Request for comments on E-Rate

Proposed Rulemaking
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING AND FURTHER NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING FCC 05-124

Adopted: June 9, 2005 Released: June 14, 2005
Comment Date: 90 days after publication in the Federal Register
Reply Comment Date: 150 days after publication in the Federal Register

Excerpts . . .

E-Rate. We seek comment on suitable outcome, output, and efficiency measures for the Erate program. In the past, the Commission used the percentage of public schools connected to the Internet as a measure of the impact of the E-rate program and its success, and we seek comment on continuing to use connectivity as a measurement. We seek comment on the value of continuing to use this goal for the purposes of measuring the impact of the Erate program.

69 We seek comment on whether we should also measure the connectivity of libraries or private schools. We seek comment on whether alternative or supplemental goals may be more appropriate than connectivity. Universal service is an “evolving level of telecommunications services” that includes advanced services.

70 We seek comment on how we can take the evolving level of services into account in adopting performance measures. We also seek comment on ways to measure the extent to which broadband services have been deployed to classrooms, through the E-rate program. One possibility for measuring the impact of E-rate moneys on schools and libraries would be to collect data on the use of E-rate supported services. For example, we could measure the number or percentage of students access the Internet or the number or percentage of teachers using supported services in their classrooms.

...We therefore seek comment on how we should design performance measurements to measure broadband connectivity...

71 The EETT program funds initiatives that are designed to integrate technology into classrooms in ways to improve the academic achievement of students. These performance measures allow the Department of Education to respond to Government Performance and Results Act (“GPRA”) reporting requirements. We seek comment on whether these measures are instructive for E-rate purposes.

28. We also seek comment on meaningful ways to distinguish the impact of E-rate funds from other governmental and non-governmental programs that support services or facilities similar to the Erate program.

(There's much more . . .see Federal Register posting for many, many more pages . . .)

U.S. Department of Education Budget News

"Congressional Action- On June 9, 2005, the House Subcommittee on Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations marked up the FY 2006 Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill. "

Educational Technology State Grants (ESEA II-D-1 and 2) have been marked by the House Subcommittee to receive $300 million in funding for FY 2006.

To keep you informed, the U.S. Department of Education's Budget News offers a table of this budget in both PDF and Excel formats.

Study Finds Children and Teens Multi-task

A national study, Generation M: The Lives of 8-18 Year Olds, released by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds children and teens are spending an increasing amount of time with "new media" (Internet, video games and computers). This increase, however, has not decreased the amount of time they spend with "old media" (TV, newspapers).

The study, which "examined media use among a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 3rd through 12th graders," found that these children and teens spend time with using both new and old media at the same time(i.e. watching TV while surfing the Internet).

Executive Summary

Full Report

6/15-Ed Tech in the News

Virtual Schools
Online Summer School Classes Provide Convenience
(Borja, Edweek.org)
"More and more school districts, as well as for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations, are offering Internet-based summer classes in core subjects, such as algebra and reading, and electives such as creative writing.

The logistical ease of “anytime, anywhere” learning, the courses’ relatively low cost to parents, and the increased need for students to meet state academic standards are some of the reasons online summer enrollment is continuing to rise, school and company officials say.

Susan D. Patrick, the director of educational technology for the U.S. Department of Education, said the increasing popularity of online summer school reflects the overall growth of distance education.

“If you think about 10 years ago, there were almost no classes done online,” she said. “But in 2002-03, 36 percent of school districts had students in distance education classes, and 72 percent of those districts continue to expand [these] options.”

Budget News
House Appropriations Subcommittee Increased Education Funding
(Robelen, Edweek.org)
"The House measure, approved by an appropriations subcommittee last week, would inch up the current discretionary budget for the Department of Education by $118 million, to a total of $56.7 billion, or by less than 1 percent, in fiscal 2006. While Democrats were quick to denounce the bill’s education figures, the proposed amount for the department was nearly $650 million more than the president’s request for the coming budget year."

"The spending measure won approval June 9 on a voice vote. Only one of the subcommittee’s 17 members, Rep. David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the ranking Democrat, called out “nay” when it came time to vote, though other Democrats made plain their displeasure with the bill.
The next step for the legislation is action by the full Appropriations Committee, then consideration on the House floor."

"Not only did the House subcommittee decline to abolish vocational funding—it froze spending at roughly $1.3 billion—but it also did not agree to kill many other programs Mr. Bush targeted, from state grants under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program, to civic education, to the Even Start family-literacy program, to education technology state grants."

6/13- Ed Tech in the News

Virtual Schools
Oregon Looks to Establish Virtual School District
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — When it comes to virtual schools, Oregon — a state that prides itself on being ahead of the education curve — is admittedly late to the party.

From Florida to California, other states have forged ahead with online schools of all shades. The federal government estimates that about 36 percent of the nation's 15,000 public school districts had students enrolled in distance courses in the 2002-03 school year; exact figures from Oregon change so frequently that they are not available from the state Department of Education.
In Oregon, at least 365 different courses are available for virtual learning, but the programs are scattershot. Some districts, like Salem-Keizer, offer broad online learning programs, while others offer only token efforts.

A Senate bill that's due for a hearing this coming week would allow the Oregon Department of Education to create an "Oregon Virtual School District," which would contract with established programs to provide selected online courses.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, calls for transferring $2 million from the state schools budget to fund the virtual school's startup costs. ( Silverman, Oregonlive.com)

Digital Divide
U.S. Department of Education Study finds Narrowing of Digital Divide
"There is fresh evidence that, unlike low-income adults, children like Ja’River are not too far behind their more well-off counterparts in getting that exposure.

The data comes from a U.S. Department of Education report released this month.
The report used annual household income — more than $75,000 versus less than $20,000 — and the educational levels of adults in those homes — graduate education versus high school dropouts — to compare computer usage among classes.

At the same time, the study found that computer use among students is prevalent, even at a very young age.

According to the report, more than two-thirds of children in nursery school are computer users.The Education Department report’s findings illustrate that children today are persistent in finding ways to take advantage of the technology, said Susan Patrick, director of the Education Department’s Office of Educational Technology.

“We live in a technology-rich world,” she said in a telephone interview, “and they are just exploring what exists around them, whether that is at home or school or some other place.”
When that “other place” is a child-care setting, those same parents who have limited access to computers can be the driving force in making sure technology is available for their children."
(Sherry, Kansas City Star)

2005 Commencement
Patrick Addresses Forrest Park Graduates
"Upon entering the arena on Friday, Forest Park High School's graduates were welcomed with applause, cheers and air horns.

"Ideas are the currency of the future," Susan Patrick of the U.S. Department of Education told the class. "Be curious. Be creative. Be enthusiastic."

The 560 graduates of Forest Park's 2,354 students crossed the Patriot Center stage at George Mason University in Fairfax. Forest Park is located on Spriggs Road in Woodbridge.
Patrick told the class their generation, born into the technology age, will change the world.

"You understand what's important in life. You understand education is important. You understand what you do after high school is important," she said." (Potomac News)