The Federal Communications Commission last week approved new rules for the E-Rate program that will modernize broadband for schools and libraries.

Established by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, E-Rate taps into the Universal Service Fund, which is paid for by telecommunications subscribers to provide telecommunications and Internet access to schools and libraries. When it was first implemented, many schools were still on dial-up and those that had broadband were typically connecting at relatively show speeds. It was also before anyone (let alone school kids) had smartphones.

Fast-forward to 2010. As Internet service providers and municipalities deploy fiber and other high-speed technologies, it’s now possible to move way beyond what we used to call broadband — speeds that often hovered at or below 1 megabit per second. Now we’re talking about a gigabit, which is a thousand times faster. This faster connectivity makes it possible for schools to employ modern tele-learning tools both to consume and host multimedia content. And in case you think a gigabit or more is overkill, consider that the bandwidth often needs to be shared by multiple classrooms and, in some cases, thousands of students.

Another reality of 2010 is that the Internet is no longer something we access only when sitting at a desk. Smartphones, tablets, netbooks and even the iPod touch and portable gaming devices make it possible to access the Net from anywhere. So instead of just providing broadband access to classrooms, the new E-Rate rules are designed to fund mobile pilot programs to enable students to access the Net from wherever they happen to be. Schools are increasingly using smartphones in and out of the classroom. For example, at Lincoln Middle School in Ypsilanti, Mich., teachers use smartphones provided by Sprint to learn how to create graphs and charts.

The new E-Rate rules also take note of the fact that schools are part of communities and, potentially, a way to bring high-speed Internet to people in their neighborhoods. Last week’s ruling made permanent an earlier provisional waiver that allows schools to offer community access to their bandwidth during nonschool hours.

Shortly before the vote, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski mentioned how a school in West Virginia used its broadband connection to facilitate a “command center” during the Upper Big Branch coal mining disaster in April. Beyond letting people use campus facilities, I’m not sure how schools might extend broadband beyond the campus. But it’s certainly possible to do so wirelessly, especially if they use the so-called “super Wi-Fi” spectrum that will be facilitated by the unlicensed access to the “white space” between TV channels that the FCC also approved at the same meeting.

While the new E-Rate program is a great boon to schools and communities, there is one troubling aspect to it. In 2000, Congress passed a well-meaning law called the Children’s Internet Protection Act, which requires that schools and libraries that receive E-Rate funds “employ technological protections that block or filter certain visual depictions deemed obscene, pornographic or harmful to minors.”

While hardly anyone would disagree with Congress’ intention to keep minors away from such material, the CIPA has brought about some unintended consequences because many of the filters used in schools block more than just indecent and violent material. A great many also block social networking sites, which didn’t even exist when the law was passed. There is nothing in the CIPA that requires filters used in schools to cast such a wide net but they typically do, which means that some of the very technologies kids are using on a daily basis out of school are not available in school.

I’m not suggesting that kids be allowed to use Facebook or other social media services to socialize during school hours. But if we’re going to encourage 21st-century learning, we need to take note that students are no longer simply consumers of knowledge, they are also creators and sharers. A great deal of what young people learn comes from collaboration with their peers. And while there is always the possibility of access to inappropriate material or posting text images or videos that can be harmful to themselves or others, there is the far more likely possibility of creative use of these services to enhance their learning.

The FCC didn’t address filters or the CIPA during its discussion of modernizing E-Rate but I did raise the issue of students using social media to share and create content when I interviewed Genachowski after his appearance in Mountain View at a “Back to School Event” sponsored by Common Sense Media. “It’s a wonderful learning opportunity,” he said, adding “we see more and more teachers and students working together to incorporate that kind of energy and creativity into class work. It’s very promising and it’s teaching the skills the next generation will need to know to participate in the word that’s coming.”

So, hats off to the FCC for modernizing E-Rate. Now let’s hope schools modernize their attitude toward the use of technology to embrace rather than try to block some of the technologies students are using in their daily lives. Besides, about the only people who don’t know how to bypass filters at schools and libraries are teachers and staff.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to modernize E-Rate. E-Rate was established in 1996 to provide federal subsidies to schools and libraries for telecommunications and Internet access. Back then, many schools were still on dial-up and the broadband available was sluggish by today’s standards. What’s more, the Internet was something people accessed from desks, not mobile devices.

Under the new rules, schools will be encouraged to upgrade to 1 gigabit, which is a thousand times faster than the 1 megabit service that many schools use today.

