American Youth Policy
Forum: Connecting Kids to Technology: Challenges and Opportunities- DC Hill
– July 18th
- Sponsored
by, The Benton Foundation, the Anne E. Casey Foundation, and the Education
Technology Think Tank
- The
American Youth Policy Forum (www.aypf.org)
is a non-profit, nonpartisan professional development organization that
bridges youth policy, practice and research for professionals working on
youth policy issues at the national, state and local levels.
- Panelists
included:
- Representative Major Owens
(D-NY), founder and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus’ Education
Braintrust and a pioneering champion of Congressional efforts to
accelerate digital opportunities for the underserved. He welcomed the guests and kicked off
the program
- Mentioned
major Initiatives:
- Digital
Promise
- Digital
Opportunity Investment
- Gates
5M to link Universities to schools
- States
picture painted not “real”
- Even
if wired not used
- Even
if computers- low income culture for use and up keep has not been looked
at
- Mentioned
programs that work:
·
Only funding that may still be around in 2003 is 15M
for Technology in housing
·
Tony Wilhelm
from the Benton Foundation and Felipe M.
Floresca, with the Anne E. Casey Foundation, discussed the findings from a
new study their respective organizations have jointly produced. “Connecting Kids to Technology: Challenges
and Opportunities,” A KIDS COUNT Snapshot Report, contains state-by-state data
reports showing a large, persistent gap between kids connected to technology
and kids who aren’t, despite the nationwide increase in computer and Internet
access during the late 1990’s.
- Since
1981, the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org),
based in Washington DC, has worked to realize the social benefits made
possible by the public interest use of digital technologies. Through its projects, the nonpartisan
organization seeks to advance a public interest vision for the digital
age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social
problems.
- Tony
Wilhelm, Ph.D., Vice President for Programs, The Benton Foundation (tony@benton.org) , joined the Benton
Foundation in 1999. Previously,
he was director for information technology research at the Tomas Rivera
Policy Institute, a public policy think tank located in Southern
California. His book, Democracy in the Digital Age,
was published in 2000 and has been widely hailed by scholars and Internet
practitioners. In 1999 Wilhelm
spearheaded the Benton Foundation’s launch of the Digital Divide
Network, a corporate, foundation and nonprofit collaborative to bridge
the technology gap. Recently,
he was named a finalist for the inaugural World Technology Award for
Media & Journalism, an award given by the London-based World
Technology Network. He’s on the
advisory board of Intel’s Computer Clubhouse Project and has published
numerous articles, essays and op-eds in the academic and mainstream
press. He earned a doctorate
from Claremont Graduate University and has a BA and MA in government
from the University of Virginia.
- The
Annie E. Casey Foundation is a Baltimore-based private charitable
organization dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged
children and families in the US.
In addition, to its annual national KIDS COUNT Data Book, the
Casey Foundation also supports a network of state-level KIDS COUNT
projects that provide more detailed community-by-community data on the
condition of children.
- Recent
employment projections from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that
8 of the 10 fastest growing occupations are computer-related
- Federal
program cuts diminish the ability of neighborhoods to address the DD
- Summary
of KIDS COUNT SNAPSHOT (resources found at end of summary)
- The
term Digital Divide entered our nations vocabulary in the mid-1990’s
focusing on computer and Internet access
- Now
focus on the Internet ABC’s – Access, Basic Training and Content
- Access
of computers at home (as well as other educational resources) have
been shown to increase academic success in math and science—also
computers in home associated with higher test scores in reading, even
after controlling for income and other factors
- Project
TELL, a long running demonstration research project in NY city,
tracked students from 1990-1997.
Students involved in an online learning community – with access
to home computers and networking availability substantially
outperformed a control group on standardized reading and math tests.
- Research
shows that home access to technology can improve education outcomes
for at-risk children makes it even more important that policy makers
ensure that these children can take advantage of these powerful tools.
