Arkansas should expand the Arkansas Public School Computer...
Arkansas should expand the Arkansas Public School Computer Network (APSCN), which serves K-12 schools, to meet minimum broadband targets, a panel convened by the state Department of Education said in a report (http://bit.ly/1j3550k) to legislators and Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe…
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on Tuesday. Arkansas should adopt the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) recommendations of 100 kbps per student and staff in 2014-15 and 1 Mbps per student and staff in 2017-18, said the report by the Quality Digital Learning Study Committee. The panel, made up of representatives from higher education and K-12, telecom providers, legislators and other stakeholders, also recommended centralizing state network support services, including E-rate applications and network monitoring and vendor management. The report also recommended finding economies of scale and maximizing seeking E-rate and other federal funding. “Our children are growing up as digital natives, never knowing a world without the Web, personal devices like iPads, and multifunctional phones. Yet our educational system has been slow to adopt these technologies as part of the teaching and learning pedagogy,” said committee Chairman Ed Franklin in a letter to Beebe and legislators. Beebe’s office did not return a call for comment.