Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
02/06/2017 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Broadband Access and Virtual Education in School Districts | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 6, 2017
8:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Shelley Hughes, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator John Coghill
Senator Tom Begich
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Harriet Drummond, Chair
Representative Justin Parish, Vice Chair
Representative Zach Fansler
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Jennifer Johnston
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative David Talerico
MEMBERS ABSENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
All members present
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Geran Tarr
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Dan Ortiz
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: BROADBAND ACCESS AND VIRTUAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOL
DISTRICTS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director
Alaska Council of School Educators (ACSA)
Alaska Superintendents Association (ASA)
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals (AASSP)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on broadband access
and virtual education in school districts.
ROBERT WHICKER, Ph.D., Director
Consortium for Digital Learning (CDL)
Alaska Association of School Boards (AASB)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information about broadband access
and virtual education in school districts.
SEAN DUSEK, Superintendent
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD)
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on KPBSD's broadband
access.
AMANDA ADAMS, Teacher
Distance Education
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD)
Seward, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on virtual education
in KPBSD.
MIKE FLECKENSTEIN, Chief Information Officer
Anchorage School District (ASD)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented an overview of virtual learning in
the ASD.
DAN WALKER, Superintendent
Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD)
Bethel, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information about LKSD's distant
learning network.
TY MASE, Superintendent
Lake & Peninsula School District (LPSD)
King Salmon, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on targeting student
success through university collaboration and tutoring
interventions.
ROB PICOU, Ph.D., Superintendent
Lower Yukon School District (LYSD)
Mountain Village, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on technology access
and cost in LYSD.
AMY EAKIN
Director of Technology
Northwest Arctic Borough School District (NWABSD)
Kotzebue, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information on broadband access
and programs in NWABSD.
BRETT AGENBROAD, Superintendent
Pribilof School District (PSD)
St. Paul, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information regarding PSD's
broadband capabilities.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:01:28 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND called the joint meeting of the House and House
Education Standing Committees to order at 8:01 a.m. Present at
the call to order were Senators Giessel, Begich, Coghill,
Stevens and Chair Hughes, and Representatives Kopp, Parish,
Johnston, Fansler, Spohnholz, Talerico, and Chair Drummond.
^PRESENTATION: BROADBAND ACCESS AND VIRTUAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOL
DISTRICTS
PRESENTATION: BROADBAND ACCESS AND VIRTUAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOL
DISTRICTS
8:03:31 AM
CHAIR HUGHES announced that the only order of business would be
presentations on Broadband Access and Virtual Education in
School Districts. She said today school districts will be
weighing in on the topic. She noted that virtual education has
provided an exciting opportunity for students throughout Alaska
to have access to quality education without having to be
physically present in the classroom. However, many rural
districts have difficulties with access to basic internet, let
alone, high quality virtual education through synchronous
learning.
8:04:08 AM
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director, Alaska Council of
School Educators (ACSA), Alaska Superintendents Association
(ASA), Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
(AASSP), Juneau, Alaska, presented information on broadband
access and virtual education in school districts. She told a
story of technology failure for a district-wide in-service in
the North Slope and the need to have Plan B.
8:06:13 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ asked for clarification on the
differences between distance education and virtual education.
DR. PARADY deferred to superintendents and districts to answer.
CHAIR HUGHES called Dr. Whicker to answer the question about
virtual education.
8:07:51 AM
ROBERT WHICKER, Ph.D., Director, Consortium for Digital
Learning, Alaska Association of School Boards, presented
information about broadband access and virtual education in
school districts. He defined virtual education as "someone
somewhere else delivering instruction or content." He added that
it may be delivered through a variety of means.
8:08:26 AM
At ease
8:10:20 AM
DR. PARADY introduced the first presenter, Mr. Dusek.
8:10:47 AM
SEAN DUSEK, Superintendent, Kenai Peninsula Borough School
District (KPBSD), presented information on KPBSD's broadband
access. He related that 97.6 percent of their schools exceed
100Mbps per 1,000 students, the current national standard. They
are striving to have 1Gbps per 1000 students. Of 44 schools,
66.67 percent are on fiber infrastructure. He wished to have all
schools on fiber, since microwave and copper are much more
expensive. He related that E-rate service costs about $1 million
per year and the district receives a subsidy of $683,000 for it.
