Alliance for Education Emphasizes the Need for Next-Generation Network Internet Speeds In Schools
WASHINGTON, October 27, 2014 – An Alliance for Excellent Education webinar on Tuesday highlighted the integral role that high-speed internet access in schools plays in the success for both the institutions and their students. As highlighted in the Pew Research Center’s recent report, next generation
Former West Virginia Governor and current Alliance president Bob Wise interviewed guest Tom Vander Ark, the Chief Executive Officer of Getting Smart. Ark stressed the importance of high-speed connectivity in schools, homes and public buildings like libraries so personalized learning can take shape throughout the nation. He defined such personalized learning as blended, individualized, adaptive and competency-based learning for the next generation,
Ark emphasized how technology could be used as an amplifier for bridging the digital divide through the recent growth in affordable productivity devices and a future with cheap or free access to high-speed internet. Wise and Ark also talked about the importance of increased E-rate funding. While Ark noted that the government program has done a good job at discounting access, he worried that the amount of funding has not kept pace with the cost of connectivity.
