Today, NextGenWeb attended a Brookings event titled “Leveraging Technology to Reclaim American Educational Leadership,” where leaders from the public, private and non-profit sectors identified ways to best utilize technology to revolutionize education in the US.

One of the panels discussed incentives to innovate as well as technology adoption, featuring the CEO of ePals.com, Ed Fish, Executive Director of the Educational Leadership AT&T Foundation, Marilyn Reznick, and Director of the Program of Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, Paul Peterson.

Mr. Fish opened up the discussion by noting that K through 12 schools can benefit most from technology. He believes technology allows the ability to host collaboration and in turn saves taxpayers money. Policy efforts that remove technology adoption barriers will help states and schools use new technology models that better engage students, teachers and parents, making the educational experience efficient and compelling.

Ms. Reznick believes private sector investment in education is important to ensure children are competitive in the global marketplace. She would like to see companies engage more with schools and teachers to define talents and skills needed in the workforce as well as map out solutions and best practices.

Mr. Peterson also agrees the catalyst that will move education forward is major investment from the private sector. He used the Middlebury College/K12 Inc. collaboration as a best practice–two entities working together to supply online foreign-language courses that enable college-ready students. Peterson also noted that the abundant broadband capacity of the US is a vital key to driving digital learning.

Colleges like MIT have incorporated an online component to their courses. Nearly 85 percent are taught virtually, increasing the quality of the instruction due to transparency. Online education is certainly growing in popularity and use because of its lower cost and ability to provide courses that traditional schools simply cannot.

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With Election Day just around the corner, the nation’s attention turns to the political stage. Since 95% of Americans have access to broadband Internet, it’s no wonder political candidates are beginning to utilize online media. Last week, NextGenWeb attended an event hosted by Politico and Facebook, “Going Viral: How campaigns are using social media.”

While nearly every candidate has a website, the merger between social media tools and political campaigns is relatively new. Many candidates that have Twitter or Facebook accounts do not vigorously use them. They are simply created to track fan base and post an occasional comment. Only a few candidates actively use social media platforms to communicate with followers and supporters and garner news attention. The traditional use of television advertisements still reigns as king in the political arena.

But, with the growing number of voters using online tools to connect to and gain information about political candidates, many in the political world will be adopting a more robust online strategy. Click here to watch the replay captured on CSPAN.

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NextGenWeb is continuing its issue spotlight this week by focusing on the various ways that broadband is empowering multicultural communities. NextGenWeb has been an outspoken voice on the issue, highlighting real-world examples of how broadband is being utilized to reach and engage minority communities.

We had the privilege of traveling to San Francisco, CA this past weekend to attend the Mabuhay Alliance’s annual conference, which featured a discussion on broadband titled, “Minorities Leading the Broadband Revolution.” NextGenWeb has traveled to and live streamed several of these conferences around the country, from Washington, DC, to Los Angeles, CA to Chicago, IL. All of them have echoed the same resounding message: broadband is empowering minority communities.

To see a compilation video of highlights from all of these conferences, as well as a good snapshot of some of the issues related to broadband that are relevant to multicultural communities, watch the video below!

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Last week, NextGenWeb hosted its second Broadband Connectors event, this time focusing on telework programs and their benefits. Telework goes by many names, including telecommuting and working remotely, but our panelists were confident that as telework continues to grow in practice, it won’t be long before our society will simply refer to it as “work.”

And telework certainly is growing. The Telework Research Network estimates that 20 to 30 million people currently work from home at least one day a week and that 38% of people who did not currently telecommute said they had job-related tasks that they thought they could perform from home. And according to panelist Chuck Wilsker, President of the American Telework Coalition, Forrester Research predicts that over 40% of the American workforce will be telecommuting by 2016.

Jennifer Alcott, of Telework VA!, who has over sixteen years of experience helping employers from both the private and public sector to implement telework programs, added a practical perspective the discussion. She recommends that companies implement telework policies and do so thoughtfully so that

Finally, Debbie Berlyn, of Getting Older Adults Online (GOAL) advocated for the opportunities that telework brings the aging demographic both with increasing disabilities and as caregivers.

Our conclusions? The speakers agreed that broadband access and adoption are both key to moving towards our telework future and see the following benefits moving forward:

• Saves carbon emissions, wear and tear on infrastructure, and personal expenses related to commuting
• Increases personal freedom for workforce, helping with employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity
• Reduces costs for employers by lowering
• Accommodates people with disabilities, including an aging workforce that will remain in the job market longer than previous generations
• Provides jobs that are often sent offshore

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On Thursday, October 14 NextGenWeb will host its second Broadband Connectors event. Each installment is set to feature a discussion about important Internet and broadband policy issues with prominent thought leaders and decision makers from various backgrounds.

At this event we will focus on telework programs and their benefits. Specifically, how broadband-enabled telework programs increase accessibility and benefit our quality of life. At the same time, these programs decrease energy use and save the company and individual money. Our panel will highlight real-world uses of telework for those in state governments, private industries and individuals.

What:
Telework–Commuting on the Broadband Superhighway

Who:
Broadband Connectors featuring:
Debra Berlyn, Executive Director, Project GOAL (Getting Older Adults Online)
Chuck Wilsker, President and CEO, The Telework Coalition
Jennifer Alcott, Telework Program Manager, VA Department of Rail and Public Transportation
*Other panelists to be announced

When:
Thursday, October 14 at 10:00 am

Where:
USTelecom Association
Executive Conference Center
607 14th Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

RSVP:
Info@nextgenweb.org

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This probably isn’t much of a surprise, but our country’s information ecosystem depends on wireline networks. You know, that cord you plug in to your laptop or desktop that is also connected to some type of wall jack. That wire and the companies and people that make it work are responsible for delivering information at rapid speed to consumers and businesses across the US.

According to a presentation webinar by USTelecom, America’s broadband providers “are investing tens of billions annually in fiber and other high-speed [wireline] technologies to accommodate ever-growing traffic and innovative applications.” With massive IP traffic growth, expected to quadruple by 2014, wireline networks will have to work even more seamlessly. According to the National Bureau of Labor & Statistics site, the tech industry is expecting to create roughly 750,000 new jobs in the next 10 years.

USTelecom VP of Industry Analysis, Patrick Brogan also said, “The economic benefits associated with wireline networks are exploding consumer value, innovative services, business productivity high-paying jobs and international competitiveness.” The industry is growing because of broadband connectivity.

With all of this at stake, it is vitally important now more than ever that policymakers maintain the right type of environment for investments and innovation.

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Today at 1pm, US Telecom is hosting a free webinar by Patrick Brogan, US Telecom’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. The session will discuss the growth in IP voice, data, wireless and video traffic by investments from wireline network providers. It promises to be an interesting and very informative session.

Click here to sign up for free!

Also, check back with NextGenWeb for a follow up blog.

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Tuesday at 1pm, USTelecom is hosting a free webinar by Patrick Brogan, USTelecom’s Vice President of Industry Analysis. The session will discuss the growth in IP voice, data, wireless and video traffic by investments from wireline network providers. It promises to be an interesting and very informative session.

Click here to sign up for free!

Also, check back with NextGenWeb for a follow up blog.

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July 10

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