Libraries are playing a vital role across America in getting people connected who have previously been unable to experience broadband’s life-enhancing benefits. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Arkansas, where this past Thursday and Friday, the Arkansas Opportunity Online Summit was hosted by the Arkansas State Library. The summit was funded through a pilot initiative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by Connected Nation and the American Library Association. It brought together library leaders, community partners and statewide stakeholders to examine the current state of connectivity in Arkansas libraries and ways to continue the progress.

Highlights included addresses from Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe and Arkansas Speaker of the House Robbie Wills and a video message from U.S. Senator Mark Pryor. Governor Beebe, Speaker Wills and Senator Pryor understand the importance of broadband expansion throughout Arkansas to ensure the state maintains its competitiveness, provides access to 21st century health care and education, and becomes a leader in the green revolution.

As Speaker Wills put it, “the health-care system, the education system in this state, and certainly creating jobs in this tough economy depend on broadband access all across the state of Arkansas.”

Governor Beebe added that “if we can accomplish broadband accessibility in all of our libraries across the state, then…think about the educational advancement that can be achieved in our rural school districts with the ability of the local library able to provide this important resource. Imagine the quality of life issues that come into play. Imagine the economic development opportunities if this technology is available. Imagine the ripple and ramifications that this one single thing can provide to a community that doesn’t currently have it.”

And in a video message delivered to the audience, Sen. Pryor said, “Broadband technology has enhanced economic development and public safety for communities across the nation, improved healthcare and educational opportunities and created a better quality of life for Americans. I want to expand these opportunities throughout Arkansas.”

As our nation crafts an ambitious strategy to connect all Americans to broadband, libraries are emerging as a key community-based component of these efforts. Whether you have a computer at home or not, connected libraries help ensure that all of us have at least one place in our community where we can access all that broadband has to offer.

United States Senator Mark Pryor

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe

Arkansas Speaker of the House Robbie Wills

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Linda Sharp, Project Director for CoSN’s Cyber Security and IT Crisis Preparedness Initiative

CoSN was pleased to have the opportunity to hold an emergency preparedness webinar with NextGenWeb. The informative discussion addressed broadband as a key player in helping schools prepare for emergencies and communicate and share vital information when crisis hits a campus. During the webinar, we heard from experts in this area:

• Tom Soroka, USTelecom
• Robert J. Gravina serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the Poway Unified School District, CA
• Tom McDonald, CEO of BeSafe Technologies
• Kevin Carman, AT&T’s Education Segment Marketing Manager

All were able to touch on the broadband-enabled technologies and tools that help schools prepare for and respond to emergencies. Tom Soroka addressed the need for rapid communications and all of the different organizations that need to be connected in real-time—first responders, public safety officials, public safety call centers, hospitals, and government agencies.

Robert Gravina helped participants understand the benefits of remote learning. Broadband can help students continue with their schoolwork at times when they may not be able to learn in the classroom.

Tom McDonald addressed the need for coordination and how readily available information can help first responders make critical decisions. Messaging tools that allow schools to broadcast information and the ability to access information about facilities—floor plans, building features, digital photo and occupant information all help to save lives.

Kevin Carmen provided some interesting information on the types of new tools we have at our fingertips. We now have school bus tracking systems that help track where buses are and also the names of children on a specific bus at any given time. Interactive websites are also helping schools prevent emergencies by allowing students to share anonymous information about potential violence, drug abuse or other potential threats.

These are just some of the highlights from the webinar. As you can see, broadband is helping to improve safety, so that schools can keep the focus on learning and being prepared for any type of emergency.

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Julie Young
President and Chief Executive Officer at Florida Virtual School

NextGenWeb and COSN recently hosted a webinar on virtual education that I had the privilege of taking part in. During the webinar, presenters discussed how the Internet is transforming the education experience for students and teachers. From Missouri to Louisiana and where I live in Florida, virtual education is expanding educational opportunities in new and exciting ways.

The effect of virtual education is very prevalent within the state of Florida. Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is working daily to create a new paradigm within education – we want to re-invent the classroom, not just replicate it. Through specific programs and classes that are tailored to individualized learning needs, we have been able to modernize and customize curriculum to meet the learning limits and strengths of each student – thus re-inventing the educational experience. FLVS now offers more than 95 courses online, and these courses are continually updated and expanded to reflect Florida’s Sunshine State Standards and National Standards, ensuring that students are offered not only up-to-date material, but an engaging virtual learning experience.

