Home ResearchReports National Information Infrastructure Requirements for Education & Training (1994)

NII Requirements for Education & Training

Copyright (c) 1994 National Coordinating Committee on Technology 
in Education and Training (NCC-TET)

                THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE:
                REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING

                         EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


            Prepared by the National Coordinating Committee 
           on Technology in Education and Training (NCC-TET)

                            March 25, 1994


[Disclaimer: This position paper has been prepared and is being 
distributed in order to facilitate understanding of education and 
training requirements that must be addressed in the development of 
America's National Information Infrastructure. It represents a 
consensus of opinions held by representatives of national 
professional education, training, and trade associations 
participating in the NCC-TET collaboration and does not 
necessarily imply endorsement by organizational participants in 
the Committee process or government personnel who attended 
meetings of the Committee.]


                         INTRODUCTION

The National Coordinating Committee for Technology in Education 
and Training (NCC-TET) has developed the requirements discussed 
below to ensure that the National Information Infrastructure (NII) 
provides expanded opportunities for education and training. 
National organizations representing education, training, 
government, defense, business, arts and cultural institutions, and 
libraries have contributed to the development of these 
requirements. They are intended as guidelines to be used by the 
Administration, Congress, state agencies, national and state 
organizations, and other education and training stakeholders to 
help shape future policy and legislation.

AUTHORIZATION
Reproduction of the Committee's NII: Requirements for Education 
and Training position paper is authorized and encouraged for 
complimentary or commercial distribution in electronic and/or 
printed format. When distributing or including portions of the 
position paper in other publications, distributors are requested 
to include an appropriate reference to the Committee and the 
principal authors of the position paper.

COMMENTS
The Committee invites comments and suggestions as to how these 
requirements might be achieved through independent and collective 
activities of public and private education and training 
stakeholders--locally, in states, and nationally.

Please mail suggestions to: 
NCC-TET, P. O. Box 4437, Alexandria, VA 22303 
or send via electronic mail to:
NCCTET-COMMENTS@EDUCOM.EDU


                      ACCESS REQUIREMENTS 

REQUIREMENT 1. ENSURE THAT ALL AMERICANS HAVE AFFORDABLE ACCESS TO 
THE NII.

An interim goal of providing at least one connection to every 
school building and educational site in the nation can be achieved 
almost immediately. The goal of connecting every home and 
classroom to the NII should be set for the year 2000. Populations 
(e.g., rural and poor populations) which have traditionally been 
underserved must have special attention with respect to network 
access and information resources relevant to their needs.


REQUIREMENT 2. ENSURE THAT THE NII IS ACCESSIBLE IN A VARIETY OF 
LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.

The applications on the NII should extend into homes and 
workplaces as well as schools, institutions of higher education, 
libraries, and arts and cultural institutions. The vision of the 
NII is one in which learning occurs in a variety of environments 
throughout the course of one's life. The principle of "learning on 
demand" should guide the design of all federally funded NII-
related education and training programs.


REQUIREMENT 3. DEVELOP A VARIETY OF SUSTAINED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 
PARTNERSHIPS AND FUNDING MECHANISMS TO SUPPORT EDUCATION AND 
TRAINING USES OF THE NII.

Educational access to a broadband NII must be subsidized in some 
fashion. This could entail a change in universal service 
arrangements. "Universal service" must be redefined so that all 
schools have affordable access to broadband telecommunications 
services. State and federal funding is appropriate for education 
and training applications of the NII in a number of areas--
planning grants, applications research and development, 
information clearinghouse activities for model programs, technical 
assistance programs, and training-related activities. Both state 
and federal governments should consider forms of tax relief for 
producers to create software and programs and for 
telecommunications providers to supply access, services, and 
equipment. Other alternative funding sources include creating 
telecommunications purchasing cooperatives among schools, 
government, and universities; renting rather than auctioning off 
the rights for new allocations of the electromagnetic spectrum to 
telecommunications companies; and using check-off boxes on 
telephone bills by which rate payers can make donations to 
educational telecommunications projects.


REQUIREMENT 4. MAKE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INFORMATION RESOURCES 
AVAILABLE TO SCHOOLS, INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, TRAINING 
INSTITUTIONS, LIBRARIES, AND ARTS AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS.

The NII should include the information resources developed and 
maintained by both public and private sources.


        EDUCATION AND TRAINING APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

REQUIREMENT 5. COORDINATE NII-RELATED EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.

Many federal departments and agencies participate in grant 
programs and other activities that support multidisciplinary uses 
of telecommunications. Adequate means should be established for 
federal agencies and departments to share information and 
coordinate planning, implementation, and evaluation of 
applications of the NII for the education and training 
communities. Existing federal programs should be reshaped to 
prepare for radically new kinds of technology-based education and 
training environments.


REQUIREMENT 6. DEVELOP AND DISSEMINATE NII GUIDELINES FOR 
EDUCATION AND TRAINING APPLICATIONS.

