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LATEST NEWS
October 2008
SUPPORT NEEDED
As you make plans to bring your "grassroots" to Washington this Spring,
please plan to include advocating for FY 2010 funding for the new
National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital
Technologies.
We are thrilled that the new National Center, a
Congressionally-originated non-profit organization in the Department of
Education, was created in August with the enactment of the
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. However, the National
Center cannot achieve its goal of transforming America's education,
workplace training, and lifelong learning without appropriations from
Congress. We will need your help to secure these appropriations. Our
plan is to request funding of $50 million for FY2010.
So, as you plan your events in Washington this Spring, as well as other
advocacy activities, please remember to include the Digital Promise
Project. A summary of our request is available here. Briefing book and other materials are available on request. Please contact Janet Hall Werner at janet@hallgovrel.com for copies or if you have any questions.
October 2008
A new study conducted by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project finds that virtually all American teens play
computer, console, or cell phone games and that the experience is rich
and varied, with a significant amount of social interaction and
potential for civic engagement. This study provides further evidence
that new technologies are capable of transforming learning in the
workplace, in school, and out of school. To view the full pdf report,
click here.
August 2008
An op-ed in The Courier-Journal (Louisville) praised Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) for recognizing the need
for educational R&D and spearheading the passage of Digital Promise
legislation that will help address this critical need.
VICTORY!
Digital Promise Passed by Both Houses Of Congress
and President Signed it into Law!
August 2008
On
Thursday, July 31, 2008, Digital Promise was passed by both the House
and Senate as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
It was signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008.
Congratulations
to all members of the Digital Promise team and thank you to all of our
loyal and enthusiastic supporters and coalition members! It could
not have been done without you! And special thanks to those
members of the Education Committees of the House and Senate whose
leadership made the National Center happen: Representative John
Yarmuth, of Louisville, Kentucky and Senators Chris Dodd of
Connecticut and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and their dedicated
staffs.
The new program is entitled the
"National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital
Technologies." It is a Congressionally originated 501(c)(3)
nonprofit corporation located within the Department of Education.
It will have a nine-member independent Board of Directors appointed by
the Secretary of Education from nominations by members of
Congress. Grants and contracts will be awarded on merit, and
policies will be developed following the tested procedures of NSF and
NIH. Given its status as a non-profit, independent corporation,
the Center will be able to receive grants, contracts, and philanthropic
contributions, as well as federal appropriations. See the National Center section of the bill.
Our
next challenge is to secure FY09 appropriations for the Center.
Because of the delay in passing the Higher Education Act, it was not
possible for appropriations of the, until now, unauthorized National
Center to be included in the Labor, HHS or Education funding bills that
were passed in Committee in June. It is widely expected that
final appropriations for FY09 will not be enacted until early next
year. We are working hard to have funding for the National Center
included in final appropriations legislation. We are requesting
$50 million for FY09.
Again, congratulations and thanks to all for our success in making the Digital Promise a reality.
GOOD NEWS ON THE UPCOMING DIGITAL PROMISE BUDGET
March 2008
Hard
on the heels of the House's passage of the Digital Promise proposal for
a National Center for Learning Science and Technology Trust Fund, comes
encouraging news about the Center's proposed budget.
The
House has now also included specific language supporting the Digital
Promise proposal in its Concurrent Budget Resolution Report (H.Rpt.
110-543), a measure that paves the way to acquire appropriations for
the Trust Fund. That Report provides the blueprint for budget
negotiations coming up. Thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Rep.
John Yarmuth (D-KY), the principal House sponsor of our legislation,
the following language was included in the House Budget Report:
"Increased
funding could be used to enhance funding for the Workforce Investment
Act programs, which provide important job training and assistance. It
could also support training for green collar jobs in renewable energy
and energy efficiency fields. Other aspects of the Democratic
leadership's innovation agenda could also be supported, including math
and science education, development of basic and applied research, as
well as demonstrations of effective approaches to innovative learning
such as those in HR 3631, the Revolutionizing Education Through Digital
Investment Act of 2007." (Emphasis added)
Meanwhile,
the House and Senate are currently meeting in Conference to work out
the differences between their respective versions of the Higher
Education Act. The House version of the Higher Ed authorization bill
incorporates our legislation, H.R. 3631, which we are hopeful will
appear in the final version to be passed by both Houses.
