Earlier this morning, Governors Jeb Bush and Bob Wise released the Digital Learning Council’s 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning. The Digital Learning Council’s vision is for every student to have access to a high quality education no matter where the child or the teacher reside. With the extended reach of broadband to nearly all of America’s homes, schools and libraries, reaching all students via the Internet is a real prospect.

NextGenWeb has previously reported on the innovation of full-time virtual charter public schools that have been growing throughout the United States over the past 10 years. And what we’ve learned is that high speed Internet is key to transforming education in our current globally connected, technology-centric environment.

By bringing education online, students receive customized and personalized learning services so that they can learn at a pace and style that suites their needs. This, in turn, will amplify every student’s chance for success now and in the future. Having a knowledgeable, digitally educated workforce will also move this country forward in terms of jobs and economic opportunities.

Governor Wise said in a speech on Tuesday that with states’ high budgets and soaring costs, it’s a great time for innovation. States have the ability to make online learning a reality throughout the country, but they must be willing to redevelop the education infrastructure.

Other session discussions at the 2010 National Summit on Education Reform circled around online education, blended learning, digital textbooks and other customized learning techniques to spearhead this generation of children into our ever-growing digitally connected world. Education expert and Ed Reformer blogger Tom Vander Ark noted in one session that logistically and technologically, the United States is able to teach every child via cyber schooling, but politics unfortunately stand in the way.

It is for such reasons that NextGenWeb has stressed the importance of focusing our policy priorities on issues such as broadband adoption and digital literacy, rather than regulation. Improved education depends on it.

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The future of the classroom as we know it was the topic of discussion today at an ITIF event held to release a new study “How Information Technology Can Enable 21st Century Schools.” The study details how technology can remake the American classroom, raising performance while potentially cutting costs.

Just as technology has transformed American industry and increased productivity, with broadband networks and all of the information and resources they deliver to us, we have the capability to transform education. Connected education can be individualized to meet a student’s learning style, maximize areas of expertise and strengthen areas where a student may be struggling. The information, resources and interactive tools available for students to access online provide the core information, so teachers can focus their time on fostering creativity and critical thinking skills.

Curtis Johnson with Education Evolving spoke about the power of technology at the event and told the audience that, by 2017, the majority of high school students will learn online. We all remember struggling through a subject, trying to keep up as the class moved onto the next level. Imagine a classroom where you could have had more time to really understand that algebra lesson while your classmates move on to geometry. Meanwhile, you may be acing your chemistry exam, while another classmate takes some extra needed time to master biology.

NGW is committed to exploring how technology and online learning can open doors to new educational opportunities through distance learning, access to diverse subject matters, innovative teach tools and more. Today’s discussion showed how we can use technology to help customize learning to maximize the potential of every student. Remember learning about Ford and the Model T? The story of the early days of connected education just might be a lesson future generations of students learn about in history class.

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Digital Quality of Life: Understanding the Personal and Social Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
By Robert D. Atkinson and Daniel D. Castro
October 1, 2008

• In the new global economy, information technology (IT) is the major driver of both economic growth and improved quality of life.
• IT is the key enabler of many, if not most, of today’s key innovations and improvements in our lives and society €”from better education and health care, to a cleaner and more energy efficient environment, to safer and more secure communities and nations.
• Although the emerging digital economy has produced enormous benefits, the best is yet to come.

Click here to read the full study.

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FCC Fifth Report
June 12, 2008

• Advanced telecommunications capability is meeting the challenge.   Capacity and availablity are increasing.
• Broadband depolyment is increasing to important contituencies like rural Americans, the disabled, and minorities.
• OECD rankings are not accurate.

Click here to read the full study.

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State Efforts to Expand Broadband Access
National Governors Association
May 20, 2008

• Broadband communication is radically transforming the way in which Americans use the Internet by providing the ability to access voice, video, and data through a single network.
• There are benefits in having access to educational institutions or telemedicine applications through the Internet.
• The study recommends a variety of successful approaches to spur broadband in the states.

Click here to read an executive summary of the study.

Click here to read the full study.

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Explaining International Broadband Leadership
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
By Robert D. Atkinson, Daniel K. Correa, Julie A. Hedlund
May 1, 2008

• The United States is behind in broadband deployment, speed and price but we can learn from other countries.
• Robust and effective national broadband policies are important for the United States to improve.
• Broadband providers need the economic incentives to invest in broadband infrastructure both in rural and urban areas, and give consumers the incentives to subscribe to broadband.   Broadband is important to bring to all Americans.

Click here to read the full text of the article.

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The Economic Impact of Stimulating Broadband Nationally
Connected Nation
February 21, 2008

Adopting a national policy to stimulate the deployment of broadband in underserved areas of the U.S. could have dramatic and far-reaching
economic impacts. For instance, just a seven percentage point increase in broadband adoption could result in:

•   $92 billion through an additional 2.4 million jobs per year created
• $662 million saved per year in reduced healthcare costs
• $6.4 billion per year in mileage saving from unnecessary driving
• $18 million in carbon credits associated with 3.2 billion fewer lbs of CO2 emissions per year in the United States
• $35.2 billion in value from 3.8 billion more hours saved per year from accessing broadband at home
• $134 billion per year in total direct economic impact of accelerating broadband across the United States

Click here to read the full study.

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Home Broadband Adoption 2007
John Horrigan, Pew Internet And American Life Project
June 2007

• 47% of all adult Americans have a broadband connection at home as of early 2007, a five percentage point increase from early 2006.
• 40% of African Americans now have a broadband connection at home, a nine percentage point increase from early 2006.

Click here to read the full study.

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Advancing Healthcare Through Broadband-Opening Up a World of Possibilities
Internet Innovation Alliance
October 24, 2007

• It is clear that expanded broadband service can enable improved health care at a reduced cost for more people.
• Among the most advanced initiatives using broadband to improve health care is enhanced medical recordkeeping that knits together electronic databases, giving patients and authorized providers instant and centralized access to information such as health histories, treatment regimens and medical images.

Click here to read the full study.

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FCC And The Unregulation Of The Internet
Jason Oxman, FCC Office of Plans and Policy
July 1999

• The success of the Internet has not been an accidental development. Market forces have driven the Internet’s growth, and the FCC has had an important role to play in creating a deregulatory environment in which the Internet could flourish.
• This paper examines the history of the FCC’s data policies and the ways in which those policies have benefited the Internet.

Click here to read the executive summary.

Click here to read the full study.

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