This morning at 10 am Eastern the FCC announced a new initiative aimed at closing the digital divide (access to broadband the necessary technology) and address digital literacy issues. Connect to Compete is A private and nonprofit sector partnership to promote broadband adoption and improve outcomes in disadvantaged communities. I missed the live broadcast so as I looked over the website and the announcement from the Knight Foundation I grew increasingly concerned about the lack of mention of public libraries! How could they not know we’re at the front line of all of this! And, as you know, I’ve been awaiting more information on the Digital Literacy Corps since I read about the idea in the National Broadband Plan. That’s why I was very grateful to find a pdf of the remarks. I’ve pulled out the sections regarding libraries but I strongly urge you to take the time to read the whole thing and become familiar with the Connect to Compete initiative. On Digital Literacy Corps: And building on a big idea developed in the National Broadband Plan, we’re proposing to work with America’s schools and public libraries to launch a Digital Literacy Corps to help promote and teach digital literacy. Digital literacy refers
Posts Tagged ‘ digital literacy corps ’
OITP and Digital Literacy Portfolio! Plus NTIA and a Digital Literacy Portal
I can’t tell you how excited I was to see this announcement from OITP (Office of Information Technology Policy, ALA) yesterday! Libraries are key players when we talk about digital literacy and education. Though as I’ve noted before we are often overlooked in reports from other institutions and organizations, most recently, as in the Digital and Media Literacy Plan of Action white paper by Renee Hobbs. I am pleased that OITP is working on a digital literacy portfolio and taking action that will help put libraries at the forefront of digital literacy training and education: The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) is in the process of developing a digital literacy portfolio. During Midwinter, OITP staff began meeting with a range of ALA member groups to learn more about current efforts and to help inform the portfolio development. One outcome of the Midwinter meetings is that OITP’s Advisory Committee is supporting an OITP task force that would delve into digital literacy issues and include representatives from interested ALA units The second part of the announcement concerns a National Digital Literacy Portal as mentioned in the National Broadband Plan from the FCC. As you know I’ve been concerned that The Plan fails to address digital
National Broadband Plan & Digital Literacy Corps
If you haven’t heard on March 16th the FCC submitted its National Broadband Plan to congress. I was excited to read it included a proposal for Digital Literacy Corps, so I’ve been following any news about it. On March 26th there was an international briefing (pdf) which included some more information. Broadband.gov is a great resource of information about the FCC’s proposed National Broadband Plan. It also includes a broadband speed test, a form to report a broadband dead zone, progress on the plan and more. I am intrigued by the Share Your Stories form. As far as I can tell submissions are not posted on the website. What are they using them for? I think it would be wonderful if they were made public. I also think libraries should allow patrons to share their stories with us. I’d love to hear stories from the community about how the library has helped them or could help them. Read More FCC Proposes Digital Literacy Corps – be sure to read the comments. International Briefing on the U.S. National Broadband Plan Digital Literacy Corps to Bring Widespread Training? Key Takeaways for Libraries from FCC National Broadband Plan Why Foundations of All Kinds Should
Top Ten Links Week 11
My personally selected top 10 from the links I shared on Twitter from 3/12/2010 thru 3/18/2010 1. Media Skills Integrated into Core Standards #transliteracy – A draft of K-12 standards put forth by the National Governor’s Association, as part of theCommon Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), integrates media skills as a key design consideration of these standards. 2. love this picture of the social media bandwagon - from @jimmy1712‘s blog.via @theREALwikimanv- even better it has a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license! 3. Excellent primer on covering FCC broadband plan and why it matters via @knightfdn @ibarguen: This is an issue that will touch just about every reader, viewer, listener and online user. After all, 35 percent of Americans (about 100 million people) do not have broadband access 4. FCC Proposes Digital Literacy Corps from the Libraries and Transliteracy blog For millions of Americans, libraries and other public computing centers are important venues for free Internet access. Libraries are established institutions where non-adopters know they can access the Internet, but community centers, employment offices, churches and other social service offices play increasingly important roles. Low-income Americans and racial and ethnic minorities, in particular, rely on public institutions and community access centers for Internet access. Over
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