fornkids to have a positive media footprint," said Frank Gallagher, Cable in the Classroom executive director.nClose to half of the K-12 schools across the country use Common Sense digital literacy media, said Shenkan. Shifts in technology allow schools to meet long-standing goals that were previously unachievable,nsaid Levin. As school districts continue to slash budgets, schools are "trying to meet their needs withntechnology" while they are "starting to compete with schools at a global level," said STEDA's Levin.n"Learning is 24/7 and opportunities need to be available inside and outside the classroom," he said. Systemsnneed to focus on student needs, said Steve Paine, Partnership for 21st Century Skills president.n"Good systems are student-focused and student-centered. Technology in the hands of an unskilled teachernis irresponsible," said Paine.