EdSurge

[Commentary] Faculty members who teach face-to-face may imagine that the vote by the Federal Communications Commission to dismantle net neutrality doesn’t touch them, since their instruction is exclusively on campus, not plugged in to the web. Unfortunately, they’re mistaken. Online or off, teaching and doing research in today’s immersive digital environment makes it almost impossible for anyone—even technophobes—to hide from the web. These days hardly a class exists at any college or university that operates without logging onto a learning management system.

Amidst a sea of suits, Melissa Dodd, Chief Technology Officer of San Francisco Unified School District, became the second woman named as the top CTO of the year by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). Most provocative was Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who CoSN lauded for his public service.

Wheeler shared his pride in helping oversee the changes the FCC made in managing E-rate, the program that funds internet connectivity to schools. "Remember your ABCs: Access benefits children," Wheeler said. He also shared his fears about the current FCC's directions, particularly the impact of moving to a per-pupil reimbursement policy. Here's what Wheeler proposed the current FCC ask:
1. What will be the impact of per-pupil reimbursement on rural schools? Urban areas typically have four times as many students as their rural counterparts.
2. How will per-pupil reimbursement affect fiber installation? About 3,700 U.S. schools still lack adequate bandwidth, Wheeler pointed out, and need fiber.
3. How will the administration continue to incentivize states to step up and support connectivity? Forty-two state governors have made connecting schools a priority. States have provided $200 million in matching funds to support the work. But if the federal government scales back, will states continue to step up?
4. What kind of fiscal deficit will the FCC's new policy create, especially for rural schools?

Recently, undergraduates at Harvard University raised concerns about the institution handing over their data to an anti-affirmative action group as part of a lawsuit. Students for Fair Admissions, which is suing the university for allegedly discriminating against Asian American applicants, will have access to “academic, extracurricular, demographic and other information” from all undergrads who applied to Harvard between the fall 2009 and spring 2015, omitting names and Social Security numbers.

Protecting student information is increasingly challenging in an era when learners leave digital footprints of nearly all of their academic and extracurricular pursuits. Now universities, the overseers of student data, are charged with the double task of keeping that information safe and also protecting student privacy. The two can be at odds. “Universities need to provide students the freedom to explore ideas without the concern that they’re being monitored. That’s important in an academic environment,” says Lisa Ho, campus privacy officer at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Republican Party has released its official party platform in full. The 58-page document outlines issues the party will focus on during the home stretch to the election and after, though nominee Donald Trump has not officially endorsed it. The platform claims that, "After years of trial and error, we know the policies and methods that have actually made a difference in student advancement." Those things are school choice, STEM education, phonics, career/technical education, merit pay for teachers, parental involvement, "ending social promotions" and strong administrative leadership.

Here is what the party had to say about edtech: "Because technology has become an essential tool of learning, it must be a key element in our efforts to provide every child equal access and opportunity." In the platform, Republicans praise the value of STEM education and the transformative effects of the "digital revolution" on everything from malls to schools. "Innovation" is high on conservative policymakers' minds—the word appears 22 times throughout the document. Rather than encouraging schools to look to the federal government for STEM education and innovation, the party urges them to make use of the expertise in their communities: "teaching talent in the business community, STEM fields, and the military, especially among our returning veterans."

[Commentary] Imagine a school system that operates in an environment where technology is abundant, teachers seamlessly use digital resources, and students communicate and collaborate with other students from around the world.

Imagine that this learning environment has an infrastructure reliable and predictable enough to support such learning, where professional development is ongoing and supported by on-campus specialists. Sound outrageous coming from a small rural school district with limited resources? Maybe not--especially when you take your time.

[Kirsch is the Superintendent of Schools of Franklin West Supervisory Union in Vermont]

Leading education entrepreneurs recently filed concerns about how having a “two-tiered” Internet can stifle innovation.

In May, over 100 Internet companies -- including industry giants like Google and Facebook, which presumably would be able to afford the “fast lane” access -- signed a letter to the FCC in protest of paid prioritization. Andrew Gioia, co-founder and COO of TeachBoost, believes the proposed rules “would open the door for commercially reasonable discrimination by ISPs.” A larger company who could afford a partnership with Internet service providers would be able to bring its content to consumers much more quickly. The changes would place “a very real stifle on startups,” as companies with less funding, unable to purchase the faster access to their sites, would be at a “competitive disadvantage.”

Close to $2 billion dollars in private company resources will flow into US schools through the ConnectED Initiative over the next three to four years.

Ten companies shared the specifics around what they were offering (see list below) at the showcase event on June 28, 2014, organized by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). Strategically placed during the overlap between the SETDA Emerging Technologies Forum, and the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) annual conference, participants from both conferences could attend to discover what company resources were available to them and how they could be accessed.