September 2008 — Policy/Advocacy
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From Gathering Information to Taking Action
Four new projects herald the bold next phase of our Congress on the Future of Content.
I SEEM LATELY to be suffering from a bout of what I
call the "Volkswagen Bus syndrome." The name dates back
to the time I bought a Volkswagen Bus, and soon after
began to notice that every other driver on the road seemed
to own one as well. It knocks you back when you think
you're ahead of the curve, only to find out you're actually in
the midst of it.
The symptoms have now returned, but in the form of digital content. In January, T.H.E. Journal introduced an initiative we named the Congress on the Future of Content (see "Discontent Over Content," January). We appointed a task force constituted of various types of content publishers as well as the executive directors of ed tech organizations and groups from both the print and software industries. In March, the task force heard from educators and state department of education officials in hearings held in Texas and Florida, and then gathered again in Washington, DC, in early May to discuss at length its findings and conclusions. (For more information, see "How Would You Like Your Content?" April, or go here.)
Since our effort was launched, everywhere I look, I see an article, study, or webinar about digital content, as it relates to either K-12 or higher education. More and more I believe this is not a case of noticing something that had already been there, but instead identifying a real trend and helping to lead it forward.
Most recently, I came upon a survey from The Big Deal Book, a guidebook of educational resources, entitled "Ed Tech From the Trenches (ETFT): Second Annual Survey of Shifting Media and Materials Use in K-12 Education." ETFT is a dense survey filled with rich data that is impossible to completely report and interpret in this limited space, but much of it echoes the findings from our own hearings.
For example, the authors of the report state, "The data give[s] a picture of a more blended curriculum with a more diversified mix of resources (including high use of newer and emerging online resources along with textbooks) over the next couple of years."
Virtually all of the educators and state officials who testified at our hearings expressed that same desire: to keep students engaged in their learning through the use of a variety of teaching materials. A further illustration of the wish for a greater blend of materials is this ETFT discovery: "Fee-based, online resources such as streaming video subscriptions and web resource subscriptions are among the most popular supplemental resources."
