BENTON'S COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010
The roll out of the National Broadband Plan continues today, but there's plenty more on the agenda http://bit.ly/9AwHGL
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
Strategies to Increase Broadband Adoption and Use
FCC, Knight Foundation challenge citizens to create 'Apps for Inclusion'
FCC to pitch free or low-cost Web service as part of broadband plan
Is Cheap Wireless Broadband for Real This Time?
Plans for National Broadband Access May Be in Danger
The FCC National Broadband Plan: Long Haul Expected
The FCC's Misguided Spectrum Quest
Increased access to broadband vital to growth
FCC Agenda for National Broadband Day Set
MORE ON BROADBAND
Consumers In The Dark Over Their Broadband Speeds
Navajo Nation bridging broadband divide with LTE
The Internet of tomorrow: 100Gbps to your house by 2030
Cisco Unveils Faster Internet Router
NETWORK NEUTRALITY
A Guide to Network Neutrality Cherry-Picking, Telecom Style
DIVERSITY
Public Interest and Media Justice Groups Ask FCC to Address Diversity Problem in Media
AUDIO/VIDEO
Cable operators file petition with FCC
Hate Paying for Cable? Here's Why.
Study Touts Record Industry's Role In Musicians' Careers
Cheap Shots and Bad Logic In The FCC Debates
EDUCATION
Broadband Can Close the Education Loop
Nation's ed tech chief reacts to budget concerns
Cracks in school innovation fund might present problems
Is better learning a click away?
Many Nations Passing U.S. in Education
PRIVACY
Schneier: Fight for online privacy or kiss it good-bye
Supreme Court to Decide Case Involving 'Right of Informational Privacy'
Facebook Will Allow Users to Share Location
Sen Leahy Wants Nominees To Privacy Board
LifeLock settles FTC and state allegations that it misled consumers
GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Reps. Smith, Wu establish new Internet freedom caucus
Iran blocking foreign, domestic Web sites to curb anti-government activists
Ho-hum statistics come alive with Google Public Data Explorer
Scientists Recommend Ways to Restore Scientific Integrity to Government
STORIES FROM ABROAD
These headlines presented in partnership with:
BT demands Virgin Media opens up network
EU pushes for healthcare records share with US | Japan's Largest Telco Goes OpenID | Taipei taxis to soon offer wireless Web services | Sony to begin worldwide 3D TV launch in June
MORE ONLINE
IBM will research mobile access for the aged and illiterate | After Victory Over Disney, Group Loses Its Lease | Clash of the media titans in Israel | Purple Repaying Telecom Relay Fund
NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN
STRATEGIES TO INCREASE BROADBAND ADOPTION & USE GAIN SUPPORT
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
On March 9, the Federal Communications Commission and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation discussed strategies that will provide 93 million Americans who have been left behind in the digital age with the tools they need to seek jobs, stay informed and connected, and pursue economic opportunity. America's Digital Inclusion Summit at the Newseum focused on the need to break down barriers to broadband as high-speed Internet service becomes increasingly vital to citizens and the nation. The draft National Broadband Plan makes a number of recommendations on increasing broadband adoption to FCC, Congress and other branches of government and the private and non-profit sectors. They include: Improve digital literacy for all Americans, Show how broadband is relevant, Make broadband more affordable, Improve focus on measurement, best practices and state and local initiatives. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33000 | Federal Communications Commission | FCC Commissioner Copps | Commissioner Clyburn
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APPS FOR INCLUSION
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
The Federal Communications Commission is teaming up with the Knight Foundation to reward innovators who design tools that help citizens better access or use government resources. Billed as the "Apps for Inclusion" Challenge, the contest would award about $10,000 in prize money to anyone who devises new mobile, desktop or Web programs that help citizens take advantage of community, state or federal services online. Entries will be judged both by a panel of experts and Web users, who will be able to vote for the best apps online, according to the Knight Foundation.
