5-Point Plan

LEAD Commission Outlines Initiatives to Bring High Speed Internet, Technology Devices to Classroom

June 17, 2013 by Sara Friedman|Top News

The LEAD Commission said their plan is more affordable now than it would have been five years ago because digital learning devices and cloud-based software could be used through the plummeting cost of Wi-Fi. “In the 90s, we talked about wiring into the information superhighway. Now, industry is able to do what we have always envisioned,” said SETDA Executive Director Douglas Levin. The plan elaborates on models already used in different states and expands their initiatives to the rest of the country, said Levin. “In Mooresville, N.C., we were able to use manageable integrated technology with good results. It has economic value and we need to implement it across the board,” said Margaret Spellings, LEAD commissioner and former Secretary of Education.

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On the heels of the administration’s ConnectED initiative last week, the Leading Education by Advancing Digital (LEAD) Commission announced its five-point plan for its National Education Technology Initiative Thursday (http://bit.ly/18CN3mo). The plan calls for updating technology infrastructure in schools, putting devices in the hands of all students by 2020, adopting a digital curriculum, learning from model schools and investing in human capital, said a statement from the LEAD Commission. The plan was created in collaboration with more than 300 thought leaders in the education field including Common Sense Media, Discovery Education and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) who talked to us in follow-up interviews after the announcement. “The LEAD Commission has a huge potential to engage with technology in the classroom and give students the tech savvy 21st century skills that they need,” said Joni Lupovitz, Common Sense Media vice president.

Technology has dramatically changed every area our lives and now we need to use it to close the achievement gap, said Spellings. “As a country, we must make digital learning a national priority for every child to have access to the same high-quality 21st century learning tools -- regardless of ZIP code, said Spellings in a statement. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the Commission identifies important challenges and solutions for educational technology. Technology would give students in rural America access to [Advanced Placement] and college courses, said Levin: “This would move from some kids benefiting to all kids benefiting in the natural business of education. Technology saves money, and it improves services.”

The LEAD Commission in its report compares proper technology infrastructure in schools to heating and electricity. They said schools will require 100 Mbps of bandwidth for every 1,000 students/staff members by the 2014-2015 school year, which increases to 1 Gbps by 2017-2018. “Infrastructure and hardware is critical because it brings our world to their world,” said Scott Kinney, Discovery Education senior vice president. Accelerating the digital curriculum needs to be accomplished through flexible procurement processes, an independent certification program and bringing new entrepreneurs to the network, said the LEAD Commission plan. “We are now able to provide digital content where different students are in the learning process, and we are able to work hand in hand with them,” said Kinney.

Teachers also need to be trained to effectively use technology in the classroom, said the LEAD Commission. The commission recommended a plan to empower all teachers over the next three years to use information and communications. “We need to think of professional development as an investment in capital. We need to start in subsets and expand it,” said Kinney. The Commission hopes this will bring the U.S. education system into the 21st century. “As long as our schools remain in an education model that is fundamentally unchanged since the 19th century, we risk remaining stagnant as other countries surge ahead in educational performance,” said Jim Coulter, LEAD commissioner and co-founder of TPG Capital.