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PREVIOUS STORIES
IMS Global interviews DP Co-Chair Larry Grossman
November 2006
Digital Promise’s newest Coalition Member (IMS Global Learning Consortium) interviews DP Co-Chair Larry Grossman to raise awareness of DO IT’s proposed investment in the research & development of learning technologies.
FAS, NSF, & ESA Announce Groundbreaking Report on Learning Technologies
October 2006
Lead Coalition Member, the Federation of American Scientists, joins the National Science Foundation and the Entertainment Software Association in announcing groundbreaking recommendations calling on government, educators, and business to develop strategies to use video games in education and workforce training. To learn more view the website complete with the Full Report and supporting material.
We welcome IMS Global Learning Consortium as the newest member of the Digital Promise Coalition!
October 2006
Following unanimous board approval IMS Chief Executive Officer Rob Abel proclaimed “Both the United States and the world will benefit from much needed investment in educational and learning technology research”. Welcome aboard! Full text of the press relsease.
Digital Promise Co-Chair Lawrence K Grossman delivers major talk at University of Nebraska
September 2006
Digital Promise Co-Chair Larry Grossman spoke compellingly about the role of the federal government in upholding the public’s interest in the digital era in a major address at a conference focusing on “History in the Digital Age” held at the University of Nebraska on September 22, 2006. Full text of the speech.
Digital Promise Co-Chair Newton Minow Interviewed on C-SPAN
September 2006
Digital Promise Co-Chair Newton N. Minow spoke compellingly about the role of the federal government in upholding the public’s interest in the digital era in a thirty-minute interview to be aired on C-SPAN this Saturday, September 9, at 6:30 PM ET. The program, part of C-SPAN’s “The Communicators” series, will be re-aired on Monday, September 11, at 8:00 AM ET and 8:00 PM ET on C-SPAN2. The interview can also be viewed online here.
Mr. Minow, a well-known expert on media and communications policy, was appointed FCC Chairman in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy and subsequently served as Chairman of the Public Broadcasting Service and board member for numerous commercial media entities and philanthropic foundations. He is currently a senior partner at the law firm of Sidley & Austin in Chicago and professor of media studies for Northwestern University. As FCC Chair, Mr. Minow gave what is now considered one of America’s most famous speeches when he spoke before the nation’s television broadcasters and called their prime-time product a “vast wasteland”. His remarks sparked a national debate over the future of television and defined him as a champion of educational programming and public service.
During the interview, Mr. Minow draws strong parallels between the time when television was the “new frontier” and the new frontier of advanced digital technologies revolutionizing society today. He contends that the government has an obligation to uphold the public’s interest in education, work-force training and lifelong learning as we move forward in the digital era, and that enacting the DO IT legislation is the way for Congress to provide the farsighted leadership necessary to meet that obligation.
Mr. Minow also draws on personal anecdotes and observations from his long career that will appeal to anyone interested in political history – from his friendship with Robert Kennedy that began on the campaign trail for Adlai Stevenson to his conversation with Barry Goldwater to launch the children’s educational program Sesame Street. He also reveals his perspective on partisan politics and comments on many other aspects of telecommunications law and federal regulation, and he exhorts all Americans to take an active role in public service.
Key House and Senate Staff in Audience as Case is Made by Defense Department, Microsoft and FAS officials that DO IT Will Keep America Competitive
June, 2006
We have provided the full presentation via streaming video (click the play button).
Many coalition members were in the audience last Wednesday as Digital Promise Co-Chair Larry Grossman, Federation of American Scientists President Henry Kelly, Senior Defense Department Researcher Dexter Fletcher, Microsoft ’s Senior Manager for Federal Relations Marland Buckner and Walter Cheek, VP of Breakaway Games presented hard research to support the need for the creation of the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust as part of any overall strategy for American competitiveness and innovation in the 21st Century.