The internet is utilized for many other types of programs that are beneficial to school districts, like professional development programs, which are administered online, as well as virtual teacher mentorship programs that provide support to teachers in real time. Thanks to these types of online resources, students have access to a better education than they could have dreamed of only 10 years ago. Broadband is transforming K-12 education all across America, and we are happy to be involved in this positive movement toward helping our youth realize their full potential.

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Don Kent
President & Chairman of Net Literacy

At Net Literacy (www.netliteracy.org), we have four core digital inclusion programs, and the intergenerational Senior Connects program was this nonprofit’s first community service outreach initiative. Senior Connects (www.seniorconnects.org) is an intergenerational program that benefits both the student volunteers and senior citizens. In about eight 45 minute lessons, they learn basic computer, Internet, and Internet safety skills. Senior citizens also receive email accounts so they can correspond with their friends, family members, and especially their grandchildren. While senior citizens learn how to use the Internet so they can access local news and weather, keep up with their hobbies, and play bridge and crossword puzzles, it’s reconnecting them with their adult children and grandchildren that motivates most of them to take the Senior Connects classes.

Access to the Internet via broadband makes senior citizens’ world “grow a little larger.” Teaching computer, Internet, and Internet safety literacy to mature Americans has many benefits. To some seniors that are mobility-impaired or lack reliable transportation, they tell us that their world is “growing a little smaller.” Empowering seniors to be Internet literate shows them how they can stay connected with friends and family, gives them access to online health information, and provides them access to new forms of entertainment. That is why it is so important to maintain policies that encourage continued private-sector investment in the broadband network.

The success of the Senior Connects program proves that “friendly student volunteers” can teach computer and Internet skills to seniors who were born long before the dawn of the Internet Age. The students believe that broadband and the Internet can enrich the lives of seniors and “make their world grow a little larger.” Through our Senior Connects program at Net Literacy, we are proving that nothing can reduce the generational gap quite like broadband!

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The Bradlee family name is most often associated with Ben Bradlee, the legendary former executive editor of The Washington Post. But Quinn Bradlee, the 26-year-old son of Ben Bradlee and author Sally Quinn is lending his name to an interactive website to bring attention to a cause that’s close to him and his family €”creating a place of support and community for people with learning disabilities.

Quinn, who grew up with learning disabilities, has teamed with HealthCentral to launch a new social network, FriendsOfQuinn.com. The site is designed as an interactive resource for young adults with learning disabilities and their families.

In addition to providing helpful information, FriendsofQuinn.com features several community-building applications, including:
• Ask a Question
• Answer a Question
• Start a Blog
• Create a Profile

The site not only demonstrates the power of the Internet to unite people with common interests, but also how the Internet has become an invaluable resource to the health community at large €”helping people share information and connect.

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While the focus at South by Southwest has been on film, music and digital innovation, the conversation took a turn today to an important question for our nation’s competitiveness in a connected world: How to most effectively teach current and future generations that are growing up digital.

The list of panelists below shared their thoughts on how kids and teachers are integrating technology into education €”moving beyond the chalkboard and into a more interactive experience.

• Alex Leavitt – Boston University
• Kelly Sutton – HackCollege.com
• Kabren Levinson – Bard College
• Archana Ramachandran – Radar/Tiny Pictures/UT Austin
• Diana Kimball – Harvard College

One of the most interesting aspects of the discussion was how the student-teacher relationship is changing significantly due to technology. As kids do more and more of their learning independently on the Internet and outside the classroom, teachers become less of a channel for information and more of a resource for training, structure, and mentoring.

One concern is whether all teachers are ready for technology. Here perhaps students can do some teaching of their own, with one panelist noting that it’s important to help teachers that have technophobia and believes that they, like students, also need a safe place to ask questions and learn.

For additional information and to continue exploring the intersection of technology and education, check out Digital Native, a project of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, an organization dedicated to understanding and supporting young people as they grow up in a digital age.

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The Internet is transforming the way education is delivered in the 21st century. The most recent edition of Science magazine explores how and why. According to Science, the Internet is not only making education available to more people across the globe, but traditional teaching and learning methods are being supplemented by online resources such as video content, chat rooms, social networking and much more.

For centuries, a person’s educational opportunities were largely determined by where they lived. From the rural single-room school house to the extraordinarily large urban high school, educational opportunities were often defined by geography. But now, thanks to broadband, formal online education has become a reality, breaking down the barriers of time and space. A closer look at the demographics of students utilizing online courses reveals how the Internet is opening doors. For example, the vast majority of online courses are currently offered by community colleges, where many students maintain other time commitments, such as work.

The Internet also has become a valuable educational resource for both students and teachers. We have come a long way from the day when an encyclopedia set could take up an entire room of your house. Today, the amount of information available at your fingertips in a split second is exponentially greater. Videos, podcasts, news outlets, online databases, chat rooms and social networking sites are only a few of the resources available via the Internet. Any topic can be researched exhaustively, and multiple perspectives can be sought out.