- Access
the most talked about – since easiest to measure
- Only
1/3 of households with children in families with less than 15,000
income had a computer 2001
- Between
1993-2001, children (3-17) having computers at home increased from 32%
to 71%
- Data
from 9-2001 show that 25% of school age children were able to access
computers at school even if not one at home
- 7%
of teens (14-17) and 16% of kids (5-9) had no access to computers at
either home nor school
- Internet
access is still low
- Less
than 60% of children with home computer access as use Internet
- Still
increasing- 2001 shows 41 % have Internet access at home verses 11% in
1997
- Demographics
of Access:
- Income:
- 95%
households with 75,000 or+ have computer at home (2001) and 63% had
Internet access
- 33%
of households with 15,000 or less (2001) and 14% had Internet access
- According
to Becker (CA: Irvine) low income use home computers for games
whereas higher income use it for word processing, school assignments
and software other applications
- Reasons:
- More
parental involvement needed
- Teachers
need higher PD and expectations for this group
- Race
(2001) & Family Type
- Non
Hispanic White 83% had home computer and 50% Internet access
- Black
46% home computer and 25% Internet access
- Asian
81% home computer and 52% Internet access
- Hispanic
47% home computer and 20% Internet access
- 79%
w/ computer at home with married parents (overall) and 47% Internet
and 49% with single mother and 27% w/ Internet
- Location:
- 2000
– 53% had home computer (24% Internet) if lived in city compared to
61% (29% Internet) in rural area and 73% (35% Internet) in suburbs
- All
states in Northeast have high access also Minn and Colorado at 58%
Internet access and Utah 56% --south least access
- www.kidscount.org
percentage of houses with computers and Internet map
- Teacher
training is a critical element of effective classroom technology use
and must be supported at all levels—also high level appropriate
content
- In
1999, states had passed technology standards for students and 26 had
introduces standards for teacher certification and re-certification
- Felipe
M. Floresca (fmfloresca@earthlink.net)-
is presently serving as a private consultant specializing in public
policy and government affairs.
Among his clients are the Anne Casey Foundation, National
Economic Development & Law Center (NNSP Ford Foundation Project),
and Chief of Staff for Policy at the United States Department of Labor
and also as a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary, Employment
& Training. He was a member
of several White House Domestic Policy Council working groups. He received his formal education at
brown University, The Harvard/Antioch Policy Center and Fordham
University. He received past
fellowships from the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Robert
F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation.
- Ron Skinner, (one of our own-current EDPL doctoral students!) from the
publication Education Week, presented the findings that were complied in
their special report “Technology
Counts 2002: E-defining Education.” The fifth edition of Education
Week’s annual 50-state report on educational technology focuses on how
state and district e-learning initiatives-such as online teaching and
testing , virtual schools, and Web-based curricula-are changing the
education landscape. The report
also includes the latest state-by-state data on access, capacity, and use
of technology in America’s public schools.
- One
study looked at Florida Virtual School
- Grades
9-12
- 44
teachers
- 5000
students
- 79%
white/non Hispanic
- 14%
Hispanic or AA
- 37%
home schools
- 8%
private
- 55%
public
- can
take at three paces:
- standard
- accelerated
- extended
- Ron
Skinner (rskinner@epe.org) is a
Research Associate at Editorial Projects in Education, publisher of
Education Week. His research
efforts focus primarily on state-level education policy for the annual
reports Quality Counts and Technology Counts. Ron has a master’s degree in political science/public
policy from the University of Central Florida and is currently pursuing a PhD in
Education Policy from the University of Maryland.
- Dr. Ronnie Lowenstein, President
of the Education Technology Think Tank (ET3), shared the vision, action
strategies and successful program efforts of the TEC Watch Alliance, a
Digital Opportunity Initiative being piloted in the NY City borough of
Brooklyn.
- The
Education Technology Think Tank (ET3), established in June 1997 as an
affiliate organization of the nonprofit Minority Legislative Education
Program, Inc. (MLEP), has worked to ‘close the digital divide’ by
promoting forums stakeholders of education and technology and by
catalyzing private public technology partnerships as the strategy for
education and economic empowerment.
- ET
Think Tank
- On
going information exchange
- Access
needed in homes
- Technology
used as a tool important
- Formed
nonprofit with MLEP
- AYPF
www.aypf.org
- Ronnie
B. Lowenstein, Ed.D., is Staff Advisor, Education and Technology, Office
of Representative Major R. Owens (RBL50@aol.com)
703 448 6022. She is a
consultant who has pioneered interactive technologies as tools of
societal transformation, and championed technology partnerships as the
strategy of change. Her thirty-five
year career has spanned the realms of research, policy and practice at
local, state and national levels.
Since 1996, she has co-authored three books on Technology
Partnerships and conducted a variety of workshops on partnership
development process around the country.
Currently, Ronnie serves both as an Advisor to a variety of
clients, including U.S. Congressman Major Owens (Brooklyn-NY), and as
the president of the non-profit collaborative, the Education Technology
Think Tank (ET3) that promotes Technology to Empower Communities both
nationally and locally. Various
appointments to editorial boards, national task forces and executive
boards, such as SECME Alliance and the Southern Initiative of the Algebra
Project, further confirm her commitments to equity initiatives. Ronnie earned her doctorate from
Virginia Tech (Go Hokies), and has a BA and MA from Brooklyn College and
Patterson College respectively.