benton.org/node/32999 | Hill, The | Knight Foundation
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FREE/LOW-COST ACCESS TO BE PART OF BROADBAND PLAN
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Tony Romm]
Federal officials now seem to be considering ways to create "a free, or very low-cost wireless broadband service" for Web users who cannot afford more expensive broadband coverage. The Federal Communications Commission briefly pitched the idea following this week's Digital Inclusion Summit, a forum that focused on ways to extend broadband coverage to the millions in the United States who still lack it. Ultimately, the FCC provided little details of that ambitious access plan, versions of which some state and local lawmakers have also pitched, and in many cases, have promptly abandoned. But the FCC did note in a statement on Tuesday that it was one of many ideas it has included in its forthcoming National Broadband Plan, due to congressional lawmakers next week. The FCC also wants to create a digital literacy corps to help boost broadband adoption by training people in low-adoption areas, which include rural and low income communities, and at the same time boost the skills of those doing the training.
benton.org/node/32998 | Hill, The | FCC | Broadcasting&Cable | WSJ
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IS CHEAP WIRELESS BROADBAND FOR REAL THIS TIME?
[SOURCE: GigaOm, AUTHOR: Stacey Higginbotham]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission announced that the National Broadband Plan will recommend the allocation of spectrum for a free or low-cost wireless broadband network as a means to help address the affordability of broadband for poor people. If all this sounds familiar to you, maybe you recall the efforts of M2Z Networks, a Kleiner Perkins backed venture that tried to offer filtered, low-cost broadband using WiMAX. A source at the FCC says that the agency's efforts, which will be detailed next week when the National Broadband Plan comes out, are not similar to M2Z's plan. M2Z wanted to offer free subscribers dial-up-like speeds of 768 kbps and would have provided filtered access to the web. The source said the FCC's plan would offer speeds "that are real broadband" and would likely involve using proceeds from the Universal Service Fund reform to offset the cost of building out a network. However, any federal involvement in the network could lead to a return of the filtering issue that bogged down M2Z. Those in power are easily swayed by the argument that allocating a federal resource (spectrum) to provide free broadband which children could use to access porn, could lead to negative publicity. A cynic might say this offers excellent cover for the lawmakers who may also be swayed by the telecommunication's industry's obvious reluctance to see low-cost or free broadband.
benton.org/node/33012 | GigaOm
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PLANS FOR NATIONAL BROADBAND ACCESS MAY BE IN DANGER
[SOURCE: OMB Watch, AUTHOR: ]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is gearing up to release its plan for national broadband access on March 17. Open government advocates have hailed the plan's prerogative to increase civic participation in government policymaking. John Wonderlich of the Sunlight Foundation wrote that the FCC seems "committed to the sort of government policies that can help turn Internet access into a transformative tool for citizenship." If, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, a democracy requires an informed citizenry, then broadband enables the masses to reach government information faster with fewer barriers to access. Further, national broadband access increases the capacity for tools that enable citizens to better interact with government information. Funding for the FCC's plan is a potential roadblock for the effort. The pricey and expansive vision is what critics contend will be the plan's failure. Most reports indicate that without being broken up, the plan is too large to make it into an omnibus bill. Currently, there are fears that the plan is so big that Congress is unlikely to do anything with it at all. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/33014 | OMB Watch
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THE FCC NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN: LONG HAUL EXPECTED
[SOURCE: BusinessWeek, AUTHOR: Olga Kharif]
As part of its National Broadband Plan the federal government wants broadcasters to relinquish and let the government sell excess airwaves, which could then be used by wireless carriers to deliver mobile-Web access. Opposition from the National Association of Broadcasters is just one of the hurdles the government must clear as it presses ahead with a plan to bring broadband access to almost 100 million U.S. residents. For starters, the plan is just that. Federal Communications Commission officials, under Chairman Julius Genachowski, will present the proposal to Congress, which will weigh in as the FCC embarks on a years-long process of implementing the various proposals. "The really difficult policy options are going to be made in follow-through actions," says Paul Glenchur, senior analyst at Potomac Research Group. Along the way, the FCC may face resistance from lawmakers unwilling to approve additional funding and from parts of the communications industry, such as satellite providers, largely left out of the plan. "If it were easy, [this reform] would have been done a long time ago," Blair Levin, the Federal Communications Commission official who's spearheading the National Broadband Plan, said. To pay for the plan, the government will rely largely on auctions of airwaves to wireless carriers. Yet the plan will call on Congress to approve spending $12 billion to $16 billion over 10 years to construct the wireless public safety network. That may not sit well with some lawmakers.
