TECHNOS

May 17, 2012

TECHNOS QUARTERLY Spring 1995 Vol. 4 No. 1

From the USE IT Project: 12 Recommendations for Ensuring Education's Niche in the NII

Sidebar for Learning: A New Dimension in the NII Age

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), under cooperative agreement with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has released a report on telecommunications and the National Education Goals. The report is the culmination of the two-year United States Education and Instruction through Telecommunications (USE IT) project, which drew upon the expertise of key individuals from education, government, and private industry. The USE IT report describes the technologies currently being used for distance learning, highlights examples of resources and applications, and discusses significant barriers to realizing the full potential of distance learning. The report makes the following 12 Recommendations for ensuring the effective use of telecommunications technologies for lifelong learning:

Recommendation 1:

Education agencies at all levels must support the development and use of distance-learning resources to achieve the National Education Goals.

Recommendation 2:

Education agencies at all levels must strive to achieve equitable access to distance-learning resources to increase the opportunity for all citizens to learn.

Recommendation 3:

The telecommunications industry, distance-learning service providers, and regulatory agencies must support and develop distance-learning delivery systems and information networks that are compatible and interoperable, and should explore methods for the cooperative, cost-effective use of distance learning facilities and services.

Recommendation 4:

Federal and state governments, together with local communities, educational institutions, the telecommunications industry, and business and industry, should promote public/private partnerships for distance learning and support regional and statewide applications of distance learning to form an integrated national resource.

Recommendation 5:

State and federal regulatory agencies must develop policies that ensure affordable rates for the educational uses of telecommunications resources. Regulatory agencies having appropriate responsibility should ensure availability of universal telecommunications services for all levels of lifelong learning and maintain reasonable fair-use copyright guidelines for instructional materials used in distance learning.

Recommendation 6:

Federal and state agencies, in cooperation with the private sector, should develop new resources for investment and capital development for distance learning. Support from federal agencies must be coordinated to provide efficient and effective funding uses.

Recommendation 7:

Professional development programs for educators and administrators should incorporate the uses of distance learning programs as educational resources and provide the technical training required to use such resources.

Recommendation 8:

State education agencies must improve course accreditation procedures to advance the use of distance learning and other alternative education offerings.

Recommendation 9:

Providers of distance learning must develop cost-accounting standards that provide accurate information on unit-of-instruction costs and instructional effectiveness assessments for distance learning.

Recommendation 10:

Potential users of distance learning must take special actions to create organizational environments conducive to planning for learning technologies.

Recommendation 11:

Distance-learning providers and users must join forces to strengthen distance-learning content requirements and instructional formats.

Recommendation 12:

Local, state, and national authorities should undertake awareness and outreach activities to inform educators, business and industry, and the public of the value and importance of distance learning to achieve the National Education Goals.

Copies of the USE IT report are available from

Contact Anuradha Sapru Kohls.

United States Education and Instruction Through Telecommunications (USE IT) Governing Board

Henry Marockie, West Virginia State Department of Education, Chair

Decker Anstrom, National Cable Television Association

Steve Cisler, Apple Computer, Inc.

Dennis Connors, National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Robert Davila, New York School for the Deaf

Cheryl Garnette, U.S. Department of Education

Jose G., Mendez, Sr., Ana G. Mendez University System

David Merkowitz, American Council on Education

Inabeth Miller, The Lightspan Partnership, Inc.

Clarence O'Banner, BellSouth

E. Marie Oberle, National University Teleconference Network (until October 1994)

David Pierce, American Association of Community Colleges

Linda G. Roberts, U.S. Department of Education

Nora Sabelli, National Science Foundation

Anne Savage, National University Teleconference Network (since October 1994)

Michael F. Sullivan, Agency for Instructional Technology

Sandra Welch, Public Broadcasting Service

Return to Learning: A New Dimension in the NII Age TECHNOS Quarterly article.