The federal government has a legitimate and important role in the 
promulgation of national standards. Instructional standards would 
ensure that education and training applications of the NII help us 
attain the National Education Goals. To promote a teaching 
profession experienced in the effective use of technology, 
national teacher certification standards and credentialing 
requirements should be expanded to include applications of 
educational technology. Standards should be developed with the 
ongoing advice of key stakeholders in the education and training 
communities.


REQUIREMENT 7. IDENTIFY AND DISSEMINATE EFFECTIVE EDUCATION AND 
TRAINING APPLICATIONS OF THE NII.

Effective educational technology and telecommunications 
applications should be developed, identified, and disseminated.


REQUIREMENT 8. INTEGRATE APPLICATIONS OF NII AND RELATED 
TECHNOLOGIES INTO EDUCATION REFORM PLANS.

A core component of the Goals 2000 initiative is that all states 
will develop comprehensive educational plans in support of the 
attainment of the National Education Goals. The NII (as it 
develops) and related technologies can be key supports for 
education reform and therefore be incorporated into education 
reform initiatives at the national, state, and local levels.


REQUIREMENT 9. DEVELOP QUALITY EDUCATION AND TRAINING APPLICATIONS 
FOR THE NII.

The development of quality software and video programming is 
critical to the successful implementation of the NII for education 
and training contexts. Software developers and video producers 
should have financial incentives available such as tax incentives, 
low interest loans, and seed money to encourage development of 
products for the education and training markets.


REQUIREMENT 10. CONDUCT RESEARCH ON THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
APPLICATIONS OF CURRENT AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.

Educators need access to research findings for guidance in the 
selection of educational software, and further research is needed 
to guide the development of new software and to determine the 
ability of existing technologies to meet the challenges found in 
education and training environments. Grants should be given for 
the study of what works under what circumstances for specific 
populations. Research findings should be made available to all 
educators over the network.


REQUIREMENT 11. PROMOTE TRAINING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATORS AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NII.

Teacher training and development must be provided not only for 
equipment and software operation, but for teaching strategies that 
incorporate the use of a variety of technologies. Funding for both 
the training of educators and the development of training 
materials should be provided.


REQUIREMENT 12. SUPPORT ONGOING EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS 
AND IMPACT OF THE NII TO INFORM POLICY MAKERS AND EDUCATORS. 

Ongoing evaluation should inform stakeholders about access, 
adherence to standards, levels of use, and impact on teaching and 
learning. The continual improvement of education and training 
applications on the NII depends upon such evaluation. 


                    TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS 

REQUIREMENT 13. EMPHASIZE INTERACTIVE, BROADBAND TRANSMISSION OF 
VOICE, VIDEO, AND DATA FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING. 

The need for a broadband NII also needs to be promoted as a 
critical need for education and training. Broadband systems will 
be necessary to permit the use of interactive video in education. 
Interactive video will open new dimensions in the learning process 
that are not possible with voice and data transmission alone.


REQUIREMENT 14. PROVIDE SEAMLESS INTERCONNECTION AMONG ALL 
RELEVANT INFORMATION NETWORKS AND SERVICES.

Online services and electronic forums used by educators exist on a 
variety of electronic networks. Existing resources could be 
leveraged much more effectively if education and training networks 
were interconnected and instructional programming were available 
across networks. The NII must become a seamless network of 
networks that links learners to information and communication. The 
barriers caused by incompatible technologies and isolated networks 
must be eliminated.


REQUIREMENT 15. GUIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOLUNTARY STANDARDS THAT 
PROMOTE INTEROPERABILITY.

Standards that promote interoperability allow devices to connect 
with one another and permit software and hardware to be used in 
and exchanged across a variety of telecommunications and hardware 
environments. Ultimately, this will lower hardware and software 
costs, create a robust market for education-related products, 
support equity of access, and eliminate one of the major barriers 
to the use of networking technologies.


REQUIREMENT 16. ENSURE THAT THE NII IS EASY TO USE.

User interfaces for education and training applications must be 
designed to be easy to use and as consistent as possible across 
computer platforms, individual databases, and information 
services. If the NII is to become truly universal and 
indispensable, it must be as easy to use as most household 
appliances.


REQUIREMENT 17. DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE DIRECTORIES OF INFORMATION 
RESOURCES AND "NAVIGATION" SYSTEMS FOR LOCATING THESE RESOURCES.

A truly easy system of searching and accessing information on the 
network must be developed. Until this happens, the NII must have 
people available to serve as network guides.


REQUIREMENT 18. SUPPORT USER COLLABORATION.

Since a premium will be placed on collaboration in the training 
and educational organizations of the future, the infrastructure's 
ability to support collaboration among users is a vital 
requirement. People-to-people communication is open-ended, 
consists of a wide variety of data types, and takes place in 
multiple contexts. Beyond its ability to manage these 
requirements, the NII should have convenient means for retrieving 
and storing records of network sessions and configuring groups of 
users for collaborative activity.


REQUIREMENT 19. CREATE ADEQUATE MEASURES TO PROTECT THE SECURITY 
OF RESOURCES ON THE NETWORK.