benton.org/node/33023 | BusinessWeek
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FCC'S SEARCH FOR SPECTRUM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Holman Jenkins Jr]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission talks a good game about letting broadcast spectrum find its "highest and best" use, but predictably degenerates into simply trying to pry spectrum away from its previous favorite technology (broadcast) and give it to its new favorite (mobile broadband). This is a mistake for several reasons. More spectrum is always better, but new pricing models and techniques for managing traffic will surely help to deal with the mobile broadband megatrend. Meanwhile, the FCC needs to see a bigger picture. The fixed and mobile networks are one, and both are in danger of being swamped by video (90% of all Internet traffic by 2013, predicts Cisco). Both would benefit hugely from a policy that really does let spectrum flow to its most valued uses, whether broadcast or broadband. And that's exactly what would happen, willy nilly, if Washington were to roll back its antiquated ownership restrictions on America's other, unrecognized wireless industry -- its over-the-air broadcasters. This is especially important now because TV is about to be overhauled dramatically as "over the top" services challenge cable and satellite. Broadcast has real advantages in the digital age. It can deliver bits without ripping up the streets or hanging wires all over town, without placing satellites in orbit. And unlike mobile or fixed broadband, it can deliver the same bits to many viewers without sending congestion-creating individual streams to each. Bottom line: In the future, a revamped and transformed broadcast sector will lift a large amount of video load off the fixed and mobile networks -- if we let it. The FCC claims it doesn't pick winning and losing technologies. But its musty regulatory hang-ups do exactly that, implicitly favoring one-to-one technologies over one-to-many -- i.e. favoring mobile broadband over broadcast.
benton.org/node/33022 | Wall Street Journal
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INCREASED ACCESS TO BROADBAND VITAL
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Ram Shriram]
[Commentary] Think about what was possible online in 1995. Internet adoption in the United States stood at just over 10 percent, and most surfed the Web over a slow dial-up connection. Flash forward to today. Adoption now stands at 74 percent, and broadband speeds are slowly improving. Harvard Business School professors John Deighton and John Quelch estimate that the Internet is responsible for 3.1 million American jobs and $300 billion in economic activity spread throughout the United States. Entrepreneurs and small businesses are able to connect with customers worldwide, content creators and developers can reach an audience of billions, and consumers can access unparalleled amounts of information. The burgeoning "app economy," built by small businesses that create applications for smart phones, social networks, and other new platforms, is already a multibillion-dollar industry. Now imagine the possibilities 15 years from now. The United States does not have a monopoly on innovation. As we fall behind in broadband, we're falling behind in our global competitiveness and our ability to grow our economy. It does not have to be this way. Here are three things we can do. [more at the URL below]
benton.org/node/32997 | San Francisco Chronicle
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FCC AGENDA FOR NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN DAY
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission, AUTHOR: ]
Two items on the Federal Communications Commission's March 16 agenda: 1) The Commission will consider a Broadband Mission Statement containing goals for US broadband policy and 2) a presentation of the National Broadband Plan. This will be a widely attended event which, in this case, means get there before the 10:30 start time if you want a seat.
benton.org/node/33013 | Federal Communications Commission
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MORE ON BROADBAND
CONSUMERS IN THE DARK ON BROADBAND SPEEDS
[SOURCE: National Public Radio, AUTHOR: Cyrus Farivar]
Experts say the broadband speeds consumers experience at home are typically 10 percent to 20 percent below the limit that they pay for. "With broadband, we have allowed ourselves to get into the equivalent of a legitimized con game," says Craig Settles, an industry consultant based in Oakland, Calif. "All of the advertised speeds are speeds that you can't be sure you would get on an average day. It is a theoretical ceiling, if you will, and baseline." In other words, that 6 megabit DSL connection that you just bought has a potential maximum of 6 megabits. But it's almost certain that you're going to be 10 percent or 20 percent below that limit. Fortunately, there are Web sites like Speedtest dot net that you can use to analyze your Internet connection.
