ALTP News February 3, 2001
Edited by Richard Brincefield

Recent ALTP News

Reminder: ALTP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING (OPEN)

Wednesday, February 28, 2001
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. 

• Phoenix: US WEST, 3033 N. Third St., Room 208.09
• Tucson: US WEST, 333 E. Wetmore, Room 323

Dial-in attendance: contact tkraver@qwest.net

ACTION AGENDA         Saturday,  February 3, 2001

Arizona Learning Technology Partnership, Inc.
Governors Strategic Partnership for Economic Development

II. QUEST DEAL FOR 100 MBS TO ALL SCHOOLS IS OFFICIAL. WAY TO GO GANG!!

III. BUSINESS GROUPS OFFER BLUEPRINT FOR IMPROVING SCHOOLTEACHERSV. OMAHA NORTH HIGHSCHOOL IS SPEARHEADING ED-TECHNOLOGY

V. AZ INTERNET E-COM. ASSO: HIGH TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM

X. WISDOM BYTES

I. ALTP BOARD MEETING RESULTS.

The agenda focused on the issues and opportunities raised for ALTP by APNE, GSPED reorganization and E-Learning enterprise. An overview was made of the two prior GSPED board meeting/workshops and the ADOC meeting on Tuesday. The critical issue is the formation of the proposed Arizona Economic Partnership as a coalition of stakeholders for New Economy foundations, economic clusters and Arizona’s economic development organizations. AEP will be responsible for implementing New Economy initiatives. The Arizona Department of Commerce will be reorganized around the learning, leading, linking and living vectors of the New Economy.

The board addressed where ALTP should fit in to this reorganization. The major APNE-ADOC=> AEP e-learning foundation initiative is the e-learning portal. This portal will focus on the narrow curriculum of K-12 teacher professional development and in the broad curriculum of workforce development. But there are many other longer range New Economy issues at work in K-12 education, work force development, higher education, informal use of knowledge-learning, learning technology research, learning technology enterprise, etc. We felt that:

1. ALTP must assure that the definition of E-Learning is kept broad and inclusive off all aspects of information technology support of learning, not just web based distance learning;
2. ALTP should broaden its mission into supporting other critical K-12 issues;
3. ALTP should just support the e-learning aspects of work force development and higher education;
4. ALTP and other GSPED foundation organizations and cluster groups need to be directly linked to the AEP.
5. Four New Economy foundation organizations could be: Technology, Capital and Knowledge (New?), Telecommunications and Information (ATIC), Health Care (New?), Education-Workforce (ALTP);
6. Development of the AEP $250,000 RFP for the Arizona Learning Online initiative could be supported by ALTP;
7. ALTP will start the process to bring learning technology based organizations together to support the next phase of GSPED and AEP.

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II. QUEST DEAL FOR 100 MBS TO ALL SCHOOLS IS OFFICIAL. WAY TO GO GANG!!

A huge round of applause for Governor Hull and the legislators that created Students First, the School Facilities Board for including "technology, infrastructure and equipment" in the guidelines, and to Phil Geiger for making it all happen! Now the details:

High-speed Internet access and streaming video is headed to each Arizona public school. Every public school in Arizona will have high-speed Web access at 100 mgb to the desk top by June of 2003 thanks to a deal done between Qwest Communications International http://www.qwest.com, and the Arizona School Facilities Board (SFB). The 100 mgb can be expanded to one gigabit. The initial roll-out to 100 mgb with capability for 1 gigabit in a year or two was part of the Governor’s Arizona Partnership for the New Economy comprehensive plan.

The broadband service provider has won a $100 million contract to construct and support high-speed local area broadband networks that will provide Web access to Arizona's 228 public school districts with 1222 schools by June 2003, allowing educators to post lessons online. Schools can run a variety of applications requiring significant bandwidth, including full-motion video streaming, e-learning, e-government and other online resources. It will link a district's computers to allow for instant communication and the sharing of documents. Qwest will provide toll-free 24-hour technical support for at least 18 months after installation.

This service does not include charters, private schools or BIA schools. The law does not permit the SFB to serve those schools. An ASP has been added to the bundle so content will be readily available. More than 800,000 students in grades K-12 will benefit.

The deal calls for Qwest to manage every aspect of the project and provide a wide range of services including network consulting, architecture, maintenance and security. Qwest executive vice president Stephen M. Jacobsen says, "Arizona's chools will be among the best connected educational institutions in the country as a result of this agreement."

Putting computers in the schools and creating a computer network system are mandated under Students FIRST (Fair and Immediate Resources for Students Today) legislation. While all districts can benefit from the program, it stands to have the most effect in Arizona's rural districts, said Phil Geiger, executive director of the School Facilities Board. School districts will find out in a conference later this month how and when the computer networks will be installed.

Reference: Martin Stone, Newsbytes; DENVER, COLORADO, U.S.A., Connie Cone Sexton; The Arizona Republic, Feb. 01, 2001 and private communication from Phil Geiger.