Since 1998 the district has received over $10.9 million in E-
rate support. He said there is a special opportunity through E-
rate to build up their non-fiber site.
8:13:19 AM
MR. DUSEK showed a graph of KPBSD programs and distinguished
between online courses, video conferencing, and blended
learning. The online courses have evolved over 10 years and are
asynchronous, such as through email, and are considered distance
education. Video-conferencing is part of the virtual world area,
such as Polycom, Skype for Business, Student Collaboration and
Teacher Collaboration. He noted the importance of Skype for
Business, now and in the future, for presentations and for
professional development.
He said they are also moving into the world of blended learning,
a combination of live classrooms and "anytime/anywhere learning"
with the use of Canvas and Digital Parallel. He used Seward High
School as an example where they have hybrid high school - all
teachers have created a digital parallel to all classes. He
discussed the advantages of that medium for students who are not
in the school.
8:16:18 AM
MR. DUSEK addressed student program data. He spoke of the
positive impacts of distance education courses. Many colleges
now have online courses and this type of course helps prepare
students for that type of learning.
He shared information about Canvas staff program data usage. In
the fall of 2015 only 29 teachers were involved in this project;
now 283 are involved. He expected it to be completely in place
by next year. He provided a story of a teacher in Seward who
makes good use of on-line access.
8:18:43 AM
AMANDA ADAMS, Teacher, Distance Education, Kenai Peninsula
Borough School District (KPBSD), presented information on
virtual education in KPBSD. She shared the six key components of
distance learning in KPBSD: relationships, teaching,
personalization, differentiation, content, connectivity. She
detailed the importance of relationships.
8:20:14 AM
CHAIR HUGHES recognized the presence of Representative Dan
Ortiz.
MS. ADAMS explained the teaching component and the feedback
cycle, and she noted the teacher pupil ratio is the same as in
the classroom. She discussed the difference between canned and
curated courses, which KPSBD uses. Distance Education augments
the system and offers options to students. She gave an example
of a gifted student's use of podcasts.
She talked about differentiation and how the setting and content
must be adjusted for students. She related the limits to
distance learning and the need to have a variety of delivery
mechanisms. She provided examples of content delivery.
She talked about connectivity and provided examples. She
stressed the importance of equity in distance learning. She
concluded with the need for on-the-ground support.
8:25:16 AM
MR. DUSEK concluded by saying that their presentation was just a
taste of what is happening in KPBSD. He offered to have board
members share specifics and students share their perspectives.
8:26:44 AM
CHAIR HUGHES thanked Mr. Dusek.
8:27:08 AM
MIKE FLECKENSTEIN, Chief Information Officer, Anchorage School
District (ASD), presented an overview of virtual learning in the
ASD. He showed the continuum of virtual learning; extended
learning, personalized learning, and virtual choice. He began
with extended learning which includes online assessments,
practice and reinforcement, online writing instruction and
feedback, and digital textbooks (most structured to least
structured). He pointed out that digital textbooks are one of
the first steps toward virtual learning and are always up to
date.
8:29:38 AM
MR. FLECKENSTEIN turned to Personalized Learning, a multi-tiered
system of supports, including acceleration and intervention. It
has adaptive content and assessment and maximizes the benefits
of technology and instruction. He shared data about the number
of ASD students in personalized learning for math and language
arts. He listed several programs they use. He noted growth of
1.5 years to 2 years with the use of these programs.
8:32:32 AM
MR. FLECKENSTEIN discussed Virtual Choice; anytime, anywhere,
any pace instruction. It consists of fully online courses. He
shared the metrics related to the use of ASD Virtual Choice -
Apex and iSchool. He related the amount of bandwidth that ASD
currently has and what it will have in May of 2017. It will
double in May and the cost will be reduced due to a new
contract. He noted the State Educational Technology Directors
Association (SETDA) recommendation for connectivity.