benton.org/node/32986 | National Public Radio | NPR
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LTE AND NAVAJO NATION
[SOURCE: Connected Planet, AUTHOR: Kevin Fitchard]
Last Friday, one of the first live long-term evolution sites went live in the US, but it wasn't in New York, San Francisco or any of the other major markets of the country. Nor was the cell site deployed by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, MetroPCS or any of the other major wireless operators. Instead the ZTE base station was switched on in Fort Defiance, Arizona, in the heart of the sprawling Navajo reservation. The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) has partnered with Commnet Wireless to address one of the starkest examples of the digital divide in the US: the 27,000 square-mile Navajo Nation left largely behind by the digital and broadband revolution. Building a wireline broadband network to cover 400,000 people in what is an almost entirely rural reservation the size of West Virginia would be impossible. So NTUA and Commnet have decided to tackle the problem with wireless. "The Navajo Nation has traditionally suffered from a lack of connectivity," said Monroe Keedo, IT manager for NTUA. "The Navajo Nation will benefit from this project in four big ways: economic development, education, public safety and health care."
benton.org/node/32989 | Connected Planet
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100GBPS TO YOUR HOUSE BY 2030
[SOURCE: ars technica, AUTHOR: Nate Anderson]
In less than 20 years we may see 100Gbps Internet connections in US homes. The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom commissioned a lengthy report on the future of fiber from the firm Analysys Mason. In it, the company sketched out the future of fiber capacity with a pair of handy charts. Both are clear: between 2025 and 2030, shared fiber tech will be able to offer 10Gpbs to each user; individual fiber can offer a full 100Gbps. Whether ISPs will support it or not is a separate question.
benton.org/node/33011 | Ars Technica | Analysys Mason
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CISCO UNVEILS ROUTER
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Roger Cheng]
On Tuesday, Cisco unveiled a heavy-duty router for managing Internet traffic, as it seeks to regain market share it has lost in the arms race to manage telecommunications networks. Cisco said Tuesday its new CRS-3 router has 12 times the capacity of rival equipment. For example, executives said the device can handle simultaneous video calls for every person in China. The router, which is used by telecom carriers to power the Internet backbone, replaces the company's aging CRS-1, which was introduced in 2004. Cisco competes in the core router market with Juniper Networks, which has updated its products more recently than Cisco. Cisco said the CRS-3 can deliver a connection of 1 gigabit per second to nearly every home in San Francisco. Chief Executive John Chambers said the new router provided more than just a boost. The product is supposed to be "smarter" allowing it to direct traffic based on the priority of the data. Cisco believes that kind of muscle will be necessary to support a dramatic surge in data consumption on fixed-line and mobile networks over the next several years. And the company is betting heavily that both consumer and enterprise video will drive a huge amount of that growth. "Video is not just the killer app," Cisco CEO John Chambers said. "It enables new business models, new health care models, new productivity models." Chambers also said Cisco is expanding beyond its role as "a plumber" to become a business partner and consultant for businesses looking to leverage new technologies. That's a strategy that could pay big dividends as vertical markets such as health care and education increasingly look for ways to use technology to connect with their customers and with each other.
benton.org/node/32996 | Wall Street Journal | C|Net | Bloomberg | IDG News Service | NYTimes | GigaOm | BroadbandBreakfast.com
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DIVERSITY
DIVERSITY IN MEDIA
[SOURCE: Free Press, AUTHOR: Press release]
A coalition of media justice and public interest organizations sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski yesterday, calling on the agency to make increased diversity in the media and broadband communications landscape a top priority. The groups issued the following joint statement:
"Historically marginalized communities still face countless barriers to their own members' provision and ownership of communications services. The Communications Act instructs the Commission to examine these barriers and take steps to eliminate them. This Commission has taken strides in this area, yet much work remains to be done to address persistent and growing digital divides. We urge the Commission to implement better data-gathering practices regarding the ownership of media outlets by minorities and women, and to examine diversity in pending proceedings at the Commission. For instance, we ask that extensive studies be conducted regarding the potential impact of the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC Universal on the diversity of voices in ownership and programming."
