Remarks of FCC Commissioner Rachelle B. Chong at Continental Cablevision s National Educators Awards Luncheon Washington D.C. April 25, 1996 "Creating an Information Renaissance" It is a great pleasure to be here at this National Educator Awards luncheon sponsored by Continental Cablevision. We are here today to recognize and applaud some of the most innovative teachers, librarians, media specialists and administrators in America. These are teachers who have embraced technology. They understand that a multimedia experience can impart a richer learning experience than mere textbooks. They are teachers who wisely use the power of television to pique their students' interests and teach. I applaud Continental Cablevision for giving these wonderful awards, and thereby encouraging these teachers' efforts. Education in an Information Age I wanted to talk today about the important role of telecommunications infrastructure and applications in preparing our students for jobs in an increasingly global economy -- an economy that is based on information. With the astonishing popularity of personal computers and the tremendous advances in communications technology of the last decades, it seems clear that we have truly entered the Information Age. I'm personally glad that we have moved beyond the Industrial Age. To me, that era was characterized by impersonality and dehumanization. In contrast, the Information Age promises to be much more enriching -- more like a Renaissance, which, if you recall, was a period marked by intellectual activity and the flowering of the arts, literature, and science. I would like to suggest that we are entering an Information Renaissance, and in this era, there is important work to be done by educators. In an Information Age, students will need to be conversant in a wide variety of communications technologies. It is a fact that our society is increasingly a "high tech" one. Why, in a typical business office these days, you will find as standard equipment computers, fax machines, and electronic mail. Already 40% of American households have a personal computer. Our citizens must be technology savvy to function in this world. But are our schools -- who are shaping our future workers -- up to this challenge? Reed Hundt, the Chairman of the FCC, has often noted that, "There are thousands of buildings in this country and millions of people in them who have no telephones, no cable television and no reasonable prospect of broadband services: They are called schools." Just as students outgrew the use of colonial McGuffey readers, our students are moving beyond the use of textbooks and chalkboards that were the basic tools when I was in school. As citizens of one of the most technologically advanced countries of the world, American students deserve state-of-the-art educational facilities and educational tools. This includes telecommunications technology. You've probably all heard a lot of hype about the "Information Superhighway." The heart of the concept is that private industries would create a global network of communications and computer networks that will help transmit information quickly and inexpensively across traditional boundaries of time and space. Some go so far as to suggest that in the future, countries won't be trading natural resources or products; they'll be trading information. Knowledge will be power. Besides business applications, the Information Superhighway holds great promise to benefit our educational system. One idea is to create a global digital library containing the best of the world's libraries and museums. For example, you would scan in the Mona Lisa and the Declaration of Independence. Children everywhere could access these historical treasures with a click of the computer mouse. In this way, we could literally put the world's cultural riches at every child's desktop. These kinds of ideas make me believe that the Renaissance of the 21st century lies in the successful creation of an Information Superhighway. If we are successful, the Information Superhighway will allow any child -- rich or poor -- access to information. As many of us know, education is still the great equalizer of our democratic society. We must work to help education keep pace with technological advances, so that it can keep pace with societal needs. How do we prepare our students for a world where advanced information technologies will be as commonplace as the computer and fax machine are in today s modern office? I wanted to share with you some ideas that I have, which include a description of what the FCC is doing in this area. Infrastructure The big news is that a new law has just been enacted that will help connect the schools to the Information Superhighway. In February, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed. It has two provisions of particular interest to educators. Section 254 (h) of the new Act directs the FCC to establish rules to enhance, to the extent technically feasible and economically reasonable, access to advanced telecommunications and information services for all public and nonprofit elementary and secondary school classrooms and libraries. The law directs telecommunications carriers serving a geographic area to provide communications services for educational purposes to schools and libraries at discounted rates. Further, the law makes clear that those living in rural areas should not be left out, and requires that rates between urban and rural areas be generally comparable. Section 706(a) of the Act instructs the FCC and state commissions to encourage the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans, including in particular, elementary and secondary schools and classrooms. The Commission has started proceedings to implement the new law. We are committed to adopting policies that will encourage the connection of our schools to the outside world for the purpose of education. This new communications infrastructure may include a variety of options depending on the needs of the school. It could consist of wired or wireless telephones to every classroom. Just the presence of a phone in a classroom greatly enhances a teacher's safety and effectiveness. A classroom phone -- and features like voicemail -- also brings better and immediate communication between teachers and parents. Students no longer will be able to claim that "the dog ate my homework" because a teacher can pick up the phone to check out the story! The addition of a phone line, a computer and a modem to the classroom allows the students to connect