HOUSE PASSES DIGITAL PROMISE LEGISLATION
February 2008
We
are thrilled to report that legislation embracing the Digital Promise
proposal to establish the National Center for Learning Science and
Technology Trust Fund as a pilot program (we had originally labeled the
Center “DO IT”, the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust) was passed by
the House of Representatives by a wide margin on Thursday evening,
February 7.
The College Opportunity
and Affordability Act (HR 4137), authorizes the establishment of the
Center as an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation within the
Department of Education. Under the legislation, the Center will
have its own distinguished nine member board of directors. It
will administer a trust fund for precompetitive basic and applied
research to help transform education, skills training and lifelong
learning for the digital age. It will assess and research
prototypes for innovative digital learning and information
technologies; support pilot testing and evaluation, encourage their
widespread adoption and use, and introduce digital media education
programs for parents, teachers, and children to build technology
literacy. To carry out its activities the Center will award
contracts and grants to colleges and universities, museums, libraries,
public broadcasting entities and similar nonprofit organizations and
public institutions, as well as to for-profit organizations.
The
outstanding and inspired leadership of Congressman John Yarmuth of
Kentucky and his staff was instrumental in making this happen.
With the help of the dedicated support of our nationwide coalition, and
a host of Congressional co-sponsors, Congressman Yarmuth led the effort
to bring our long-standing work to this important step toward final
passage.
The House-Senate Conference on HR
4137 is expected to be completed by the end of this month, with the
bill’s final passage due in early March. To review the actual
language creating the center as included in HR 4137 that was passed on
February 7, click here.
A Bipartisan Task Force that Includes Three Former FCC Chairmen Has Urged Passage of Digital Promise
January 2008
A
prominent bipartisan Task Force that includes three former FCC Chairmen
as well as industry and educational leaders, has urged passage of
Digital Promise and educational digital initiatives for children.
Founding
members of the task force, organized by Common Sense Media, are former
FCC Chairs Michael Powell, William Kennard and Newton Minow. The
task force urged Congress to appropriate revenues from upcoming
spectrum auctions for public interest purposes, including Digital
Promise, in the digital era.
"Television
stations that use the public airwaves are required to serve the public
interest by airing educational children's programming each week," Minow
said. "We believe that part of the proceeds from auctions of the public
airwaves should serve the public interest in a similar fashion to the
Digital Kids Initiative and the Digital Promise project, to help
parents and kids be safe and smart in the new media world, and to
address new opportunities to use technology to improve learning."
Mr. Minow also serves as co-chair of the Digital Promise Project.
Other members of the Task Force include:
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Dr. Geoffrey Cowan – University Professor and Former Dean, The Annenberg School for Communication at USC; Former Director, Voice of America
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Gary E. Knell – President and CEO, Sesame Workshop
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Hon. Rebecca Q. Morgan – Former California State Senator (R); Founding President and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network
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Dr. Ramon Cortines – Deputy Mayor for Education, Youth and Families for the City of Los
Angeles; Former Superintendent of Schools, New York, San Francisco
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Yogen Dalal – Technology Entrepreneur; Managing Director, Mayfield Fund
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Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel – Chair, Department of Bioethics, The Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health
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Marcy Carsey – Founding Partner, Carsey-Werner Productions
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Richard Barton – Leading Internet Entrepreneur; Founder of Expedia.com and CEO, Zillow.com
The Common Sense Media Task Force is organizing a nationwide campaign to carry out its goals.
View the full Common Sense Media press release.