The signatories to the letter include Afro-Netizen; Alliance for Community Media; Benton Foundation; Professor Angela Campbell of Georgetown Law; the Center for Media Justice; the Center for Rural Strategies; Free Press; Main Street Project; Media Access Project; Media Alliance; Mountain Area Information Network; the National Alliance for Media Arts & Culture; the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; the National Federation of Community Broadcasters; Public Knowledge; Reclaim the Media; Texas Media Empowerment Project; United Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc.; and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
http://benton.org/node/32981
AUDIO/VIDEO
CABLE OPERATORS FILE PETITION WITH FCC
[SOURCE: Variety, AUTHOR: Cynthia Littleton]
The retransmission war is heating up in Washington. A group of major cable operators, satellite TV providers DirecTV and Dish Network, and Verizon filed a petition Tuesday with the Federal Communications Commission urging a review and changes to the law that governs negotiations between broadcast TV station owners and cable, satellite and telco operators for carriage of local stations. The move comes in the wake of the showdown on Sunday between Disney and Cablevision over the retrans deal for WABC-TV New York, which came to a head on the night of ABC's live telecast of the Oscars. The cable operators are expected to ask the FCC to mandate that broadcasters cannot yank their signals in the midst of fee negotiations but rather submit to some form of arbitration if the sides can't reach a deal. An FCC spokeswoman declined comment on the issue. Broadcasters are sure to fight hard against the push for a retrans revamp. Local stations are increasingly counting on fees from subscription TV services to help offset declining local advertising revenue.
benton.org/node/33006 | Variety | TVNewsCheck | The Hill | B&C | Reuters
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WHERE CABLE FEES GO
[SOURCE: AllThingsDigital, AUTHOR: Peter Kafka]
[Commentary] SNL Kagan has provided some data showing that, when it comes to cable, you are paying a lot for channels you probably never watch. You'll find this particularly upsetting if you don't watch sports. Because sports channels account for about 40 percent of cable fees. And you'll also be upset once you realize that the broadcast networks -- GE's NBC, News Corp.'s Fox, Disney's ABC and CBS -- are going to get added to this list over the next year or so. Even though anyone who doesn't pay for cable gets them for free.
benton.org/node/32987 | AllThingsDigital
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RECORD INDUSTRY AND MUSICIANS
[SOURCE: CongressDaily, AUTHOR: Sara Jerome]
The recording industry is the principal investor in musicians' careers, according to a study released Tuesday by IFPI, an international recording industry group, and WIN, a network of independent record labels. The global study found that about 30 percent of record companies' sales revenue is spent on supporting musical talent, amounting to $5 billion dollars spent on artists' careers every year. The study drew on data from IFPI's member record companies and other case studies. The findings appear to attempt to refute a public relations challenge that has pestered the recording industry: the notion that labels bankrupt their talent, an allegation AM and FM broadcasters readily assert in their ongoing feud over whether radio stations must begin paying royalties to musicians. Legislation cleared by both Judiciary Committees would require AM and FM radio stations to pay a fee to performers for playing their music on the air. Broadcasters argue the bill would benefit corporate record labels, many of which are foreign owned, more than musicians.
benton.org/node/32994 | CongressDaily
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CHEAP SHOTS AND BAD LOGIC IN FCC DEBATES
[SOURCE: Public Knowledge, AUTHOR: Harold Feld]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission has started to dig through its backlog of indecency complaints. This predictably triggers some cheap shots at the FCC with the non-sequitur that somehow this is the fate of the Internet if the FCC does Net Neutrality. While it is no doubt laboring in vain to point out the unfairness of this for the FCC, here goes.
benton.org/node/33009 | Public Knowledge
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EDUCATION
BROADBAND CAN CLOSE THE EDUCATION LOOP
[SOURCE: Daily Yonder, AUTHOR: Sharon Strover, Nick Muntean]
[Commentary] There is some hope that comprehensive broadband build-out in rural areas could provide rural places with the infrastructure they need to provide the jobs that would give those young people a way to stay. But broadband build-out alone will not solve the employment woes of rural areas. As long as there continues to be a marked gap between the education levels of urban and rural citizens, we cannot expect highly-skilled, well-paying telework jobs to transfer to rural areas of their own accord. There is the possibility, however, that rural broadband build-out could facilitate not only the infrastructure needed to bring telework positions to rural communities, but also provide the means for rural residents to enroll in distance learning courses that will help them to become more competitive in the national and global marketplace. Why distance learning? Historically, rural communities have sought to close the rural/urban education gap by sending their most promising young students to far-away colleges and universities for post-secondary instruction. On the face of it, this is a seemingly sound plan. However, this strategy has a few crucial shortcomings.
