The FCC Adds to the Digital Learning Day Celebration

It is Digital Learning Day 2014 and it’s time to take the pledge to support digital learning for all students. The most critical component for effective digital learning is reliable and robust connectivity for schools so that students can freely access the world’s knowledge. Yesterday, Arne Duncan made the statement that we are living in a society that expects free and reliable wifi with their coffee- it is definitely time to expect that in our schools. He’s right.

Together, the organizations listed below have united in submitting comments to the FCC in order to help reform the E-rate program to meet school and classroom needs most efficiently. Digital Learning Now! reports that these organizations, along with hundreds of others who submitted comments, “stress the transformative power of digital learning and argue that the commission should take a common sense approach to goals and speed targets.”

The FCC has not only agreed that there is a need to focus on broadband connectivity but today announced that they will double their investment- with an additional $2 billion dollars over the next 2 years. This is great news for schools and libraries across the country, as the FCC will increase their efforts to help more and more students connect to the world via the internet and digital learning tools.

Read the full press release below:

 


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
February 5, 2014

Contact: Press Office
850-391-4090
[email protected]

Education Coalition Commends FCC for
Much-Needed Reforms to E-Rate Program

WASHINGTON – Today, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler announced the agency will double its investment – with an additional $2 billion over the next two years – in support of broadband networks in our nation’s schools and libraries. The FCC will also streamline the application process, increase transparency, provide more assistance to schools and libraries to help them lower the prices they pay, and will ramp up oversight and enforcement within the program to ensure every dollar that is intended to reach a school or library gets there.
The Chairman’s remarks support and advance many of the goals of this education coalition and represent an unprecedented momentum for reforming the E-Rate in a methodical and reasonable approach that does more with existing funds. In response to today’s announcement, the coalition issued the following statement:
”On behalf of the bipartisan coalition representing the top education leaders from every state in the nation, we commend Chairman Wheeler on his leadership to modernize the FCC’s E-Rate program and his commitment to reallocate existing funds to provide more than $2 billion to schools this year targeted to support our broadband future.
“New models of education are emerging, and a modernized E-Rate program must keep pace in order for it to remain relevant and truly have an impact. Our nation’s students cannot wait another school year without the benefits of the high-capacity broadband networks needed to succeed globally.
“Chairman Wheeler’s announcement is an important first step, and we commit to working closely with the FCC, the Administration and other stakeholders to tackle the difficult policy challenges that lie ahead. We are encouraged that Chairman Wheeler acknowledged the importance of providing incentives for the formation of consortia to provide technical leadership and buying power, particularly for small rural applicants. And we applaud the commitment to streamline the process to make it easier for applicants to secure funding.
“This is a great first step, but we must continue to work toward fostering a policy and regulatory environment that encourages and incentivizes long-term public and private investments in education innovation, as well as in training and professional development for teachers to transform teaching and learning through technology.”
The FCC’s announcement is made on Digital Learning Day, an annual celebration of the effective use of technology to support student success. Today, thousands of teachers are participating in nearly 2,000 events nationwide to highlight the promise of digital learning for today’s students.

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About the Coalition
The education coalition is comprised of Digital Learning Now!, a national initiative of theFoundation for Excellence in Education; the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Alliance for Excellent Education, the International Association for K-12 Online LearningChiefs for Change, the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and Knowledge Alliance. The coalition submitted comments to the FCC in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to review and modernize the E-Rate program. The group seeks consensus-based solutions that will help ensure the FCC’s reforms are fully reflective of the education community’s needs for 21st-century learning.

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View this release online.

 

Digital Learning Now! is a Getting Smart Advocacy Partner.

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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