Co-Chairs Newton Minow and Larry Grossman Welcome Anne Murphy as Co-Chair of the Digital Promise Project
January 2008
Digital
Promise Co-Chairs Newton Minow and Larry Grossman are pleased to
announce that the project's executive director Anne G. Murphy will now
serve as Co-Chair of the Digital Promise Project, working
alongside the two of us. Anne has been doing a spectacular job in
the effort to make Digital Promise a reality. The triumvirate of
Co-Chairs Grossman, Minow, & Murphy, together with the
dedicated help of our nationwide coalition of supporters and the
Federation of American Scientists in Washington, DC, look forward to
achieving considerable progress in the months ahead.
Anne's excellent deputy Janet Hall Werner will take over Anne's operating responsibilities for Digital Promise in DC.
Good luck to us all in 2008.
Best wishes for a very Happy New Year to One and All
January 2008
The
First session of the110th Congress saw our Digital Promise initiative
included in the Higher Ed Bill (H.R. 4147) by the House Committee on
Education and Labor. We expect the bill to go the Floor shortly
after Congress reconvenes for the Second session. Conference
negotiations with the previously passed Senate bill will take place in
late February with final passage expected in early March.
Thank you for all your help; together we can pass the finish line in 2008!
H.R. 3631 Incorporated into Higher Ed Legislation
November 2007
We
are happy to report that H.R. 3631, which creates a pilot program to
establish the National Center for Learning Technology as a 501(c)(3)
within the Dept. of Education, was included in the Higher Ed bill
during mark up in the House Education and Labor Committee late
Wednesday night. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. John Yarmuth
(D-KY) incorporates the purposes proposed in the original Digital
Promise legislation and was passed by voice vote. The final bill,
H.R. 4137 was unanimously passed by the full committee Thursday morning
and is expected to be considered on the House Floor shortly after the
Thanksgiving recess.
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) Endorses H.R. 3631; Legislation Continues to Draw Co-Sponsors
October 2007
America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) has endorsed H.R. 3631 and has written a letter to all Members of Congress who serve on the Public Broadcasting Caucus.
Meanwhile, H.R. 3631 continues to gather co-sponsors, with the
addition of Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Christopher Shays (R-CT).
A full list of co-sponsors can be found under our Latest News.
Interest and Support for H.R. 3631 Continues to Spread.
October 2007
New co-sponsors include Congresswoman Lofgren (D-CA), Congressman Lipinski (D-IL) and Joseph Courtney (D-CT).
To see the complete list of supporters please view our Latest News section.
Additional Co-Sponsors Join Congressmen Yarmuth and Regula in Support of H.R. 3631
October 2007
Anna
Eshoo (D-CA) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) have joined the growing
list of Digital Promise supporters. We urge you to express your support
of this vital legislation by contacting your Representative now.
To see the complete list of supporters please view our Latest News section.
CONGRESSMEN
YARMUTH (D-KY) AND REGULA (R-OH) INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO CREATE A
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LEARNING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
September 2007
H.R. 3631 was introduced Thursday, September 20th, by Congressmen Yarmuth (D-KY),
and Regula (R-OH). The Lead Sponsors were joined by Congressmen Kennedy
(D-RI), Honda (D-CA), Boucher (D-VA), Markey (D-MA), Chandler (D-KY),
and Gordon (D-TN). The bill will create a 501(c)3 within the Department
of Education that will be dedicated to the principles outlined in our
Digital Promise proposal. H.R. 3631 Bill Summary
HELP NEEDED
Please e-mail/call/write your Representatives requesting co-sponsorship of this legislation. (Dear Colleague) Time
is of the essence as legislation presently being considered by the
Education Committees could serve as vehicles for passage of our
proposals. A sample letter, email and webpage are available to assist you in making contact as soon as possible.
Should you have any questions, please contact our Executive Director, Anne Murphy at amurphy@fas.org.
Funding Opportunity for Pioneers of Digital Learning Technologies
September 2007
Digital Promise supports HASTAC,
a consortium of humanists, artists, scientists, and engineers, of
leading researchers and nonprofit research institutions committed to
new forms of collaboration across communities and disciplines fostered
by creative uses of technology. In the spirit of innovation and
collaboration, HASTAC is administering an open competition intended to
appeal to pioneers of new digital learning environments. For more
information please visit HASTAC's Digital Media and Learning competition website.
