What Does 21st Century Connectivity Look Like… and Are We There Yet?

“In a country where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, we should definitely demand it in our schools.”  That’s a nice sentiment, Mr. President, but it’s going to take a lot to get there.

The FCC’s E-rate Program serves a key policy lever to build out high-speed connectivity to schools and libraries, but to achieve that goal the program is in desperate need of reform. Yesterday, New America’s Education Policy Program and Open Technology Institute released a brief, Connected Communities in an Age of Digital Learning, which highlights our recommendations for program reform, also including a timeline for E-rate reform efforts.

Today, in New America’s publication, the Weekly Wonk, experts across the fields of education, library sciences, and technology weighed in on how far we still have to go, and why we’re driving there in the first place. (These experts will also be convening this morning at New America to discuss these questions, and more—you can stream online here.) Below are excerpts from the experts:

How far are we from the President’s vision – a country where every library and school is connected to high-speed broadband and thriving?

Reed Hundt, CEO, Coalition for Green Capital; Former Chairman, Federal Communications Commission: At least 100 million Americans do not have broadband at work. These people are retired. Or they are unemployed. Or they have jobs that do not afford them broadband access. That’s about a third of the population. For the adults who do not have broadband at work, almost the only indoor public free Internet access place in the entire civic society is the library.These adults are a big part of the huge demand for free public Internet access that Congress asked the FCC to meet through E-rate.

Lindsey Tepe, Program Associate, Education Policy Program: Over 99 percent of schools in the United States are connected to the Internet. But according to EducationSuperhighway, over 72 percent of K-12 public schools in the United States do not have sufficient Internet infrastructure to support digital learning for their students. How can this be? [...] While schools have may have Internet access generally, connectivity does not extend to classrooms—and rarely is that connectivity fast enough to support digital learning tools for all students.

Some policy skeptics have suggested that the push for high-speed broadband is not necessary, or is primarily needed to support online testing. Do they have a point?

Pamela Moran, Superintendent, Albemarle County Public Schools: If online testing is the only outcome for the use of contemporary technologies, clearly we are wasting our time and money. […] Our students develop agency and voice as they blog, post video projects to YouTube, take online courses, converse with peers and experts around the globe around service learning, collaborate with one another, and connect with resources inside and outside the school walls and beyond the boundaries of state and nation.

Of course, E-rate isn’t just about classrooms – it’s about libraries, too. For years, they’ve served as informal teachers and learning centers for communities. How have new technologies powered by high-speed connectivity changed the mission and identity of libraries?

Susan Hildreth, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Sciences: There is a real paradigm shift happening in libraries as they evolve to meet the changing informational and learning needs of their communities. Libraries have reconfigured their spaces, with fewer stacks and more meeting spaces. Librarians spend more time helping customers navigate the Internet. […] Librarians help immigrants learn to use computers, they mentor teens in digital learning labs, they help customers explore 3D printers in library makerspaces.

Melanie Huggins, CEO, Richland Library, South Carolina: The skill sets library staff need to support the demand for and interest in technology has also changed. Ensuring staff have the training and resources necessary to develop those skill sets is critical for facilitating these new methods of learning and creating.

Greta Byrum, Senior Field Analyst, Open Technology Institute: Being digitally included means confronting unintended consequences—like those related to privacy and security—and libraries are well-positioned to play a supportive role in helping patrons navigating the complex world of information sharing and access.

To view the full article, check out the article, "Learning at Warp Speed," in New America's Weekly Wonk online magazine."