- Benton
Foundation’s (www.benton.org) mission
(regarding digital technology) is to advance a public interest vision for
the digital age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving
social problems.
- OneWorld
US, (www.oneworld.net/us) an initiative in partnership with
OneWorld International, a global portal on human rights and sustainable
development, creates daily Web sites on global trends in development and
human rights.-joined The New York
Times and Associated Press
– on Yahoo!’s “World News” section,
bridging nonprofit perspectives on global issues to a mass audience.
- The
Independent Sector reports that 86% of nonprofits utilize some form of
IT. There is a growing consensus
that IT can increase efficiencies and enhance communications when used appropriately.
- In
2001 the Benton Foundation launched its Strategic Communications in the Digital Age Web site as a
resource for nonprofit technology leaders to guide appropriate and
effective technology use.
- The
DD Network (www.digitaldividenetwork.org)
is an outlet for nonprofits
and policymakers to share experiences about “best practices” through its
“Voices of the Net”
section.
- The
Teens and Technology Roundatable (TTR)-
looks at issues of underserved teens and technology
- Two
reports of interest: Charting the
Digital Broadcasting Future (2001) and Partners in Public Service (link to or download—need to get)
- In
the era of new federal priorities and a weak economy, the massive
technology investments of the 1990’s are threatened. Our aim is to help preserve these
funding streams to sustain fragile new initiatives.
- The
Benton Foundation in collaboration with the Center fro Children and
Technology (CCT) in NY, continued to support a multi-billion-dollar federal
E-Rate that provides digital access to underserved students.
- In
November 2001 Benton and CCT released a research study, funded by the
Joyce Foundation evaluating the
use of technology in classrooms. Their results caused them to focus on:
- Bridging
the gap in PD for teachers
- Address
the need for new curricula and materials to efficiently leverage the
hugh influx of hardware into schools.
- Maintain
a quality educational program with significantly reduced public and
private funding.
- Our
DD Network, in partnership with OneWorld International’s New
Delhi-based South Asia center, will launch the Digital Opportunity
Channel in spring 2002 to help bridge the DD in the developing “world”.
- The
foundation with CCT will explore issues related to the sustainability
of educational technology in K-12 schools through a new 1-year grant
from the Joyce Foundation.
- Other
websites mentioned: Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org) and
Sound Partners for Community Health (www.soundpartners.org)
- Their
3 interrelated P’s are:
- Communication
Policy analysis and engagement in the public interest
- Best
Practices in the use of communication tools and resources for nonprofit
organizations
- The
Production of new media models, especially knowledge networks for
education and solving social problems
Benton Foundation continued:
- Federal
Retrenchment on the Digital Divide: Potential National Impact, overall
from Policy Brief No. 1 April 2002
- “Few policy issues today provide such
enormous potential for improving the quality of life as access to and
effective use of digital media.
Indeed, empowering all people with the ability to use digital media
may help to address longstanding educational, economic and civic
challenges. Whether in school, the
community or the workplace, a baseline familiarity with IT is necessary
for success.” Charles Benton, Chairman of the Board and Andrea Taylor,
President
- National
IT funding reached an all time high in 2001 (from 1995-2001)
- New
administrator’s budget proposal in 2003 calls for eliminating 2 critical
digital opportunity programs:
- The
U.S. Department of Educator’s Community Technology Centers Program (CTC)-
provides matching grants that leverage state, local and other resources
to create and improve technology access facilities in low income and
rural communications.
- FY
2001 Funding rises to an all time high of 65 M
- FY
2002 Administration requests elimination as part of technology program
consolidation in the No Child Left Behind Act; Congress continues to
fund CTC programs (32.5M)
- FY
2003 slated for elimination; possible rescission of FY 2002 funds
- Of
people using the Internet outside of the home in 2000-for example, I
community centers and libraries-32.2 % were using it to take courses and
4.3 M people used the Web to search for jobs. The public is using the
Internet in beneficial ways.
Low-income job seekers, in particular, are striving to improve
their skills and fill vacant positions in a time of massive layoffs and
economic uncertainty.
- U.S. Department of Commerce’s
Technology Opportunities Program
(TOP)-provides grants to programs that demonstrate innovative uses of
technology in underserved communities.
- This
grant provides matching funds for projects that use technology in
innovative ways to solve social problems and improve access to
telecommunication tools and networks to underserved communities. Since 1994 program has awarded ~530
grants = 192.5 M
- FY
2001- funding for TOP increases to an all time high of 42.5 M
- FY
2002 the administration requests and Congress appropriates only 15M for
TOP, a 65% drop
- FY
2003 the administration proposes TOP be eliminated
- Reason
for cuts-administration feels Americans are gaining access already to
computers and the Internet-therefore, government role can be cut
- CTC
programs are seen as unnecessary since such activities can be carried out
by larger state block grants.