Mobile and Community Access

Another provision of the new rules provides pilot program for mobile access. Although still relatively rare, some schools are using smartphones, iPads, iPod Touches, Netbooks and laptops as part of the learning process and now at least a few schools will be able to use E-Rate funding to equip students with devices that let them access learning materials not only from school but from home, in-between school and home or wherever they happen to be. In a speech he gave on Monday at Common Sense Media’s “Back to School Event” in Mountain View, California, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski talked about how mobile technology can replace the “50 pound backpacks” full of books that many of our kids are carrying. For more on mobile learning see Cellphones & school: a great mix by Anne Collier who is editor of NetFamilyNews and my co-director at ConnectSafely.org.

Another provision of the new rules allows schools to offer broadband services to local communities during non-school hours. In theory it might be possible for schools to set up their wireless networks for their neighbors, especially now that the FCC also approved so-called “Super WiFi” which uses the white space between TV channels as unlicensed spectrum for signals that can travel much further than current WiFi.

Schools Can Still Over-Block

One issue that the agency didn’t address is that a 2000 federal law, The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), requires schools and libraries that receive E-Rate to filter Internet access to prevent kids from accessing “visual depictions deemed obscene, pornographic, or harmful to minors.” While I have no qualms about blocking porn and gratuitous violence, it’s unfortunate that the filters at many schools also block access to social networking sites, including Facebook.

While it is certainly possible for students (and the rest of us) to waste precious time on Facebook, there are also plenty of educational opportunities afforded by Facebook and other social networking tools. Away from school kids are using these tools not only to socialize, but to share their creative works and to collaborate on projects. If schools are truly going to prepare youth for living, learning and working the the 21st century, they have to embrace 21st century technology which means more than just putting them in front of computers or even mobile devices to consume learning materials. Kids also need to be encouraged to create content and share it with others. They do that anyway, so why not make it part of what they do at school with appropriate supervision, guidance and educational incentives.

My Interview with FCC Chairman

Julius Genachowski

For more on this, please read about and listen to my recent CBS News & CNET interview with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

As chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski is playing a key role in what could turn out to be sweeping changes in the way the Internet reaches children in schools and libraries. He’s also the point man in a national debate on Net neutrality as some Internet service providers square off against activists who demand that the federal government ensure that companies not be able to prioritize network traffic.

FCC Chair Julius Genachowski (Credit FCC)

Prior to his appointment as FCC chairman by President Obama in 2009, Genachowski spent more than a decade in the private sector as co-founder of LaunchBox, a managing director of Rock Creek Ventures, and as an executive at IAC/InterActiveCorp.

E-Rate to be “modernized”
I interviewed Genachowski two days before a scheduled FCC meeting where the Commission is expected to approve changes in the E-rate program. E-Rate, established by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, taps into the Universal Service Fund from fees paid by telecommunications subscribers to provide telecommunications and Internet access to schools and libraries.

Genachowski was at the Computer Museum in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday to speak at a forum sponsored by Common Sense Media on “Back to School: Learning and Growing in a Digital Age.” According to the FCC, 97 percent of American schools and nearly all public libraries have basic Internet access but 78 percent of E-Rate recipients told the agency that they need faster connections. “Many schools and teachers complained that the Internet access they had is too slow to take advantage of the opportunities of digital tools for the students,” Genachowski said. (Scroll down to listen to the podcast.)

Addressing the growing educational use of mobile technology, he said that “for the first time we’re going to begin a pilot program to have E-Rate cover mobile. There are huge opportunities here in e-textbooks and interactive learning materials.” He added that teachers increasing know that they want kids to have access to broadband wherever they are and to do not just digital classwork but digital homework.” The chairman also talked about wanting to make “a world of knowledge available to every kid, wherever they were born, whatever school district they live in, and whatever country they’re in.”

Net neutrality
I also asked Genachowski about Net neutrality, which has been a very hot topic for the FCC. We spoke exactly one year after he gave a speech (PDF) where he outlined strong support for treating all network traffic equally. In the ensuing months there have been delays in implementing new rules and complaints from advocacy groups such as Free Press, Media Access Project, and Public Knowledge arguing that Genachowski has so far failed to follow up on his promises.

In the interview, Genachowski said, “We’re making real progress and seeing more and more widespread recognition that we need to have these six enforceable principals (PDF) to preserve the free and open Internet.”

When asked about the accusations that the agency hasn’t fulfilled his promises to guarantee neutrality, he responded: “There are still some difficult substantive issues to work out. We’re doing that now in consultation with the broadest degree of stakeholders and we need to make sure in view of some court decision that came out over the last year that we have find a sustainable legal foundation.”

Click Here to  Listen to Larry’s Entire Interview with Genachowski