# Beyond the Narrow Door of Today's Internet-Connected Classroom---

## Cultivating the Seeds of Tomorrow's Dream

Over the past couple of decades education leaders have responded to our
rapidly changing world by providing computers, network access, and, at
the very least, an improvised response to requisite technical support.

While we can not set aside the importance of: a) getting the technology
to where kids learn during most school hours; b) getting schools to
invest in adequate bandwidth for robust connectivity; c) supplying
adequate professional support for integrating technology; and d)
supplying adequate technical support for school systems, it is just as
important to recognize and support emerging technologies that offer true
benefit to the education of all Americans.

As recent and as valuable as the mantra of "connecting every classroom
to the Internet" is, it is essential that we engender a newly defined
federal momentum to acknowledge and promote interactive video
technologies for their capacity to provide a liquidity and context to
learning never before possible.

Learners exist everywhere, not just in K-12 schools and higher education
institutions. Teachers exist everywhere---in the classroom, down the
hall, across the country and around the world.

While digital broadcast TV and broadband internet connectivity certainly
advance learning options to all everywhere, it is high-quality
interactive video technologies that make it possible to provide an
astoundingly more enriching and engaging academic experience for
learners of all ages in all settings.

Interactive video is a technology that allows us to grow beyond the
narrow knowledge door that defines today's classroom---even though it
may be connected to the Internet---and into a world enriched by visual
and auditory contact with others.

It is imperative that we set in motion an awareness of and an
appreciation for the power of interactive video to be a tool for
re-shaping our centuries-old notion of the classroom as the narrow door
of learning in which numbers of students are guided through their
learning journey by a single or small team of individuals.

Imagine the mind-stretching experience when a student in an Alaskan
classroom can have a constructive, engaging face-to-face dialog with
educator-curators addressing her from the heart of our nation's greatest
icon, the Statue of Liberty. Imagine the release of power and
understanding when learners on one of our nation's native-American
reservations collaborate---eye-to-eye and soul-to-soul--- with learners
in a New York inner-city school.

When any one location is IVC-connected, it inherently becomes a
high-potential classroom for resource sharing and knowledge building.
When many locations---both formal and informal learning
institutions---are connected, we have created the opportunity for a
broad and expansive super-community of others who can be a constructive
part of our learning journey.

**WHAT'S REQUIRED**:

Interactive video is a next-generation-technology that allows us to grow
beyond the narrow knowledge door that defines today's classroom---even
though it may be connected to the Internet---and into a world enriched
by visual and auditory contact with others.

To realize this dream, though, our experience leads us to a common
understanding of federal initiatives needed to start the growth:

1.  **Leadership**

> The nation has accomplished much and will reap considerable rewards in
> the future by attaining its goal of Internet connectivity in every
> classroom. Achieving this mantra may well turn out to be the critical
> turning point in the effective use of technology in our classrooms.
>
> But the nation now needs a new mantra for the use of technology in our
> schools and classrooms. So much energy and product / service
> development today is focused on current generation Internet
> applications. While this will assuredly prove bountiful, it remains
> for leadership to determine paths for the future and to chart
> directions which will generate significant development toward next
> generation applications which extensively use video applications.
>
> We believe that leadership should now pledge to a vision of broadband
> services providing for the data and video needs of our classrooms. It
> is not unthinkable to imagine interactive video capacity to every
> classroom in the nation within five years.

In stepping towards that dream, leadership should take active steps with
the FCC to ensure that incentives provided by the e-rate correlate with
the goals and objectives of the national education technology plan.

2.  **Infrastructure**

> The E-rate has been the foundational tool for funding Internet
> connectivity and, for our poorest schools, for the successful wiring
> of classrooms. It has resulted in extensive deployment of T1 capacity
> to a majority of the nation's schools.

At this point in the e-rate's history it may be the time to recommit
ourselves to the goals and objectives for this critical program but with
broader visions of what may be possible. Leadership should work closely
with education organizations and the FCC to ensure that the E-rate
provides adequate incentives to achieve broadband infrastructure
deployment to every school.

> Moreover, leadership has the opportunity to work more closely with the
> telecommunications industry to provide incentives for broadband
> deployment and for the creation of distance learning opportunities.
> Many states have required telcos as a result of regulatory agreements
> to deploy fiber facilities to schools, but without vision, content and
> training, much of these investments have been poorly utilized. It is
> now time to rethink those investments and secure fiber over the "last
> mile" to allow for broadband connectivity.

3.  **Content**

The "last mile" infrastructure challenge, however, is dwarfed by the
work needed to bridge the "last six inches" -- the space between the
temples of teachers, administrators and the American public. It is
critically important that the USDOE encourage the development of
compelling educational content that will cause every member of the
educational community to shout, "I need that for my students."

The only medium that can carry this kind of content to every American
classroom is a sophisticated, national, advanced services network. And
that network needs to bridge schools, libraries and content providers
such as museums, libraries and other cultural institutions. Whether
through purposeful grants or again, modifications of e-rate guidelines,
incentives are required to assure that compelling educational content is
available. Re-shaping that centuries-old notion of the classroom as the
narrow door of learning is impractical without such content.

4.  **Professional Development / Support**

As with the use of all technologies, the ultimate determination of
whether student engagement and learning occurs is a function of the
effectiveness of the classroom teacher.

Interactive video applications are no exception. A broadband
infrastructure providing the finest quality of interactive video and
using compelling content from awesome resources will not accomplish the
desired results without effective instruction and processes.

Interestingly, the human interfaces to the technology are generally
simpler than with the use of computers. But the planning and integration
with other multi-media resources requires training and support to
effectively enable good instruction.

We urge the USDOE to make efforts at researching and funding
professional development opportunities in alignment with content
generation.

5.  **Other Considerations**

> While the nature of these comments proposes an awakening of our
> classrooms to the rich possibilities that interactive technology makes
> available, it is not lost on the presenters that the development of
> sophisticated broadband networks also addresses fundamental
> educational needs developing over the next decade that are equally as
> compelling in importance. The retirement of the "baby-boom" generation
> of teachers coupled with an increasing attention to higher standards
> and course requirements will place significant pressures on urban and
> rural communities to secure teachers with content expertise in the
> higher level sciences and mathematics courses. These schools will
> assuredly face labor shortages that must be addressed by both Internet
> and interactive video options. While online learning has developed
> into a growth industry, complementary growth is needed with video
> options.

Facing a "chicken-and-egg" development cycle, the necessary broadband
infrastructure is again critical to assuring an adequate supply of
"highly-qualified" teachers in every classroom. USDOE leadership will
again be of paramount importance in sustaining the improvements required
by the NCLB legislation.

Moreover, the need to ensure quality distance learning programs are
being offered and maintained at the highest level of excellence will
become increasingly critical. At a minimum, educators must be competent
in their fields and must employ engaging distance learning techniques.
They must know technology integration -- understanding the design of
courses for satellite, video conferencing or online distribution. As in
any classroom situation, there should be a high level of interactivity
and adequate resources to support the student, e.g. online libraries,
bookstores and regular communications between teacher and student via
online chat rooms or by telephone. Moreover, quality distance learning
programs will have comprehensive educational resources which include
testing, evaluation research opportunities, help desks -- genuine
overall student support services. While the private sector and many
not-for-profit enterprises will surely fill these gaps, the market will
not flourish until leaders signal the importance of this technology and
greater demand begins to materialize.

Submitted,

Stan Silverman

Executive Director

Education Enterprise Zone

Marvin Bailey

President

Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration