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Aneesh Chopra: Good morning, everybody.

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Audience: Good morning.

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Aneesh Chopra: Good morning!

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Audience: Good morning.

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Aneesh Chopra: My name is Aneesh Chopra.

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I have the honor and privilege of serving as the President's

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Chief Technology Officer.

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And it is extraordinarily exciting for me to be here today

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because we'll be talking about a subject that's been near and

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dear to the President's heart and a big priority for our

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office as we look to improve our learning and educational

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outcomes powered by the potential of technology

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and innovation.

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In the President's joint session to Congress,

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when he laid out the vision for the American Jobs Act,

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the President spoke broadly about the need to out-innovate,

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out-educate, and out-build the world with specific emphasis

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on opportunities for job creation in the near term.

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He emphasized the new initiative to modernize 35,000 schools,

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but made particular emphasis that when we put people back

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to work fixing roofs and windows on those schools,

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we should also install science labs and high-speed Internet in

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classrooms all across the country,

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acknowledging the importance of modernizing our educational

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infrastructure for 21st century.

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Today, we make the first down payment on the President's

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vision with the rollout of the Digital Promise Board of

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Directors and Initiative.

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And I must tell you on a personal level,

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the Board had a chance to meet with President Obama just a

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few moments ago.

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And Board, tell me if I'm wrong, did he fire you all up?

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Did he fire you up?

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He certainly did.

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He gave them some direct instructions to move this

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program forward.

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And I am so excited to get this particular event off and running

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in the spirit of the President's charge to that Board.

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To kick us off, I want to invite the godfather of the legislation

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that brought us Digital Promise, Kentucky's own

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Congressman Yarmuth.

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Please, give him a big round of applause.

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(applause)

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Thank you.

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Congressman Yarmuth: Well, thank you, Aneesh.

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Good morning, everyone.

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It is an incredible honor for me to be here today to help launch

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Digital Promise.

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This is a great day for our country and a great

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day for our future.

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I'm here as a member of Congress.

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And since we have a 13% approval rating,

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I really appreciate that applause.

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(laughter)

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We take it wherever we can get it.

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I'm also here because four and a half years ago as a freshman

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member of Congress and a new member of the House Education

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and Labor Committee, I met with Ann Murphy,

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a person who was part of an amazing group of education,

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innovation and business leaders, committed to doing nothing short

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of completely revolutionizing education and learning through

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advanced technologies, a project called Digital Promise.

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The goal was to do for education what the National Science

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Foundation does for science, what the National Institutes of

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Health does for medicine.

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I was sold.

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And I introduced a bill to create something called then the

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National Center for Learning Science and Technology.

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Now we have another name, which I will guarantee you will not

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replace Digital Promise.

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This will also be known as Digital Promise,

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the nonprofit entity that we are here today to launch.

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It was approved with a lot of help and a lot of bipartisan

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support and signed into law as part of the Higher

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Education Act.

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My role, while I am exceedingly proud of it,

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was a small part in an extraordinary initiative that

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has been more than a decade in the making.

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And it is pretty clear that with the leadership of Secretary

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Duncan and all of you here today,

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the decade of work that got us to this point will surely pale

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in comparison to what lays ahead.

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I firmly believe that today is one of those days that we will

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look back upon years from now and think,

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I knew it was going to be big, we're at the White House,

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after all, but I had no idea it would be that big;

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that we would completely change the way children learn,

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revolutionize education, and strengthen our nation.

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So no pressure at all.

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But what we all know is that with dedication,

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collaboration and sometimes most critical federal investment,

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technology can be transformative.

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In the 20th century, there was a direct correlation between

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America leading the world in education and also in

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innovation, technology and economically.

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That an increasingly globalized marketplace with other countries

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competing more successfully across the board,

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Digital Promise can ensure that this generation of American

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children is the most educated the world has ever known,

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and by extension, the next generation of American adults

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will be the best trained, most capable citizens to lead the

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world in the 21st century and beyond.

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That is what this center is all about.

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That is why I'm so proud to be here.

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And that is why I'm so proud to introduce a very

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special young man.

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Josniel Martinez is an 11-year-old 7th grader who

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attends Global Technology Preparatory School in East Harlem.

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He's already seen how digital learning can make a difference.