Three DO IT-based advanced technology prototypes for learning were presented at the event giving the audience a taste of the kinds of phenomenal new tools for teaching and training that could be developed at a national level if DO IT were created and funded. The prototypes, built under the guidance of the Federation of American Scientists, included: Immune Attack, an advanced educational video game that teaches high school human biology curriculum in a hands-on journey through the human body; Discover Babylon, a virtual reality of ancient Iraq that teaches aspects of culture, history and art such as the invention of writing and the root of all mathematics to 8-14 year olds, built in conjunction with the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore and Multi Casualty Incident Responder, developed in conjunction with the New York City Fire Department, that gives a high-stress highly advanced virtual reality of a mass casualty emergency to train firefighters for coping with dangerous high-rise fires and serve as a national model.
Sponsored by the New America Foundation and emceed by NAF’s Vice President Michael Calabrese, the briefing was held in the Capitol as part of House Innovation Week. Congressional leadership designated innovation as a theme to underscore their commitment to passing legislation this session to help drive American economic strength in the global knowledge economy. There were nearly one hundred attendees including staff from key committees in the House and Senate who will be drafting innovation legislation slated for floor time later this summer.
The event kicked off with a passionate exhortation from DP Co-Chair Larry Grossman for Congress to ensure that our nation’s schools, libraries and museums not be allowed to fall behind in the new digital economy. Mr. Grossman stated the overarching argument that new technology-based learning tools can revolutionize the way we teach and learn just as advanced technologies have transformed our military, entertainment industry, financial services industries and the entertainment sector. Creating new technology-based tools for learning, he continued, will impact every American who will require new skill sets in order to be competitive in the 21st century global workforce.
Dr. Kelly then presented compelling evidence of the effectiveness of new technologies for learning and the pivotal need for Congress to show farsighted leadership in making the investment necessary for the research and development stage. Dr. Kelly said that in previous centuries the government invested in research that resulted in the Morse telegraph, the modern jet engine and the Internet, and in an era where knowledge and information form the bedrock of the economy new technologies for learning and training will be essential to U.S.-led innovation. Dr. Kelly then demonstrated the DO IT/FAS prototypes. Dr. Fletcher followed with an in-depth presentation on how the military uses advanced technology applications such as virtual reality, modeling and simulation for training purposes, and he provided extensive evidence of effectiveness compiled through the DOD’s Institute of Defense Analyses. Mr. Buckner of Microsoft and Mr. Walter Cheek, Vice President of educational video game developer BreakAway Games rounded out the panel with a perspective from business that included additional core recommendations for the government to take a leadership role in coordinating, integrating and investing in a national initiative as defined by DO IT.
To see the Washington Times coverage of the event, please click here. Also, please click the corresponding links to view Dr. Kelly and Dr. Fletcher's full power point presentations.
Senate Briefing Showcases DO IT Prototypes
May, 2006
The May 3rd Senate briefing sponsored the New America Foundation, showcased three FAS/DO IT prototypes as an example of the types of projects that DO IT will fund. Digital Promise Co-Chair, Larry Grossman and the Federation of American Scientists Vice President, Kay Howell highlighted the need for a national investment in learning technologies as proposed in S. 1023 to revolutionize the way we train and learn.
The briefing was well attended by Senate staffers, members of the DP coalition, industry representatives and members of the press. For more information concerning the prototypes & the learning science they are founded on.
Due to the overflowing attendance we will hold a similar briefing in June. Stay tuned!
Dr. Ronald Mason, President of Jackson State University gave a ringing endorsement to the creation of DO IT
April, 2006
Dr. Ronald Mason, President of Jackson State University gave a ringing endorsement to the creation of DO IT in a forum held at the University on April 17-18. The forum was attended by close to one hundred business and civic leaders, educators, scientists and technology experts.