benton.org/node/32990 | Daily Yonder
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ED TECH BUDGET CONCERNS
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: ]
Karen Cator, director of education technology for the U.S. Department of Education (ED), has heard the concerns from ed-tech groups about President Obama's 2011 budget proposal, which would fold the largest single source of federal funding for school technology equipment, software, training, and support into a larger grant program that aims to promote effective teaching and learning. The concerns about the lack of a dedicated funding stream for education technology in the 2011 budget are "valid," Cator said. But she defended the administration's approach by noting that it encourages the integration of technology throughout all content areas. "Every pot of money is really an opportunity to purchase technology, or to engage with technologies, to reach the goals of the program," she said.
benton.org/node/32991 | eSchool News
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PROBLEMS WITH EDUCATION INNOVATION FUNDING
[SOURCE: eSchool News, AUTHOR: Maya Prabhu]
Just days before the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released applications for the $650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund on March 8, education technology researchers and developers expressed some concerns about the i3 program's procedures and requirements. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) set aside $650 million in the i3 fund for three levels of competitive grants that expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative and evidence-based practices, programs, and strategies in schools. ED officials say these solutions should significantly improve K-12 achievement and close achievement gaps, lower dropout rates, increase high school graduation rates, and improve teacher and school leader effectiveness. James Shelton, assistant deputy secretary for ED's Office of Innovation and Improvement, acknowledged that the innovation pipeline is fractured and there are obstacles making it difficult to get from the research and development phase to taking a product or idea to scale. Specifically, Shelton said he is worried that applicants might have problems providing evidence that is necessary for the grants at the larger award levels.
benton.org/node/32993 | eSchool News
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IS BETTER LEARNING A CLICK AWAY?
[SOURCE: eCampus News, AUTHOR: ]
Student response systems, or clickers -- not unlike gadgets used on television game shows -- first appeared in college classrooms over a decade ago and have since spread to just about every college and university in the country, thanks to cheaper and better technology. But as clickers have become commonplace, a divide has emerged over just how sophisticated they should be. Some professors endorse simple, straightforward devices that stick to multiple-choice questions. Others embrace fancier models or newer applications for smart phones and laptops that allow students to query the professor by text or e-mail during the lecture or conduct discussion with classmates -- without the cost of purchasing a clicker. Those preferring simplicity say pared-down remotes reduce distractions in a multitasking world, while others say fighting the march to smart phones and digital tablets is a losing battle. Clickers first gained popularity in large science lecture halls as a way of gauging whether students understood the material. They have since migrated into smaller classrooms and can be found in nursing and other professional schools. Even middle schools and high schools are using them.
benton.org/node/32992 | eCampus News
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STORIES FROM ABROAD
BT DEMANDS VIRGIN MEDIA OPENS UP NETWORK
[SOURCE: ComputerWorld, AUTHOR: Carrie-Ann Skinner]
BT is calling for Virgin Media to open up its fiber network and allow other ISPs to access the infrastructure.
"It is remarkable that those calling for open access from BT are not willing to provide it themselves. We call on others to follow BT's lead in offering to open its infrastructure and content to all on a fair basis," BT said. BT was referring to recent proposals from the Conservative Party that slammed a suggested 'broadband tax', under which Brits with a telephone line would fork out £6 per year to pay for the roll-out of 100Mbit/s broadband. Instead, the party suggested the best way to fund the roll out is to use some of the BBC's Licence fund, coupled with the opening-up of the next-generation fibre network being implemented by BT. BT said it hopes to offer superfast broadband to five million Brits by spring 2011.
benton.org/node/33004 | ComputerWorld
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