Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 106
03/21/2006 11:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Consortium for Digital Learning | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
March 21, 2006
11:05 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mark Neuman, Chair
Representative Carl Gatto
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Bill Thomas
Representative Peggy Wilson
Representative Les Gara
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Woodie Salmon
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Consortium for Digital Learning
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
CARL ROSE, Executive Director
Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on the Consortium of
Digital Learning (CDL).
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR MARK NEUMAN called the House Special Committee on
Education meeting to order at 11:05:37 AM. Representatives
Neuman, Gara, Gatto, and Wilson were present at the call to
order. Representatives Lynn and Thomas arrived as the meeting
was in progress. Representative Salmon is excused.
^CONSORTIUM FOR DIGITAL LEARNING
11:05:59 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN announced that the only order of business would be
a presentation on the Consortium for Digital Learning (CDL).
11:07:08 AM
CARL ROSE, Executive Director, Association of Alaska School
Boards (AASB), informed the committee that his presentation
would focus on digital technology, largely premised from Thomas
Friedman's book entitled, The World is Flat. He noted that the
committee packets include congressional testimony by Norman
Augustine entitled, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm:
Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future"
which addresses globalization and its effect on national
security. Also included in the packets, he said, is an article
from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) which
identifies technological advances in education. This article,
he noted, lists Alaska's Denali Borough School District as one
of a few nationwide piloting a 1:1 computing initiative where
students are assigned their own laptop computers with Internet
access. In response to Chair Neuman's request for more
information on Norman Augustine's report, Mr. Rose clarified
that it addresses "some of the advantages that [America] has
ceded to emerging nations in a global economy." He further
clarified that his presentation would examine some of the ways
this can be addressed and some of the technological advances
that can be made.
11:09:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARA said that assuming [the committee] is
convinced there is a need to expand the availability of digital
learning in the state, he would like to know what the requested
$5 million would purchase.
MR. ROSE explained that the CDL is trying to leverage local
funds from school districts, in addition to state and federal
funding, to obtain a total budget of $15 million. This
consortium, he highlighted, would consist of experts in
technology as well as an advisory group of school district
administrators and teachers. He further explained that
[requests for proposals (RFPs)] would be distributed to
determine which districts meet conditions of readiness based
upon the level of technical assistance, professional
development, and equipment they require. He described that this
would be a one-year effort to help participating schools focus
on advancing technology, after which time the districts for
those schools would be expected to appropriate dollars from
their operating budgets to sustain CDL. He said that should the
consortium be successful, AASB would then return to request
another round of funding in order to give other districts a
chance to participate. He remarked that CDL would use Apple
computers initially; however, he said he envisioned the eventual
participation of other interested providers who might offer
substantial discounts for needed equipment with the opportunity
to lease. He noted that whereas digital technology exists in
some schools, it is not systemic. "So we're trying to make the
systemic move here," he said.
11:13:22 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN, returning to Representative Gara's question on
funding CDL, stated his belief that this format of providing
digital learning will be less expensive over time, freeing funds
for other important educational goals such as early education
and smaller class size.
REPRESENTATIVE GARA said he is "sold on the need to expand
[delivery systems]," and now understands that what is being
proposed will help provide an infrastructure to develop [digital
learning] in the future.
11:14:30 AM
MR. ROSE directed the committee's attention to two other
documents in their packets: one providing information on the
CDL proposal and the other entitled, "The Road to the Digital
School." The later, he explained, is a matrix showing the path
to forming digital schools and its effect on leadership,
learning, infrastructure, and community.
CHAIR NEUMAN inquired as to whether today's presentation would
be available on the AASB web site.
MR. ROSE said it would be available on the web site as a
podcast. Then, through a PowerPoint presentation, he noted that
moving forward on any new endeavor can involve a host of
questions. He opined that although it is hard to predict the
future of children in any era, today's children will likely face
a highly competitive and motivated, well-educated,
technologically proficient, global workforce. He stated his
belief that Americans are hesitant about change and said, "We
know that the world is evolving, yet we're hesitant to get
involved until it's at our doorstep." He covered topics such
as: living with a constant sense of urgency, having little time
to accomplish things in every facet of life, becoming
disoriented by rapid changes, and then making "poor
predictions." He informed the committee that the information he
is relaying today is actually a reality and not merely
predictions. He described the significance of several
historical dates and the effect each has on globalization. He
also noted that "75 percent of our taxes" are being processed in
India because it is more accurate, more efficient, and with a
faster, lower cost turn-around. Additionally, he highlighted
that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often done in Australia
for similar, more economical reasons. He discussed other
challenges resulting from globalization and the changes in
demographics, values, beliefs, and technology.