8:35:33 AM
MR. FLECKENSTEIN concluded with issues regarding ASD virtual
learning investments, including connectivity, device refresh,
curricular updates, and professional development. He stressed
the importance of the teacher's role.
8:37:49 AM
DAN WALKER, Superintendent, Lower Kuskokwim School District
(LKSD), presented information about LKSD's distant learning
network. He described LKSD and showed pictures of what distant
learning looks like in a teaching studio. He shared the
connectivity abilities of their broadband, which is prioritized
to ensure that video conferencing is the priority. He showed
several slides of students in remote villages taking classes.
MR. WALKER shared innovative programs taking place in LKSD, such
as robotics and Lego League teams. He described the logistics of
providing distance education over 21,000 miles. He talked about
the USDA Rural Utility Services grants that help offset some of
the cost of equipment. Those monies are coupled with foundation
funds to stay current with technology.
He described the amount of bandwidth in the district; a 300Mbps
connection to the Internet, which averages out to about .07Mbps
per student. The national standard is 1Gbts of internet
connectivity per 1000 students. LKSD is at 7 percent of that. He
concluded by stressing the importance of the state's involvement
with funding broadband. The district pays about $28 million a
year for internet and wide area network connectivity with 90
percent of that reimbursed through the E-rate program. He noted
the district does not share its dedicated bandwidth with the
communities.
8:46:24 AM
CHAIR HUGHES thanked Mr. Walker and commented that he is doing a
lot with a little.
8:46:32 AM
TY MASE, Superintendent, Lake & Peninsula School District
(LPSD), presented information on targeting student success
through university collaboration and tutoring interventions. He
described LPSD, a district that does not have fiber and where
all internet is operated by satellite. He said they rely on on-
line tutoring and counseling, in-district and out-of-district
online courses. They also have on-line professional development
offered through Adobe Connect. He showed a video of student use
of university collaborations and interventions.
8:51:46 AM
MR. MASE noted the district works with several universities for
on-line tutoring for 50-plus students every week. He shared that
they have over 70 students taking in-district online courses and
several dozen doing out-of-district courses.
He concluded that they do a lot with what they have and are very
proud about what they do. He noted they are struggling to
maintain their programs and budget and grant cuts would put them
in jeopardy.
CHAIR HUGHES thanked Mr. Mase.
8:54:05 AM
ROB PICOU, Ph.D., Superintendent, Lower Yukon School District
(LYSD), presented information on technology access and cost in
LYSD. He described the school district and shared their learning
goals and how much bandwidth is needed at each goal level. He
described the need for high-speed connectivity and how far LYSD
is from having it.
He noted connectivity has been improving in rural Alaska since
2013, however, LYSD is not meeting the minimum 100kbps/student
goal. He showed a graph of what is needed for basic internet
service per student, 1:1 internet, media rich environments, and
the levels currently in each LYSD community. He noted last year
they were well below the minimum; this year they have increased
from 5 Mbps per school to 15 Mbps per school.
He shared their goals for the future and mentioned that their
schools have significant dead spots.
8:59:23 AM
DR. PICOU commented on the cost for inadequate and adequate
broadband access. He said 90 percent of their cost is paid by E-
rate. He broke down the current costs per student. He quoted the
Atlantic Journal 2015 regarding Alaska's Disconnected Schools:
"On average, K-12 schools have 246 kbps of internet connectivity
- a third of what most people on the mainland U.S. need to
stream Netflix."
9:00:56 AM
DR. PICOU concluded with observations on the limits to basic
network usage and LYSD's needs:
Limited to basic network usage.
Extremely limited on internet based applications.
To accomplish a single video call, live with other
schools in the District or outside of the District,
requires prioritization of traffic. When providing a 2
Mbps video conferencing priority, we take those 2 Mbps
from our total and restrict access to students all
across the district. The Kbps for each student is
reduced.
Synchronous distance learning, such as video
conferencing, and asynchronous distance learning, such
as web-based credit recovery programs are very
challenging without greater broadband access.
Limited Expertise and Leadership.
LYSD needs a significant investment in networking
infrastructure, which includes access points, hardware
in the hands of students, learning applications, and
staff development.