with the Internet and explore the world outside the four walls of the classroom. Making computers available to educators will allow them to communicate with each other on the Internet. Teachers can share innovative lesson plans, while administrators can share technology strategies and learnings. Another possible application could be wired or wireless local area networks that will link students and faculty in a variety of ways. These networks could provide things like electronic mail, data sharing (say, between a central library and other libraries on campus or even another campus), Internet access and the like. Today, the FCC proposed to set aside a large chunk of spectrum for unlicensed broadband wireless devices, capable of high speed transmissions of multimedia information. One suggested use of these so called NII/SUPERNet devices is to provide wireless broadband networks within buildings and between classrooms. These wireless devices could enable desktop access to the Internet for students and you wouldn't have to string a tangle of wires around the room or through asbestos filled walls. New broadband networks also have the potential to provide distance learning opportunities. For example, a professor at an urban university could teach rural students from a far. Training of Personnel My next suggestion goes to the issue of training personnel to manage this new communications infrastructure. Once the infrastructure is put in place, our schools must be able to maintain and use these communications devices effectively. Because they set budgets, school administrators will need to study and understand technology trends. They will need to allocate enough money to ensure the infrastructure is put in place, and that the equipment is maintained and upgraded as technology advances. Just as a school needs a custodian to maintain its physical facilities, it will need a trained technician to keep the communications and computer facilities working smoothly. Further, it is very important that teachers, librarians, and media specialists be trained in how to effectively incorporate multimedia tools into curricula. Let's face it. Many adults can't even figure out how to program their VCRs, much less figure out how to surf the Internet! We must encourage all educators to overcome any techno-phobia and become comfortable and hopefully excited about the benefits and efficiencies that technology can bring. As we all know, technology will never replace teachers; but technology is a wonderful tool to help teachers be more effective. I would encourage educators to put significant efforts into learning how to use technology. The use of information technologies in the classroom is only limited by the imagination of the instructor. Educational Content This brings me to my third point. Educational curricula should be adapted to take full advantage of new multimedia techniques. Cable programmers, broadcasters, software developers, and others are developing some wonderful educational material that can be brought into the classroom by educators. As we all know, kids love television, and it can be a terrific teaching tool. I am pleased that these industries have taken a leadership role in developing quality educational content. I especially commend the cable industry on its outstanding Cable in the Classroom program, and other industry groups for their comparable efforts. In particular, I salute Amos Hostetter, Jr., the Chairman and CEO of Continental Cablevision. Continental Cablevision has been an active and committed leader in promoting the use of cable television into the classroom. A Salute to the Teachers Now, if you've got the infrastructure, the technicians, and the lesson plans, you must still have teachers that understand how to integrate technology into the classroom. So my last point is that, to make all this work, you need teachers that are "in on the program." Many of the teachers being honored today have used educational programming from cable providers to great effect. I salute you because it takes courage, creativeness and energy to be a teacher who uses technology as a teaching tool in these times of budget problems, overcrowding, and outdated facilities. You are role models to teachers everywhere. I am especially proud of Manuel Moreno, a science teacher at my alma mater, Lincoln High School in Stockton, California. His students produced a weekly live cable program on the human body that was beamed -- via Continental Cablevision's two way interactive television system -- from the high school campus to preteen students at Brookside School. His students worked in teams to choose topics of interest to the younger students -- ranging from the skeletal system to acne -- a timely topic during adolescence! His students wrote the scripts, acted and produced the half hour shows. During the pilot program, the high school students dissected a cow's eye as the younger students looked on in amazement, and maybe, some queasiness! I'm sure the show was "udderly moo-tivating!" In his own words, Mr. Moreno wanted students to realize that "learning is cool," and to recognize the value of hands-on science. He realized that using Cable in the Classroom helped him get the undivided attention of his students. So, this is one teacher who effectively used technology to reach his students -- and, hopefully, to inspire them onwards to careers in medicine, science or teaching. It is a real inspiration to see teachers like him using such imaginative and ingenious ways to reach his students. I believe that each time a teacher gets a student excited about learning, there will be a ripple effect. That is one more student who will be a lifelong learner, one more student who will be an achiever, one more student who will be a contributor to our society. It's an old saying, but from little acorns, mighty oaks will grow. It will take a partnership of government, industry and educators to get technology into the classroom. Government can encourage policies that put the infrastructure in place. Industry has stepped up to the plate to voluntarily connect the schools and provide the necessary training and content for teachers. And of course, educators like our award winners today are using technology to dazzle and inspire their students. I hope that this partnership can help bring about a new Information Renaissance in the 21st century, one that will again bring us intellectual activity and a new flowering of the arts, literature and science. Congratulations to our award winning teachers, and thank you!