11:32:52 AM
MR. ROSE then provided the committee with an example of
nanotechnology by comparing the 8 megabytes of memory available
in the 1964 mainframes to the "85 billion gigabytes" available
in the 2005 portable media players - such as iPods. He also
highlighted the advances in biotechnology, noting the sizeable
amount of memory required to store the mapping of human
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). He returned to discussing the
challenge of change and posed the question, "If our commerce is
web-based and economies are global, what are we doing to prepare
ourselves and our kids for the next generation?" He listed some
of the significant academic gains, nationwide, for those schools
with digital learning environments: more time on tasks, higher
levels of comprehension, greater pride in work, and higher test
scores. He opined that it is the "richness of the educational
opportunity" that students will benefit from most. Providing an
example of this, he referred to the 1:1 laptop program
implemented in the Denali School District three years ago. He
noted that although there have been promising results for
special needs kids and those who are economically disadvantaged,
"kids in that school district enjoy so much more ... because of
the richness of the learning environment" and the "ability to
get information that they are interested in [through technology]
that relates to their learning." He concluded his slide
presentation by summarizing the cost of implementing CDL, noting
the possibility of obtaining additional funding through
businesses, and reiterating the need to act on it now.
11:40:23 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN informed the committee that he had recently visited
a school that had 80 percent of its students from migratory
families. This school, he continued, had just received an award
from Microsoft [Corporation] for being one of the most advanced
schools in the nation for its use of technology to reach
students in remote areas. In regard to the discussion on what
[fewer] educational opportunities are available in rural versus
urban Alaska, he stated his belief that new information
technology (IT) programs help bridge the gap. He further opined
that he foresees more equality entering Alaska's educational
system through the launching of CDL in schools.
11:42:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON asked Mr. Rose to elaborate on how the
readiness of schools will be determined.
MR. ROSE said that whereas several districts have already
expressed interest in CDL, it is not possible for all districts
to participate and that [merely] "wanting to do this is not good
enough." He listed professional development and community
support as important components for implementation of this
initiative.
CHAIR NEUMAN added that the implementation of digital learning
environments allows parents to become more interactive in the
student's learning. In regard to the criteria by which schools
are selected for participation in CDL, he noted that Mr. Rose
had suggested using the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) grading
system and to focus on those schools that have had more exposure
to computers and Internet programs. He suggested that perhaps
some of the rural schools do not have sufficient bandwidth to
run the program.
11:46:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON stated her belief that one of the reasons
why rural schools are behind is because of "unfair funding" and
that the school cost differential should be addressed. She
opined that simply receiving a one-time grant is not adequate in
staying abreast of continually advancing technology.
CHAIR NEUMAN added his belief that the cost of updating delivery
systems is much more economical "than it is to change books."
He opined that the educational strains of rural districts might
be relieved by reducing the cost of their delivery systems.
MR. ROSE remarked that he has repeatedly heard there will be no
funding of any new programs. To this, he said, "These are not
new programs; the global economy is here, and we need to engage
... in a relatively quick fashion."
11:49:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO suggested that the book, The World Is Flat,
be given to all school board members to read. He said the book
lets the reader know that the idea the digital revolution is
coming is not true, but rather it has long since come. He then
described some current technological advances and opined, "It is
so important to not miss the ballgame."
MR. ROSE stated his agreement and said that it would take a
concerted effort by many to come up to speed.
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN noted his repeated use of the computer for
his legislative work. He also voiced his opinion that [the
legislature] has to help the schools keep up with technological
advances. Furthermore, he opined that to compete successfully,
both nationally and globally, Alaskans need to know how to use
technology. In response to Chair Neuman, he said that in some
schools, parents can learn what their child's homework
assignments are through the Internet.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO, in response to a comment made by
Representative Wilson, stated his understanding that the
aforementioned book notes that the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) outsources 75 percent of the tax returns they process.
MR. ROSE, in response to Chair Neuman's inquiry, expressed his
belief that national security is the most important issue in
regard to keeping up with technological advances. He said he
thinks about his unborn grandchildren and great grandchildren
and poised the question as to "what is the legacy that we [want
to] leave to our kids."
11:58:03 AM
CHAIR NEUMAN opined that this topic on new delivery systems
"stand above" those on early education and class size reduction.
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO highlighted that the Discovery Channel has
recently covered topics on global disasters, weather, and the
sun. He said it was determined that under perfect conditions,
it is possible for the sun to eliminate electricity entirely for
as much as 50 years.
CHAIR NEUMAN closed the meeting with a reminder that information
on CDL is available on the AASB web site.
12:00:39 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Education meeting was adjourned at 12:00
p.m.
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