Support Builds for Push to get DO IT Started in this Congress
August 2007
Citing our lagging international standing in learning technologies
investment, education and training’s lowest IT-intensity ranking and
the need for a dependable revenue stream - Humes & Associates calls
for action to support our legislation in It’s a Digital Promise that needs to be kept… To voice your support of this critical initiative write your members of Congress here.
The New America Foundation supports Digital promise “to preserve, update, and expand the public
interest obligations of our nation’s communications infrastructure for
the digital age.” Michael Calabrese, New America Vice President
and Director of the Wireless Future Program, is committed to helping
finance the future of public service media as well as educational
content and innovative software through our coalition’s
legislation. To learn more about how your organization can
support this critical initiative please contact us.
Legislative Update
August 2007
Before
beginning the August recess, the House and Senate approved the
conference report on H.R. 2272, The America COMPETES Act. As you
are probably aware, House Commerce didn’t resolve their differences
with the Speaker in time to insert any provisions in the Innovation
Bill, so language to authorize the Digital Promise Project was not
included. Needless to say we were disappointed.
However,
we are working on alternative measures to enact legislation to
authorize a pilot program this year, and we remain optimistic!
Stay tuned!
Virtual Worlds Offer New Learning Opportunities
July 2007
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently highlighted the University of New Orleans for offering courses in geography and management in the virtual world Second Life.
Associate dean Merrill L. Johnson says, “The virtual campus was built
mainly for distance education, research, and as a place for
administrators to meet. But the university realized it would be a
good venue for classes should another devastating hurricane strike the
Gulf Coast.” The Digital Promise legislation would provide the
funding for basic research to support virtual worlds and other
innovative learning technologies that increase time on task,
interactive learning and higher order thinking. The research and
development of these technologies offer exciting opportunities for
distance education through flexible dissemination unmatched by
traditional training resources.
Digital Promise Prototype Featured in the Communications of the ACM
July 2007
Immune Attack,
a project developed as a prototype for the Digital Promise Project by
lead coalition member the Federation of American Scientists, was
featured in this month’s edition of the Communications of the ACM, one of the nation’s premier computer science scholarly journal. The article entitled How to Build Serious Games, details the successes and challenges associated with developing Immune Attack’s sophisticated interactive learning technologies which combine 3D
depictions of biological structures and function with advanced
educational technologies to provide an introduction to basic concepts
in immunology for high school and college students.
Latest Legislative Update
June 2007
As
you have undoubtedly read in the news, the House Energy and Commerce
Committee has been very busy with energy legislation and has not yet
taken up the Innovation legislation that is expected to include Digital
Promise provisions. We will alert you as soon as the Innovation
legislation is released.
Coalition Meeting Held on May 9th
May 2007
On
May 9th representatives of many Digital Promise Coalition members
gathered in the U. S. Capitol to discuss legislative action on our
initiative.
Larry Grossman, Co-Chairman, of
the Digital Promise Project opened the meeting reiterating the history
of the project and the significant progress made to date.
Anne
Murphy, Project Director, gave a brief overview of the legislative
negotiations that have developed into a plan of action for this
Congress:
The Leadership of the House and
the Lead Sponsors of the bill have agreed that within the Speaker’s
initiatives on competitiveness a proposal for a pilot program
encompassing the program goals expressed in the DO IT legislation would
be developed with the goal of having documented success prior to the
next scheduled auctions (2011). In order for spectrum funds to be
considered for future funding, it will be necessary to authorize the
pilot under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee and to house the
initiative at the Department of Commerce.
While
we had hoped to have final language at the meeting, the Speakers Office
and the lead staff of the Commerce Committee are still reviewing
jurisdictional issues in order to move forward with this plan.
We
are also working on a parallel track to fund the proposed program
through the appropriations process. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI)
has requested $15 million for the pilot program, and Reps. DeLauro
(D-CT) and Honda (D-CA) have also submitted the appropriations
requests. On the Senate side, we have received a favorable
response from staff for Sen. Mikulski (D-MD) and others, and we are
continuing to meet with appropriations staff in both the Senate and
House to advocate for our request.