Testimony at Senate Energy Committee Hearing on PACE Bill Endorses Creation of DO IT Trust Fund
February, 2006
Digital Promise Coalition Leader and University of Akron President, Dr. Luis Proenza testified that DO IT would greatly enhance PACE's (Protect America's Creative Edge) ability to fill a large hole in our national research portfolio. Senators Domenici and Bingaman, Co-Sponsors of the PACE bill, as well as Senators Alexander, Allen, Craig, Talent, Thomas, Akaka, Salazar and Menendez were on hand to gain insights from two DO IT Leaders, Proenza and MIT President Emeritus Charles Vest, on how best to leverage and enhance the bill. Chairman Domenici spoke adamantly of sending the PACE bill to mark up quickly. Coalition members with local connections to Senate Energy, Finance, Education and Commerce Committee Members please contact us ASAP so we can talk about how you can add your voice. The PACE bill is already sponsored by 65 senators and provides a great opportunity for DO IT.
Virginia Congressional Leaders Support DO IT
Congressmen Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Sign on as DO IT Co-Sponsors
January, 2006
DO IT begins this New Year with great new support from two senior House Members from Virginia. Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) is a known leader on high-technology issues, an active member of the House Commerce Committee, a member of the House Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet and a Co-Chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus. Mr. Boucher is deeply concerned with the rapid integration of new broadband technologies to improve education, training and workforce development as proposed by DO IT. Congressman Frank Wolf, whose district includes the "Dominion Silicon" corridor of Northern Virginia, is senior member of the House Appropriations Committee where he Chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Commerce and Related Agencies. Mr. Wolf has been an outspoken supporter of increased resources for research, development and innovation for all major U.S. R&D programs and he is keenly aware of the need for specific R&D for education and training if the U.S. is to remain competitive in the 21st Century. We welcome our new House co-sponsors and look forward to their help in positioning DO IT as part of an overall vision for improved research and innovation in the nation.
DO IT Poised for Action in 2006
December, 2006
Upcoming legislative proposals based on two new reports pose excellent opportunities to move DO IT forward in this session of Congress. A definite consensus is forming around the understanding that America has been living off its past investments in our "human" capital (the creation of the NSF, NASA, the GI Bill and the National Defense Education Act as examples) and that we have spent down that capital without a major re-investment for the new digital age. Intensified debate over ways to ensure America's economic competitiveness in the 21st Century took place at the close of session last year when an impressive array of academicians, scientists and corporate and political leaders spoke out about the critical need for increased funding for R&D and innovation to ensure America's economic competitiveness and national security in the 21st Century. Both The National Academies' Rising Above the Gathering Storm and the Council on Competitiveness' Innovate America reports echo critical concerns and the very language expressed by DO IT in our comprehensive report to Congress in 2003.
Our message is clear
1) The gaping hole in the American R&D portfolio at present is R&D specifically designed to transform education, skills training and lifelong learning;
2) Strengthening the U.S. systems of education and training is essential to our economic competitiveness in the new global labor market and digital economy. Our Congressional co-sponsors, coalition and project staff will be working to position DO IT as an integral part of any broader legislative efforts on R&D and innovation.
Internet Founder, Vint Cerf, Supports DO IT
November, 2005
Internet Pioneer Vint Cerf, a Presidential Medal of Freedom Award winner for being one of the original founders of the Internet, has added his voice in strong support of creating DO IT in a recent letter to House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton. In his letter Mr. Cerf says that DO IT can yield enormous public benefits and would reshape learning opportunities for all Americans; he clearly points out that a focused federal research investment in DO IT is essential for maintaining America's economic leadership and security. We urge you to read the letter and use it as part of any communications you are planning with your elected officials or association membership. Awareness and support for DO IT by all Commerce Committee Members is increasing and it is absolutely critical to voice your support!
Digital Promise Coalition Pushes for DO IT's Inclusion in DTV Bill in House and Senate Commerce Committees
September, 2005
The Digital Promise coalition calls on Senators Stevens and Inouye, Co-Chairmen of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Congressmen Barton and Dingell, Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Commerce Committee, to include DO IT in the upcoming DTV bill.