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When he was in the 6th grade, his school partnered with the

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city of New York to implement the New York City connected

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learning program funded by the American Recovery and

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Reinvestment Act.

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That program is a citywide initiative managed by the New

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York City Department of Information Technology and

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Telecommunications and the New York City Department of

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Education, in which CFY, a national nonprofit organization,

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is a lead partner.

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It's a perfect example of a program where a partnership

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worked together to bring digital learning into schools and

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Josniel is here to tell us how it changed his life.

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Now, just by a quirk of fate, Josniel was born at the same

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time that Digital Promise, the idea, came into being.

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So there's a little karma there, Josniel.

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Please join me in welcoming with a warm round of applause,

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Josniel Martinez.

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(applause)

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Josniel Martinez: Well, hi.

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My name is Josniel Martinez.

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And I am proud to be here today to introduce Secretary

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Arne Duncan.

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But before I do, I want to tell you a little bit about myself

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and how digital learning has changed my life forever.

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Back in 1999, my parents moved from Dominican Republic all the

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way to East Harlem.

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(laughter)

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I did pretty well in elementary school.

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It was okay.

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But it was still hard for me to accept now that I'm a 6th grader

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and have more responsibility, more homework,

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and moving to a new school called Global Tech Prep, a.k.a.

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Global Technology Preparatory in East Harlem.

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And if you didn't hear me, East Harlem.

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(laughter)

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I ended up getting a promotion in doubt letter saying that if I

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don't work hard enough, I might get left back.

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Well, just imagine this.

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Your boss sends you a letter, says,

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if you don't work hard enough, you're going to get fired.

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Now, think, wouldn't you want to roll down on the floor,

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start crying, saying, noooooo!

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(laughter)

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I did.

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(laughter)

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So I tried to do my best.

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I was determined to go to 7th grade.

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But so was my mom.

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She wasn't letting me go down.

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And I knew that some of the challenges that were going to be

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in front of me were concentrating.

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That was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

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I thought technology could help me.

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I even picked Global Tech Prep because I knew it can help me.

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I knew that they make blogs, make videos, use PowerPoints,

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Microsoft Word, everything that we need to educate ourselves.

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But still wasn't passing, unfortunately.

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Until a nonprofit called CFY -- Google them -- came to our

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school and told us that we were going to give all the 6th

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graders a login to a site called power my learning.

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It's a site with millions, hundreds -- let's say millions

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of games, and each of those games teaches us anything we

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want, math, science, ELA, music, it doesn't matter what subject.

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It's there.

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And the good thing is we get to keep the computer they gave us.

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It was a learning device.

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Now, here's where my mom comes into this play.

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She put on a schedule for me, Josniel Martinez,

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to get on the computer three times a week and use it.

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So at least three times a week I'm prepared, I know,

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my brain is working, says I want to learn now.

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Sometimes I can wake up in the morning.

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My head is like school, school, school, watch, watch, school,

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school, school, school.

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And then my mom did something else.

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I used to watch TV all the time.

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I used to stay up late, watch Friends, That '70s Show,

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anything that was on, I used to watch all of that.

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Then my mom, she cut that in half.

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She put it on a plate and everything.

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She told me, huh-uh.

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She cut that.

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So now I'm watching maybe one hour, maybe two hours of TV.

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By most of the time, I'm either studying, reading a book,

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or doing something that can help me benefit in school.

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Now, my school helped, too.

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They cost -- they put a whole team together.

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I'm talking about my principal, my teachers, everything,

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just to help me, one student.

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And the CFY software helped a lot.

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Without them, I think I couldn't pass.

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Now, what do you think digital learning do for me,

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Josniel Martinez, the same Dominican boy from East Harlem,

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still the same person.

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Well, it brought everyone who was important to me.

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Miss Russell, who is in the crowd right now,

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some of the CFY people, they actually put some software on my

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computer to help me, they did everything for me.

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And there was no joke.

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I got a 3 on my math exam, and I have a 3 on my ELA exam,

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just perfect.

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(applause)

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And while I needed a lot of support,

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now I feel that I can do this all by myself.

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And when I mean a lot of support,

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I mean double the White House's, plus a different universe.

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That's how much.