Innovation Agenda Released
April 2007
On April 24, Speaker Pelosi reissued the Democrats’ “Innovation Agenda” (full text).
While we do not yet have specific legislative language incorporating
the concepts contained in the Digital Promise proposal, we expect
language to be available for our coalition meeting.
DO IT Coalition Meeting
When: May 9th, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Where: Room HC-6 U.S Capitol Building
(Partial language from the report)
A SUSTAINED COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Independent scientific research provides the foundation for innovation
and future technologies. But U.S. federal funding for research and
development has declined steadily over the last decade, and sound
science has been compromised by political interference. Democrats will
increase the federal commitment to research aimed at developing the
next generation of sound scientific breakthroughs, and we will promote
the public-private partnerships necessary to translate these new ideas
into marketable technologies.
National Coalition Meeting May 9th, 10:00 am
April 2007
When: May 9th, 10:00 – 11:00 am
Where: Room HC-6 U.S Capitol Building
What: A briefing on legislative developments concerning Digital Promise!
Major
developments on Digital Promise legislation are imminent! Come
hear a briefing on our progress and strategy for enactment of DO IT
legislation in this session of Congress!
More details to come!
Analysis of the problems outlined in 'Effectiveness of Reading and Mathematics Software Products' report.
April 2007
The Federation of American Scientists has developed a thoughtful analysis of the problems outlined in the Dept. of Education Report that
underestimates the impact of new technology and software in the
classroom.
On April 19 – 21, Digital Promise Director Anne Murphy participated in “Electronic Techtonics: Thinking at the Interface”
April 2007
Digital Promise Director Anne Murphy participated
in the first international HASTAC Conference at Duke University in
Durham, NC. HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology
Advanced Collaboratory) is a consortium of humanists, artists,
scientists, social scientists and engineers from universities and other
civic institutions across the U.S. and internationally committed to new
forms of collaboration across communities and disciplines fostered by
creative uses of technology. Since 2003, HASTAC has been
developing tools for multimedia archiving and social interaction,
gaming environments for teaching, innovative educational programs in
information science and information studies, virtual museums, and other
digital projects.
We are pleased to announce that PTC and the PTC-MIT Consortium have joined the Digital Promise Coalition!
March 2007
The
PTC-MIT Consortium represents more than 80 organizations with
constituents across the US including: federal & state agencies,
corporations, professional societies, higher education, K-12 education,
groups serving minorities and women, persons with disabilities,
informal science centers, and community education programs. We
are excited to add their support to an already diverse Coalition
dedicated to the principles and premises of DO IT!
"...We must act now"
March 2007
As
the discussion over American competitiveness continues, DO IT is
favorably positioned for action. Speaker of the House, Nancy
Pelosi, recently recommitted herself to the innovation agenda,
stating: “The debate about American competitiveness has been
gaining momentum over the last two years... To be number one,
timing is everything. To meet the challenges of today, and to create
the jobs and economic security of tomorrow, we must act now. In the
coming months, House Democrats will work in a bipartisan way to
implement our Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness to
Keep America #1. . . . Working together, for the common good, there is
no challenge too great for the American people.”
Digital Promise On the Move
The
Digital Promise Team continues to increase its visibility and support
by building alliances with related organizations. Just recently,
Digital Promise Director, Anne Murphy and Henry Kelly, President of the
Federation of American Scientists teamed with OddWorld Inc. Game
Developer, Lorne Lanning in a presentation to the prestigious American
Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) at their annual
meeting in San Francisco.
April 17th,
DP Co-Chair, Larry Grossman, met with industry’s leading creators,
vendors, users, and buyers of learning technology to give the keynote
address at the IMS Learning Consortium's annual conference and Summit on Global Learning Industry Challenges. Mr. Grossman also spoke on the Exploring best practices in government support for ICT panel.
May 8th, we attended the Innovate 2007 Exposition hosted by the Department of Education and Virginia Tech, in Richmond, VA. Please stop by and visit our exhibit!
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