The NII should have security systems adequate to protect the 
privacy of individuals, the confidentiality of documents, and 
intellectual property rights. The rights of privacy and 
confidentiality are cornerstones of our society. The NII will 
carry information that is sensitive to individuals and 
organizations. Government, business, and education must work 
together to guarantee the security of this information. The 
protection of intellectual property rights should be accomplished 
in a manner which safeguards the exclusive rights of right 
holders, provides the latter with appropriate and timely 
compensation, and allows protected information to flow over the 
network.


                          ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

While it is impossible to fully credit all of the individuals and 
organizations who contributed to the preparation of this position 
paper, the Committee would like to acknowledge the following 
individuals who made the work possible:

PRINCIPAL AUTHORS

John Yrchik, National Education Association
John Cradler, Council for Educational Development and Research


NCC-TET EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Co-chairs: Drew Allbritten, American Association for Adult and 
                Continuing Education
           Brenda Kempster, Regional Bell Telephone Companies
           Frank Withrow, Council of Chief State School Officers
Secretary: Dennis Bybee, International Society for Technology in 
                Education
Treasurer: Cheryl Williams, National School Boards Association


NCC-TET SUB-COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL POLICY ISSUES

Co-chairs: John Cradler, Council for Educational Development and 
                Research
           Ed Schroer, American Society for Training and 
                Development
Members:   Geri Andersen-Nielsen, National Education Goals Panel
           Bill Graves, EDUCOM
           Sue Kamp, Software Publishers Association
           Tom Koerner, National Association of Secondary School 
                Principals
           Keith Krueger, Organizations Concerned about Rural 
                Education
           Julie Medin, Institute for Simulation and Training
           Jim Mecklenburger, The Mecklenburger Group
           Robert Seidel, U.S. Army Research Institute
           Scott Stoner, Alliance for Arts Education
           Boyce Williams, National Council for Accreditation of 
                Teacher Education 
           John Yrchik, National Education Association

REVIEWERS

Kathleen Barfield, California Department of Education
Greg Dumas, Telebit Corporation
Carol Edwards, National Foundation for the Improvement of 
     Education
Lynn Fontana, National Council for Social Studies
Kim Igoe, American Association of Museums
Karen Jaffe, KIDSNET
Cindy Johanson, Public Broadcasting System
John J. Mahlmann, Music Educators National Conference
C. Dianne Martin, George Washington University
Denis Newman, Bolt, Beranek, and Newman, Inc.
Ruth Perlin, National Gallery of Art
Mabel Phifer, Black College Satellite Network
Paula Reinman, Pacific Telesis
Ilene Rosenthal, Curriculum Television Corporation
Carol Sterling, American Council on the Arts
Michael Sullivan, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
Bonnie Tenebaum, Enterprise Integration Technologies
Marty Tenebaum, Enterprise Integration Technologies
Mark Traphagen, Software Publishers Association
Lauren Williams, Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology 
     Education
William Wright, National Council of Teachers of English


NATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY 
IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING (NCC-TET)

                      MEMBERS:
American Association of Adult and Continuing Education
American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of School Librarians
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Educational Research Association
American Federation of Teachers
American Library Association
American Society for Training and Development
American Vocational Association
National Arts Education Information Network
Association of American Publishers
Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Educational Communications and Technology
Association for Education and Rehabilitation
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education
Benton Foundation
Black College Satellite Network
Broadcast Education Association
Cable In The Classroom
Council of 100
Council for Educational Development and Research
Council of Great City Schools
Consortium for School Networking
Council of Chief State School Officers
EDUCOM
George Lucas Foundation
George Washington University
IBM Foundation 
Information Infrastructure Clearinghouse
Institute for Research on Learning
Institute for Simulation & Training
Interactive Multimedia Association
International Communications Industries Association
International Society for Technology in Education
KIDSNET
Learning Through Media Coalition
National Alliance of Black School Educators
National Arts Education Information Network
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of State Boards of Education
National Association of State Directors, VoTech Education
National Catholic Educational Association
National Center on Education and the Economy
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
National Council for Social Studies
National Council of Teachers of English
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Education Association
National Foundation for the Improvement of Education
National Home Study Council
National School Boards Association
National Security Industrial Association
National Technological University
Office of U.S. Representative William F. Goodling
Offices of U.S. Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Jeff Bingaman, and 
     Thad Cochran
Organizations Concerned about Rural Education
Private Sector Council
Public Broadcasting Service Online
Public Broadcasting Service
Quality Education Data
Regional Bell Telephone Companies
Society for Applied Learning Technology
Software Publishers Association
Technology Student Association
The Mecklenburger Group
The National PTA
Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education
U.S. Distance Learning Association

                        OBSERVERS:
Advanced Research Projects Agency
California State University System
Fairfax County Schools
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Education Goals Panel
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Science Foundation
Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of 
     Education
Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the 
     President
Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress
Office of the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
Office of the Director, Federal Communications Commission
U.S. Army Research Institute