This is certainly not your father’s educational experience. Broadband is providing the resources necessary to bridge the gap between educational haves and have-nots. If you are looking for ways to fix the American education system, look no further than the resources made available by broadband. Specialized education, supplemental resources, and distance learning are only the tip of the educational iceberg €”making clear, once again, the critical importance of broadband investment and innovative efforts to bring this essential resource to all Americans.

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Susan Patrick
President & CEO
International Association for K-12 Online Learning (INACOL)

As the President of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (INACOL), I believe online learning is a powerful innovation that expands educational opportunities. Online learning is transforming the way students learn and leveling the playing field for students from diverse backgrounds.

Online learning benefits all types of students. Special learning needs or medical conditions often make it difficult for some students to learn in a traditional classroom setting but by learning online at home they can still keep up with their schoolwork. Other students benefit from a hybrid model where they go to class but that time is used differently to accelerate learning or receive more direct support in areas where they need help most. Using technology, students receive more customized learning and can advance through course levels at different rates to engage and better utilize time while meeting their individual learning needs.

These different learning models also create solutions where online learning can be applied to ensure students are maximizing their potential. Those who have fallen behind can recover credits online and advanced students can have broader access to advanced placement courses, more foreign languages, advanced science and math courses and other accelerated courses in a variety of subject areas. We believe that online learning is a viable option that allows every learner to achieve a quality education.

With broadband serving as the key enabler of a new, web-based delivery system, students across the country are gaining access to high quality teachers, anytime tutoring, high quality, multi-media learning resources and more customized, any pace learning models. As an international K-12 non-profit organization, we represent the interests of administrators, practitioners and students involved in online learning in the United States and abroad. Our mission is to ensure all students have access to a world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success.

Broadband plays a key role in the way online learning is fundamentally shifting what a world class education looks like. It is important every student has access to these exciting and transforming benefits of online education. For that to happen, it is important that the government to develop a national broadband strategy as well as maintain a proactive policy environment for private entities to encourage the investment of billions of dollars in a sophisticated, reliable national network.

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As we consider the future that will confront the next generation of voters during this presidential election, education is a pivotal issue that will have a significant impact on future opportunities. As  I write, the Democrats are examining the issue at their 2008 Education Roundtable, part of the Democratic National Convention.

While students continue to benefit and learn in the traditional ways used by generations before, America’s innovative spirit has made a whole new realm of resources available to today’s students. The Internet, more than almost any other factor, is helping make these new opportunities available. A recent study aired on Nickelodeon’s “The Digital Family,” found that more than 9 out of 10 kids say the Internet helps them learn and be more creative; 85 percent say it helps them do better in school.

It’s not just exploring the vast resources on the web to research topics.   Teachers in Texas are assigning video homework over the Internet, in which math problems are explained in rap fashion for students who struggle with particular math equations.

And, with the cost of college now exceeding $50,000 for a four-year public college, high-quality online options are even more important.   Just think how many more students can have access to a higher education if they have the option to study online, sometimes enrolled in institutions hundreds of miles away. The experience becomes even richer with the dynamics of simultaneous voice, data and video over the Internet. Broadband also offers additional advanced placement options for students who may not have had access to such courses at their schools. These advanced courses provide a new level of instruction and can save students money by getting credit for college courses before ever stepping foot on campus.

All of this is made possible by broadband or high-speed Internet service.   As leaders of our political parties detail their public policies, let’s insist that they encourage investment in the availability of broadband, so everyone can benefit from these exciting and innovative opportunities.

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These days it’s less and less likely the family dog ate the proverbial homework, unless he’s into noshing on bits and bytes.   A growing trend of using hardware, software, access to the Internet and broadband networking in the classroom is changing the way children learn.  

Teaching software that interacts with kids like a video game, high-speed Web access, state-of-the-art PCs and broadband networks are combining to revolutionize learning in brick-and-mortar schools as well as in virtual academies.   A July 6 Reuters story, Technology Reshapes America’s Classrooms, captures some of the more compelling aspects of this new age learning.

You’ve heard it here many times before:   Broadband is redefining the way Americans, including those in the classroom, experience the Internet.   Broadband’s high speeds, large capacities and ability to deliver voice, video and data over a single network keeps pace with our children’s lightning-fast minds and imaginations, and feeds their hunger for knowledge.   That makes broadband the ideal transport, whether the application is research for a geography paper, solving a math problem or getting a little extra help for that spelling test from an e-tutor.

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