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Now, look at me in ten years, Secretary Arne Duncan,

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because I'm going to college, maybe even work for a President,

0:10:01.800,0:10:03.834
and maybe one day you'll be working for me.

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(laughter and applause)

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And I know now I'm supposed to introduce Secretary Arne Duncan.

0:10:13.734,0:10:16.934
But before I do, I want to thank Miss Russell, my mom,

0:10:16.934,0:10:20.133
my friends, my family, everybody from Global Tech Prep,

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for helping me to get up here.

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And now it's my pleasure to introduce the Secretary of

0:10:25.533,0:10:27.734
Education, Arne Duncan.

0:10:27.734,0:10:42.533
(applause)

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Secretary Duncan: Let's give Josniel another round of applause.

0:10:44.367,0:10:51.367
(applause)

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I could no more have done that here in 7th grade than fly to

0:10:53.667,0:10:54.400
the moon.

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And I will absolutely get my resume ready.

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(laughter)

0:10:58.834,0:11:03.300
In all seriousness, though, it's a really inspiring story.

0:11:03.300,0:11:06.667
And what it tells me is what I've -- reinforces what I've

0:11:06.667,0:11:09.266
known all my life, is that we have great young people.

0:11:09.266,0:11:11.367
Surround them with the right adults,

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caring adults who go beyond the call of duty,

0:11:13.367,0:11:15.200
give them technology, give them the opportunity,

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give them the support, the world's the limit.

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And you have to not just graduate from high school.

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You have to go to college.

0:11:20.433,0:11:21.533
You have to graduate from college.

0:11:21.533,0:11:23.200
And you can be in this White House someday.

0:11:23.200,0:11:24.934
You've got to really aspire to those things.

0:11:24.934,0:11:27.300
But we all have to come together to provide those opportunities

0:11:27.300,0:11:28.700
to every single child.

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Before I begin, I just want to thank a couple of people,

0:11:30.467,0:11:32.433
Newt Minow, Larry Grossman and Ann Murphy.

0:11:32.433,0:11:33.667
If you guys could please stand.

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You're the godfathers of this effort.

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(applause)

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They started this work over 12 years ago,

0:11:52.233,0:11:53.567
a long time to get here.

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But I can't tell you how thrilled me and Karen Cade and

0:11:55.834,0:11:58.667
Jim Shelton, my staff, are to be a part of this.

0:11:58.667,0:12:00.300
And the opportunity you guys are providing through your

0:12:00.300,0:12:01.600
vision is huge.

0:12:01.600,0:12:04.266
And I feel both the pressure and the opportunity.

0:12:04.266,0:12:05.533
We need to deliver for you.

0:12:05.533,0:12:07.066
But appreciate so much the leadership that you

0:12:07.066,0:12:08.834
guys have provided.

0:12:08.834,0:12:11.400
Josniel's story is extraordinary and we have many stories like

0:12:11.400,0:12:12.800
that around the country.

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But the honest reality, the unfortunate reality,

0:12:15.166,0:12:16.967
is we don't have enough of that.

0:12:16.967,0:12:19.533
And far too often, America's classrooms have failed to

0:12:19.533,0:12:22.834
harness technology's potential to transform students' lives and

0:12:22.834,0:12:25.266
create a new world of opportunity for them.

0:12:25.266,0:12:27.967
With technology, teachers and parents can deeply engage

0:12:27.967,0:12:29.166
students in learning.

0:12:29.166,0:12:31.967
They can personalize instruction in ways that folks previously

0:12:31.967,0:12:35.367
thought were impossible, and they can solve the inequities,

0:12:35.367,0:12:37.900
both in our communities and in our schools,

0:12:37.900,0:12:40.300
by providing all children, not some,

0:12:40.300,0:12:44.467
but all children with access to world-class resources anytime

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and anywhere.

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And that's obviously why all of us are here today and obviously

0:12:48.500,0:12:50.033
this is the choir here today.

0:12:50.033,0:12:52.266
We understand that technology provides the opportunity to make

0:12:52.266,0:12:55.567
rapid progress in advancing equity and excellence in our

0:12:55.567,0:12:58.100
education system so that these kinds of stories become the

0:12:58.100,0:13:00.667
norm, rather than the exception.

