A group of education and technology experts is “developing a blueprint”...

from a cross-section of educators, parents, students and government officials and expects to release its findings later this year. “I'm pleased these leaders are rising to the challenge [Education] Secretary [Arne] Duncan and I set out to harness technology to help our students reach their full potential,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. “I'm confident the LEAD Commission’s blueprint will chart a course to ensure that education technology will help prepare students to compete in the 21st century global economy.” Genachowski and Duncan said they would “provide input” to the LEAD Commission’s efforts. The group was founded in response to the National Education Technology Plan released by the Department of Education in November 2010 and the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, released two years ago this month. LEAD plans to catalog current efforts, trends, costs and obstacles to technology adoption, and examine the potential of how technology and digital content could “positively impact teaching and learning over time,” the group said. The blueprint will recommend policies and funding vehicles needed to ensure successful incorporation of technology into school systems. The group is co-chaired by Columbia University President Lee Bolinger, TPG Capital Co-Founder James Coulter, former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and Common Sense Media Founder James Steyer. “While the human interaction of student and teacher, critical thinking and classic texts remain essential parts of what we mean by an ‘education,’ we also know that new communications technologies can greatly enhance teaching, learning and research,” Bollinger said. “We hope that our growing body of experience in the use of these transformational tools in higher education can provide useful insights for our nation’s schools.” “Our goal with this commission is to help policy makers to more swiftly and effectively integrate digital learning into our national curriculum,” Coulter said. By synthesizing data about what has worked and hasn’t worked throughout the country, LEAD hopes to provide a “top-down” look at the issue that the Department of Education doesn’t really provide in the high-tech space, he said. With its different personalities, Coulter believes the group is in a great position to study the issue and provide recommendations to policymakers at all levels. “The group is coming together to look at this issue which everybody believes is critical, and if you don’t look at it, you risk falling behind,” he said.