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MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Critics Fear Court Will Reject FCC Rules
Senate Commerce Committee to Hold Hearing on Radio Consolidation
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Schools Urged to Teach '21st-Century' Skills
EDTECH
Online Education Grows in Popularity in Kentucky
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Sustainability Gets an Internet Twist
Can Computers Save the World?
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
CRITICS FEAR COURT WILL REJECT FCC RULES
The FCC's recently released media ownership rules are certain to face
rejection in federal courts, critics say. Although the Commission justified
relaxation of the rules in part to halt a string of recent court setbacks,
the new regulations are "a mish-mash," according to Consumer Federation of
America's Mark Cooper. The FCC's two Democrats, both of whom dissented to
the June 2nd vote, continue to express their displeasure. "In this order,
the majority once again fails to provide coherence and internal consistency
to the rules and rationales we adopt," said Commissioner Michael Copps. FCC
Chairman Michael Powell said in a statement that the Commission attempted to
balance the need to promote transactions in the public interest with
protections against monopolies. The new rules will not take effect for 30
days following their publishing in the Federal Register, which will be
delayed until any court challenges are heard. Consumers Union, among other
groups, has announced that it will file court complaints.
SOURCE: Television Week; AUTHOR: Doug Halonen
http://www.tvweek.com/topstorys/070703fcc.html
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING ON RADIO CONSOLIDATION
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a
hearing tomorrow, July 8, 2003, immediately following the Nominations
hearing, which will begin at 9:30 AM in Room 253 of the Russell Senate
Office Building. The hearing will focus on the Federal Communications
Commission's new rules on local radio ownership. The witness list is
forthcoming - check out the link below for updates.
SOURCE: Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/witnesslist.cfm?id=831
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
SCHOOLS URGED TO TEACH '21ST-CENTURY' SKILLS
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has released a report, "Learning for
the 21st Century," and a free planning guide to help educators incorporate
specific "21st century skills," such as problem solving, critical thinking,
and communication, into the core curriculum of schools. The report "gives
us a common nomenclature" and "a roadmap to get beyond the either-or
debate," said John Bailey, director of the Department of Education's Office
of Educational Technology. The report identifies six key elements of a
21st-century education and outlines nine steps to incorporate 21st-century
learning skills into education. The "Milestones for Improving Learning and
Education" (MILE) planning guide, also available online, can be used for
assessment, benchmarking and determining what grants to apply for. The
greatest challenge now is getting educators to voluntarily use the MILE
guide in their planning, members of the partnership said. Karen Bruett,
K-12 marketing director for Dell Corp, recommends having different
stakeholders answer the survey's 21 questions to get many perspectives on a
school system's readiness.
SOURCE: eSchool News; AUTHOR: Cara Branigan
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=4506
EDTECH
ONLINE EDUCATION GROWS IN POPULARITY IN KENTUCKY
Online schooling in Jefferson County, Kentucky has caught on in a big way
since its inception two years ago. Originally intended to help struggling
students make up courses, the program now allows 2,500 students to take
3,000 classes online, bringing in $300,000 in tuition to the school
district. Both students and teachers see benefits in the cyber-school
format. Students enjoy the ability to work at their own pace at any time of
day and the freedom to take breaks or eat while they work. Teachers like the
anonymity, the increased likelihood that students will ask questions in
class due to the absence of peer pressure, and their ability to provide more
individual attention. Ruth Ann Driggers, who teaches e-school full-time,
also notes that students are always prepared for class when they log in,
unlike the traditional classroom settings. The program continues to expand -
next year's offerings will include one-hour tutorials on special topics such
as fractions or how a bill becomes a law. Critics fear that online schooling
removes a teacher's ability to independently monitor and evaluate student
progress, especially as the medium moves toward younger students.
SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: The Associated Press
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-07-03-online-school_x.htm
DIGITAL DIVIDE
SUSTAINABILITY GETS AN INTERNET TWIST
A new initiative in Oregon is aimed at getting high-speed Internet access
into all new affordable housing projects, and including it in the
rehabilitation of older housing units. The program will be funded in much
the same way that building for energy conservation is handled, namely
through tax credits. "What we're looking to is social sustainability,
sustainability in personal daily life," said Bob Repine, director of
Oregon's Department of Housing and Community Development. Social
sustainability means "more people who have been disenfranchised will be able
to effectively find opportunities to better educate and inform themselves,
and so improve their quality of life." Last year, the Kentucky Housing
Corp. became the first housing finance agency to require that all new
housing include wiring for high-speed Internet access. Rey Ramsey of One
Economy Corp., a national nonprofit, sees a link between sustainable
lifestyles for low-income people and sustainable economy. It's in the
business interest of companies, such as Allstate, Cisco or Hewlett Packard,
to help low-income citizens get online.
SOURCE: The Business Journal; AUTHOR: Aliza Earnshaw
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2003/07/07/story1.html
CAN COMPUTERS SAVE THE WORLD?
[Commentary] Bill Thompson gives his views on the Digital Europe conference,
held in Venice last week. The conference marked the end of a two-year
research study conducted by three European think tanks into ways that
computers and the Internet can support sustainable development. Much
discussion focused around dematerialization, the idea that you can reduce
pollution and energy use by moving digital materials rather than physical
materials. But the environmental costs of making computers in the first
place can be massive, according to research by the Wuppertal Institute.
This sort of detailed analysis is vital, as is a willingness to think
creatively about ways we might use the net to manage the world's resources
properly, or reduce energy consumption, or help people live better lives,
writes Thompson. He concludes that we are already dependent on computers;
they are not going away. So the question is how not whether we use
computers to support sustainable development. The task is persuading
politicians and corporate leaders to listen to good ideas about how to do
this.
SOURCE: BBC News; AUTHOR: Bill Thompson
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3050894.stm
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