National Coalition Meeting Puts All Hands On Deck for DO IT
August, 2005
On Thursday, August 4th Digital Promise held a national coalition meeting in the historic Lyndon B. Johnson room of the U.S. Capitol to outline a rapid and comprehensive coalition outreach strategy to support passage of DO IT as part of the Digital Television (or DTV) bill that will be taken up by Congress this fall. More than 20 members of the Digital Promise coalition were in attendance for the discussion that was led by the project's Co-Chair Larry Grossman, five of our House and Senate staff leaders from Senators Dodd, Snowe, Durbin, Burns and Congressman Regula's offices and Digital Promise staff. The meeting resulted in strong commitments from our coalition to help us target Members of the House and Senate Commerce Committees with letters and other strategic expressions of support.
DO IT to be considered in the DTV discussions by Commerce Committees
July, 2005
The Senate and House Commerce Committees are presently developing legislation to implement the conversion from analog to digital transmission of the broadcast signal. This DTV bill will mandate a hard date for the conversion and make available for auction most of the spectrum currently used by broadcasters. It is very likely to be passed in some form during this session of Congress.
SENATORS BURNS AND SNOWE, both Republican Members of the Committee and the lead sponsors of DO IT, have told us that inclusion of DO IT in this DTV legislation is one of their main priorities. It would be a great move for DO IT.
This legislation will "score" most of the revenues to come from the spectrum over the next ten years, so it is imperative that we leave no stone unturned in building support for their request to join the two bills.
Lead Senate Sponsors send “Dear Colleague" letter for the introduction of S. 1023
July, 2005
Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Conrad Burns (R-MT) have signed and sent out an impressive "Dear Colleague" letter to their fellow Members of the Senate asking for broad bipartisan co-sponsorship of S. 1023, the Senate DO IT bill reintroduced for the 109th Congress. Their "Dear Colleague" letter outlines the basic purposes of the bill and makes the strong connection between DO IT's proposed investment in R&D for new learning and training technologies and America's economic competitiveness and national security. Many of you have already been working on outreach to the House. The time is now for your targeted help to reinforce the newest "Dear Colleague" letter by reaching out to Members of the Senate and adding a local voice to persuade them to sign on. Please send your letters before Congress leaves for August recess! And please keep us informed of your efforts.
Mark Warner, Chair of the National Governor’s Association praises DO IT.
July, 2005
Testimony at Senate Commerce Committee Hearing Endorses Creation of DO IT Trust Fund as Part of DTV Bill
July, 2005
Two members of the Digital Promise Coalition testified about the urgent need for Congress to create DO IT as part of new rules for national policy governing the spectrum used for television. John Lawson, President of American Public Television Stations and Michael Calabrese, Vice President of the New America Foundation explained the need for DO IT to create advanced learning technologies for the transformation of education before the Senate Commerce Committee at a daylong hearing on Tuesday, July 12. The hearing was held to discuss the policy implications of a full national transition from analog to digital television signal transmission, also known as the DTV transition. The hearing may have critical implications for passage of DO IT. DO IT's Republican sponsors on the Commerce Committee, Senators Snowe and Burns, were on hand as well as other leading Committee Members to hear witnesses from all sectors of the television and spectrum research communities. Lawson and Calabrese pressed on Congress to include the DO IT trust fund in the overall DTV legislation, saying it would be in the best interest of every consumer and the future of television. Both House and Senate Commerce Committees will be working on DTV bills this fall. Coalition members with local connections to House and Senate Commerce Committee Members please contact us ASAP so we can talk about how you can add your voice. We believe we have a major opportunity to get DO IT started here.
Felix Rohatyn Calls for a National Reinvestment in "Intellectual Infrastructure"
June, 2005
In the Wall Street Journal on June 16, Felix Rohatyn, former managing director of Lazares Freres, and the man credited with "saving New York City from bankruptcy", made an intense argument for increased federal spending for long-term investment in both physical and intellectual infrastructure if America is to remain prosperous and competitive in an age of globalization.