AMY EAKIN, Director of Technology, Northwest Arctic Borough
School District (NWABSD), presented information on broadband
access and programs in NWABSD. She said NWABSD provides several
types of virtual education for students region wide: video
teleconferencing, Canvas - a learning management system, Acellus
- a supplemental virtual blended learning program, and adaptive
language arts and mathematics curriculum. She concluded that
NWABSD will continue to provide virtual education to serve
students living in remote areas in NWABSD's isolated
geographical area. Virtual education allows equal access to high
quality, rigorous education to all students. She described the
increase in broadband services over the past five years.
She maintained that the district has an increased need for staff
and training, higher bandwidth needs and lower latency networks.
The district will continue to find innovative ways to provide
the best education to students as possible. She contrasted their
small amount of connection compared to Anchorage and stressed
that they are in dire need of better infrastructure for their
region.
9:07:35 AM
BRETT AGENBROAD, Superintendent, Pribilof School District (PSD),
presented information regarding PSD's broadband capabilities. He
described his school district's small size and remote location.
He said TelAlaska is providing satellite services and described
upload congestion problems. He noted they do not have many
distant opportunities; they mainly use internet for student
assessment - programs such as STAR, Dibbles, Publishers
Information, and MAP testing. They have very little virtual
learning. They have problems with teacher turnover and the
difficulty of finding a highly qualified math teacher. They use
standardized, canned programs that provide math courses. The
district has to reduce its use of the internet while the math
classes are going on. The six faculty have a hard time watching
videos for staff development due to congestion problems.
9:12:05 AM
MR. AGENBROAD said internet costs run about $34,000 per month.
Those costs are covered by E-rate, grants, and district funds.
He requested that his faculty write testimonials regarding
internet use problems. He read several letters showing problems
due to lack of connectivity. He concluded that it is not an
option to use virtual education in the PSD.
9:15:15 AM
CHAIR HUGHES thanked Mr. Agenbroad and said they understand his
frustration over load times.
She asked all presenters to write down the questions the
committee members will now ask and respond to them.
She began by asking how much it would cost to bring
infrastructure up to the point they need. She also asked whether
districts have looked into the new E-rate infrastructure
programs and are expecting to access the USDA utility grants.
9:16:29 AM
SENATOR BEGICH asked what impact a Quintillion fiber optic line
would have in lowering costs of delivering internet to areas
that extended beyond Kotzebue, past Bethel, and into Lake &
Peninsula area.
9:16:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER asked how many providers for internet are
in the area and what connectivity is in the community, in
general.
CHAIR HUGHES noted that these questions can be found later on
akleg.tv.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked, in a perfect world, will distance
education be able to bridge the gap between structure and
discipline and that of higher achievement - educationally.
9:18:08 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked what the goal is regarding equality and
equity.
9:18:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked if there is a relationship between
the ability to retain highly qualified teachers and the amount
of broadband available to the school, district, and community.
9:19:31 AM
ROBERT WHICKER, Ph.D., Consortium of Digital Learning (CDL),
Alaska Association of School Boards, began his presentation
about broadband use in school districts. He said broadband is a
crucial aspect moving forward to modernize the way we educate
our children.
CHAIR HUGHES asked if Dr. Whicker wanted to answer the
committee's questions.
DR. WICKER suggested he provide basic information about
technology and bandwidth from his wide education experience. He
shared his background as a teacher/coach, principal,
superintendent, homeschool support director, and charter school
dean of students over 40 years. He emphasized that technology
and bandwidth has been at the center of all that.
He said he has also worked for a major technology company as a
business education development executive in eight states and
worked with the smartest people in educational technology in
those states. During that time, he helped initiate AASB's
Consortium for Digital Learning (CDL), a national model. He said
he has also served on the Alaska Statewide Broadband Task Force.
He stated, "With all of that, I've learned that the more I study
and learn, and the older I get, the less I know." He maintained
that there are not simple answers. He thanked the committee for
taking on this challenge and serving the state.
DR. WHICKER noted that he has a Ph.D. from the University of
Alaska Fairbanks in Transformational Leadership in Technology.
