Hello all:

 

The following opportunity around Broadband Usage crossed my desk on Friday of last week.  It is a short turnaround and I apologize for not getting it out on Friday last.   It would be very useful to have a couple of small, rural districts in Vermont be part of this work.  I’d especially like to see VT participate in the current landscape around E-rate and whispers of possible funding reductions from the FCC.  (More on that in a future post).  

 

Please consider this opportunity and fill out the short form survey indicated below.  I appreciate your efforts with regards this work.  Please let me know if you decide to apply, as I will advocate on our (VT) behalf.  I’d also be willing to assist in any aspect of this project with you. 

 

Peter

Peter Drescher

State Director of Educational Technology

VT Agency of Education

219 N. Main St. Suite 402

Barre, VT   05641

802-479-1169

@VTED_Technology

 

 

 

Dear VT District Leader, 

SETDA, the principal association serving the needs of state department of education leaders with respect to the use of technology for teaching, learning, and school operations and CoSN, the premier professional organization for district level technology leaders, are collaborating on a project on bandwidth growth and usage and its impact on  technology driven, innovative learning opportunities.

There has been significant debate about whether broadband capacity targets are too conservative, just right, or too ambitious for schools. To understand the discrepancies between different states and districts and their current and future usage of bandwidth, SETDA and CoSN will collaborate to do a deeper dive into the data. We are seeking volunteer districts that are interested in participating in this project. Participants will provide data sets on your district's current and historical bandwidth capacity and usage, participate in virtual interviews, review the draft paper and provide feedback. The case studies will be highlighted at SETDA and CoSN's national conferences. Please complete this short form. by December 12, 2018 for consideration.

Commitment
If selected, your district will be committing to the following data collection and reporting. 

1. District Administration Information: *Respond to a short set of background questions AND participate in a 45 minute virtual Interview with CTO and Administrative Instructional Leader (Superintendent or CAO).
2. School Data Gathering: Providing the contact information for the administration of two schools in your district that are willing to respond to set of background questions AND participate in a 45 minute interview with one administrator and several teachers to discuss how technology is being implemented and how their practices have evolved
3. Classroom Experience: Each of the schools interviewed will be asked to submit: Two 3/5 minute videos with classrooms demonstrating the technology implementation based on the discussions. 

Selection Criteria
We seek  to include  diverse districts related to  size, location, broadband capacity and implementation practices. Considerations will be given to all interested districts and districts will be chosen based on application responses and the ability to include a variety of district profiles. 

Complete this short form. by December 12, 2018 for consideration. If you have questions, please contact Christine Fox at [log in to unmask]. 

Thank you,

 

Peter Drescher and the team at SETDA and CoSN.