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III. BUSINESS GROUPS OFFER BLUEPRINT FOR IMPROVING SCHOOLTEACHERS

A coalition of business groups outlined a comprehensive plan on Tuesday for improving the education and professional life of schoolteachers, saying the changes were needed to ensure that American workers have the skills and knowledge to compete in today's economy. Their report, "Investing in Teaching," called for colleges to raise admissions requirements for teacher-education programs and to work with arts-and-sciences faculties to offer high-quality preparation for school teaching. States should require rigorous exams for teacher licensure and provide increased, performance-based pay for schoolteachers. Districts should rearrange priorities and find new sources of funding.

The coalition: Business Roundtable, the National Alliance of Business, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent a year talking to experts and calling for this comprehensive approach.

The report would require students to complete two years of liberal-arts courses with a minimum 3.0 grade-point average before admitting them to teacher-education Programs. And these programs meet accreditation standards like those recently adopted by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. Colleges should demand that students complete an academic major and at least one minor and support on-the-job training and early years in schools. Higher-education institutions also need to have continuing relationships with schools to help schoolteachers continue learning throughout their careers.

Thanks to Sally Jackson UofA for this article, sjackson@u.arizona.edu, The Chronicle of Higher Education; JULIANNE BASINGER author http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001013106n.htm

(http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from:

[ Musings from Ted the Ed. A foundation of innovation is the use of ideas and insights gained from across industries. Therefore to assist me to do better in my business world, I would love to read a study entitled "K-12 EDUCATION GROUPS OFFER BLUEPRINT FOR IMPROVING BUSINESS EMPLOYEES". It could recommend changes in the higher educational selection, process and follow-up for engineers, liberal arts and business majors. It might suggest changes in prioritization, employee motivation practices and new forms of financing for troubled firms. Since businesses hire 99% of their employees without skill licenses, maybe K-12 teacher certification systems would be a major boost to their productivity. Also, how about having boards of directors selected by their customers and not their shareholders. A collation of NEA, AEA, NASBE, Superintendents, Curriculum Specialists, Financial Chiefs, and Principals’ associations including special education and other organizations should be able to talk to a number of business experts and whip out a number of recommendations in a year to 18 months. It would be a great read!]

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IV. OMAHA NORTH HIGHSCHOOL IS SPEARHEADING ED-TECHNOLOGY

The science and technology magnet school in Omaha, NE has 1,100 computers for its 2,300 students and is one of the few schools in the country to give an e-mail account to all students. Brad Fuerst's English class, which is one of several that have a computer for every student, is a paperless classroom. A Web page that gives an overview of all the units the class will cover, vocabulary lists and discussion questions. Interactive quizzes are taken online, and homework is via email.

From: Susan Stellin http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/31/technology/31EDUCATION.html)

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V. ARIZONA INTERNET E-COMMERCE ASSO:

HIGH TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM

Next meeting is Thursday, February 22, 2001, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Phoenix Hotel, 1600 South 52nd Street in Tempe. Topic is a Symposium on High Technology Education in Arizona. The keynote speaker is Professor David A. Brandt, Director of Industry Relations at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Brandt acted as liaison between the University of Texas and the technology business community during Austin, Texas' rise to high tech prominence.

Panelists from the business community include Paul Ward, CEO of Incubate.com, Mark Rukavina, COO and Co-Founder of KnowledgeNet.com and Jim Garvey, CEO of Integrated Information Systems. Academic panelists include Peter Crouch, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Arizona State University; Thomas W. Peterson, Dean of the College of Engineering and Mines at the University of Arizona; James A. Boyless, Academic Advisor and Research Associate Professor of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Arizona; Dr. Larry Barton, President of the DeVry Institute of Technology; and Dr. Fred Gaskin, Chancellor of the Maricopa County Community College District. Jane Larson of The Arizona Republic andTara Teichgraeber of The Business Journal will question the panel on issues pertinent to high technology education.

There is no charge to be a Regular Member of AIECA. This dinner meeting costs a non-refundable $45.00. Send a check or money order for $45.00, payable to "AIECA," to AIECA, Inc., 3104 East Camelback Road, #120, Phoenix, Arizona 85016, no later than February 20, 2001. To join AIECA send an e-mail to paul@aieca.com with your contact information. Paul E. Burns; President and CEO; Arizona Internet & E-Commerce Association; 3104 E. Camelback Road #120; Phoenix, AZ 85016 Phone: 602-530-8020; Web site: www.aieca.com

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X. WISDOM BYTES:

The endeavor to understand is the first and only basis of virtue.

-- Baruch Spinoza

Capitalists are motivated not chiefly by the desire to consume wealth or indulge their appetites, but by the freedom and power to consummate their entrepreneurial ideas.

-- George Gilder

Nothing has an uglier look to us than reason, when it is not on our side.

-- Lord Halifax

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The ALTP News/Action Agenda is produced by the Arizona Learning Technology
Partnership http://altp.org, and edited by Richard Brincefield rbrincefield@softrain.com.

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