His cohort of students included Dr. Pam Lloyd, Dr. Mark
Standley, and Dr. Larry Ledoux. He said they all studied the
one-to-one laptop programs in Alaska from four different areas.
They gained much knowledge on the status of schools with digital
learning, teacher perspectives, broadband utilization, and
practices that support or detract from successful
implementations.
He said he is not a technical expert, although he has access to
many. He considers himself a power user and innovator.
DR. WHICKER shared what he learned in the Consortium where they
initiated one-to-one technology programs in over 140 schools. He
said they laid the groundwork where technology is going and has
gone. The successful implementations across the state are ones
that advanced digital learning by controlling variables that are
under their control and working around those that aren't.
Sometimes that means learning to use the broadband you have in
order to amplify and accelerate learning with the technology
available.
He opined that having enough broadband depends on what the
district wants to do. If we're going to establish a distance
delivery or blended learning model utilizing online learning,
then districts need to establish the kinds of learning
activities they desire for their children, and then get that
bandwidth requirement. He said the best analogy he has is that
"we need a highway that has enough lanes to keep things moving
for the traffic that uses it."
He noted that the thirst for more broadband is constant and
never ending and we are impatient with it. Slow internet is
painful, waiting for content on the web as it buffers or times
out. In a learning environment, on-task time is very precious;
students waiting for buffering or long log-in times waste
learning time. In schools, network management of that precious
bandwidth helps in reaching goals. Internal connections and Wi-
Fi networking also need to be optimized, but the bandwidth and
the network management determine the learning activity for the
child. The teacher does not get to make the decision.
9:26:10 AM
DR. WHICKER turned to a handout with four examples regarding use
of bandwidth in instruction and important lessons learned:
• An on-site adult to supervise learning and who is
good with kids is crucial, success of coursework is
greatly dependent on that person.
• Streamlined administration through a central
provider (in this case the Academy) takes much effort
off, and provides needed expertise to the end-user
site. He noted four districts that have worked hard in
this area through the Digital Initiative Program:
Kodiak, Ketchikan, Kenai, and Copper River.
• Constant communication between the provider and
onsite is needed, relationships must be established
with both teacher and student.
He noted school districts are doing some great things. He used
Kodiak Island School District as an example. He also mentioned
other districts use video conferencing studios and mobile robots
using telepresence.
9:27:55 AM
DR. WHICKER stated that barriers to the use of broadband in
schools fall into two categories - technical/physical barriers
and non-technical barriers. Technical/physical barriers are
those such as satellite latency and student access to physical
hardware. Non-technical barriers are those such as lack of
technical expertise, cost of broadband, implementation without
adequate support system, and ill-suited desires to use
technology without an adequate amount of bandwidth available.
DR. WHICKER pointed out that there is a series of Gavel to Gavel
TV spots on districts that emphasize innovations and
efficiencies, most all having technology and the use of
broadband as an integral component. He said that schools most
always max out the broadband they have and when they get more,
they use it for meaningful activities. The availability of
enough broadband and the network management of it often
determines how a student learns digitally. The majority of
Alaska's students do not have access to a device-per-learner
environment. There is also a large discrepancy on student access
to broadband for rural schools for several reasons. Many
districts in the state see 1) the use of technology and
broadband with 2) a high-quality teacher, in (3) a classroom or
remotely, as being crucial to delivering quality educational
opportunities to Alaska's children.
He provided a handout of his presentation to the committee and
said he is available for further questions.
CHAIR HUGHES requested his contact information. She noted the
committee's desire to hear the broad range of broadband use,
from meaningful successes to challenges. She drew attention to
written submissions from the following school districts: Juneau,
Nome, Nenana, Bristol Bay, North Slope, and Hoonah.
9:32:11 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Drummond adjourned the joint meeting of the Senate and
House Education Standing Committees at 9:32 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| InternetAccessInAlaskaSchools2014+ConnectAlaskaRecommendations.pdf |
SEDC 2/6/2017 8:00:00 AM |
|
| Testimony Graphic.pdf |
SEDC 2/6/2017 8:00:00 AM |
|
| 2.6.17 Joint Education Committee Broadband ASA.pdf |
SEDC 2/6/2017 8:00:00 AM |