Benton feels blocks grants, such as 21st Century
Learning Centers Programs do not allow funds to be used to support fully
dedicated community technology centers serving a wide range of clients,
including preschoolers, senior citizens, immigrants and the unemployed,
with extended hours and a broad range of services. Additionally, the
federal funds dedicated to ED Tech in general are being cut with 17 %
less requested in FY 2003 than available in 2001.
- Benton’s
brief-reaction—impact of budget cuts to federal investments to bridge the
DD
- The
DD is wider than ever
- Community
technology centers are paying off
- Funding
for technology activities under state block grants is insufficient and
excludes many groups
- Effective
social use of rapidly emerging technologies requires continual
demonstration, particularly in underserved communities.
- Federal
cuts is very likely to dampen economic and community development
- The
Benton Foundation’s independent analysis of the commerce report reveals
that the DD is not narrowing.
- 1
in 4 of America’s poorest households were online in late 2001-compared
to 8 in 10 homes earning over $75,000 per year.
- Hispanics
(31.8%) and AA (39.8%) lag behind whites (59.9) in Internet access at
home, suggesting serious ethnic and racial divides.
·
Other resources:
o Litan,
Robert E., and Alice M. Rivlin. Beyond
the Dot.Coms: The Economic Promise of the Internet. Washington, DC: Brookings
Institution, 2001.
o Executive
Office of the President of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The Budget of the U.S. – FY 2003. Washington
DC: GPO, February 2002. Available at hppt://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/.
o U.S.
Department of Commerce. A Nation
Online. Washington DC: US Dept of
Commerce, 2002. Available at: http://www.nita.doc.gov/ntiahome.dn/anationonline2.pdf
o U.S.
Department of Commerce. Falling Through
the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion, Washington DC: U.S. Department of Commerce,
2000. Available at: http://www.nita.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/.
o Chow,
Clifton, Jan Ellis, June Mark, and Bart Wise.
Impact of CTCNetAffilates: Findings from a National Survey of Users of
Community Technology Centers. Newton, MA: Educational Department Center, Inc.,
1998. Also available at http://www.ctcnet.org/impact98.htm. Results show that 65% of respondents took
classes at a technology center to improve their job skills. Of the job-seekers surveyed, 43% surveyed,
43 % said they had either gotten a job or were a lot closer to it as a result
of using the technology center.
o Macias,
Elsa, Sara Jones, Mary Buck, Carlos Solis and Richard Cutler. Network Technologies in Hispanic-Serving
Organizations: A Case Study Approach. Claremeont, CA: Tomas Rivera Policy
Institute, 2001. Avaialable at http://www.trpi.org/top2.html
o 21st
Century Community Centers (CCLC’s) may be found at http://www.ed.gov/21stcclc
o TOP’s
Web Site at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top/grants/briefhistory_gf.htm
o Crandell,
Robert W., and Charles L. Jackson. The
$500 Billion Opportunity: The Potential Economic Benefit of Widespread
Diffusion of Broadband Internet Access. Washington D.C. Criterion Economics,
L.L.C, 2001. Available at http://www.criterioneconomics.com
o T.O.R.C.H.
Program – NSBE Technical Outreach Community Help www.nsbe.org
Miscellaneous cyberschool resources:
- www.figurethis.org – Looking for a
way to have fun while testing your knowledge? This site provides mathematics challenges, and tests your
knowledge in algebra, geometry, measurements, statistics and
probability. Funded by NSF and US
DED
- www.muohio.edu/Dragonfly/ -
learn how to make models (sun or genetic code etc…) –collaborative effort
at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) started with NSF funds
- www.number2.com – free SAT/ACT
preparation- includes tutorials and vocabulary builder
- www.pbs.org & www.zoom.org – PBS kids are ready to learn
and kids fun pages
- www.madsci.org/ - 3 parts- 1. Ask A
Scientist: online archive of questions and answers; 2. MAD Labs: fun labs;
and 3. MadSci Library: Locate science sites and WWW resources.
- www.InnerBody.com/htm/body.html
- Human Anatomy online. Fun and
interactive. Animations and descriptive links. Java enhanced
- http://www.thetech.org/robotics/
- Robots! History ethics and innovations- videos and interactive games
- http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/explorer.html
- Explorasuas- time when dinos were real. Virtual earth science museum