"...In addition to traditional physical capital, an even more important component of our infrastructure is our intellectual infrastructure." Rohatyn's definition of "intellectual infrastructure" quotes the need for educational transformation, innovation and R&D, he says, "We cannot compete with China by making cheaper T-shirts or forcing them to revalue the yuan by 10%. We can only do so by fighting tooth and nail for supremacy in education, intellectual capital and R&D.... In 1865, when Lincoln created a system of land grant colleges (which ultimately totaled 213), he initially provided America with 75% of its engineers; when FDR proposed the GI Bill, he allowed millions of young Americans who would not have had a college degree to become the source of our technical and industrial power. Through the years, the Bill has provided $70 billion in aid to veterans. Can anyone doubt that the investment has been returned manyfold?...
Not much of this found its way onto a federal balance sheet. The budget doesn't recognize assts; it only recognizes expenditures and liabilities. The Louisiana Purchase would have been reflected by the debt issued to Napoleon and have resulted in a large deficit. Land grant colleges and the education of GIs were treated as simple expenses. It is bad enough to try to deal with large and growing deficits created by ongoing expenditures, but the process will produce even worse choices if important, albeit intangible, assets are carried as liabilities.
Finland's Model of R&D Investment Pays Off
July, 2005
The Washington Post's series on Finland investigates how reforms in science and education R&D spurred its growing economy.
The following are excerpts from the article:
"Fifteen years ago, Finland faced a full-scale depression, brought on by the loss of the country's most important markets as the Soviet Union disintegrated...they came out of that crisis with an economy that...ranks as the most competitive in the world... Perhaps the most revealing statistic behind this transformation is Finland's commitment to research and development. The Finns put 3.5 percent of their domestic product into R&D last year, second in the world to Sweden (about 4.3 percent) and far ahead of the United States (about 2.6 percent) or the E.U. as a whole (less than 2 percent)."
"This year...the organization will give out more than $10,000 for each Finnish citizen. A U. S. Agency investing a comparable amount per capita would put $300 billion a year into American R&D."
Click here to view the entire article.
Henry Kelly's, President of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), "Bad Time to Limit Research" was printed in the Washington Post
June, 2005
"Sputnik, the explosive growth of Japanese manufacturing prowess and other threats led to major increases in Federal investment in research and education. This paid off handsomely. In the early 1990s, for example half of all patents for electronic components and 80 percent of all patents for drugs and medicine cited federally funded research."
"It's difficult to see that the nation's leaders, who should be reacting to new challenges by strengthening- not cutting - federal research, understand the extent to which out prosperity, security and ability to meet national aspirations… depend on innovation."
Former senators Gary Hart and Warren Rudman outline the need for increased investment in our country's science and education R&D
May, 2005
The following excerpts are from Hart and Rudman's letter to the editor which was published on May 4, 2005 in the New York Times:
"Our systems of basic scientific research and education are in crisis, while other countries are redoubling their efforts."
"Regrettably, our calls for recapitalization of our education base, by doubling the national investment in science and technology, have been as badly neglected as our warnings of the terrorist threat and calls for the creation of a national homeland security agency were."
Lead House Sponsors send “Dear Colleague" letter for the introduction of H.R. 2512
April, 2005
The word is officially out in the House of Representatives! Our lead sponsors, Congressmen Ralph Regula, Ed Markey, Paul Gillmor and Rush Holt sent out a "Dear Colleague" letter about the introduction of HR.2512, the new Digital Opportunity Investment Trust legislation to all Members of the House yesterday asking for co-sponsorship of the bill. As you know, we need local input to bring the DO IT Dear Colleague to the top of the priority list in Member's offices, so now is the time to ask your members to contact their elected officials in the House and personally request co-sponsorship of the bill.
-As of August 4th additonal co-sponsors include Major Owens (D-NY), Nita M. Lowey (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Richard Baker (R-LA)
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