0:13:00.667,0:13:03.200
And my simple message to all of you today is that we need to act

0:13:03.200,0:13:06.867
and we need to act now to lead the digital transformation of

0:13:06.867,0:13:10.567
education and training both for our children and for adults

0:13:10.567,0:13:12.667
looking to retrain and retool.

0:13:12.667,0:13:15.467
We have yet to unleash technology's full potential to

0:13:15.467,0:13:17.734
transform both teaching and learning.

0:13:17.734,0:13:21.033
Technology can help provide all students with access to a

0:13:21.033,0:13:22.734
world-class curriculum.

0:13:22.734,0:13:25.233
It's a tool that can provide equitable access to high quality

0:13:25.233,0:13:27.900
learning opportunities for low-income students and

0:13:27.900,0:13:30.633
struggling schools, be they inner city urban,

0:13:30.633,0:13:32.567
rural or remote.

0:13:32.567,0:13:35.200
This work is especially important today because the

0:13:35.200,0:13:37.934
truth is, other countries are ahead of us here in

0:13:37.934,0:13:39.233
the United States.

0:13:39.233,0:13:42.734
And in tough economic times like these, we can't just do more.

0:13:42.734,0:13:46.133
We have to be smart enough to do more with less.

0:13:46.133,0:13:48.333
A couple of examples of what the competition looks like as you

0:13:48.333,0:13:49.633
look across the globe.

0:13:49.633,0:13:52.734
South Korea has committed to phasing out all textbooks and

0:13:52.734,0:13:56.100
replacing them with digital products by 2015.

0:13:56.100,0:13:57.500
And they're going to make that happen.

0:13:57.500,0:14:00.533
Uruguay, maybe not a country we all think about every single

0:14:00.533,0:14:06.133
day, Uruguay now, today, has given every single student a

0:14:06.133,0:14:08.467
computer, every single one.

0:14:08.467,0:14:11.266
And we're faced with one fundamental basic question: Will

0:14:11.266,0:14:14.533
the United States lead in this effort or will we be a laggard,

0:14:14.533,0:14:15.934
will we follow?

0:14:15.934,0:14:18.967
And despite the real challenges, I am absolutely optimistic that

0:14:18.967,0:14:23.166
the United States can and will lead the digital transformation.

0:14:23.166,0:14:25.200
And today marks, I think, a critically important

0:14:25.200,0:14:26.367
turning point.

0:14:26.367,0:14:28.200
Through the unique public/private partnership of

0:14:28.200,0:14:31.367
Digital Promise, we are rallying the full forces of the federal

0:14:31.367,0:14:34.333
government, academia, entrepreneurs,

0:14:34.333,0:14:37.033
the technology sector and researchers.

0:14:37.033,0:14:39.200
And the level of talent in this room today is

0:14:39.200,0:14:40.633
pretty extraordinary.

0:14:40.633,0:14:42.533
You represent creative entrepreneurs,

0:14:42.533,0:14:45.533
generous philanthropists, smart investors.

0:14:45.533,0:14:48.400
You are innovative leaders who are committed to this work and

0:14:48.400,0:14:50.400
committed to making difference.

0:14:50.400,0:14:53.500
We have a tremendous, tremendous opportunity to pull together and

0:14:53.500,0:14:57.400
solve the complex problems of educating every child and every

0:14:57.400,0:14:59.166
adult in this country.

0:14:59.166,0:15:01.166
I especially want to thank Congressman Yarmuth for his

0:15:01.166,0:15:02.567
tremendous leadership.

0:15:02.567,0:15:05.600
Along with Senator Dodd, Representative Yarmuth worked

0:15:05.600,0:15:07.600
to authorize Digital Promise and the Higher

0:15:07.600,0:15:09.200
Education Opportunity Act.

0:15:09.200,0:15:10.567
And that's the reason we're all here today.

0:15:10.567,0:15:11.767
Please give him another round of applause.

0:15:11.767,0:15:12.500
Thank you so much.

0:15:12.500,0:15:18.533
(applause)

0:15:18.533,0:15:20.800
President Obama has repeatedly said that winning the future

0:15:20.800,0:15:22.800
will require investments in education,

0:15:22.800,0:15:26.166
innovation and infrastructure.

0:15:26.166,0:15:29.600
He fundamentally understands that transforming the use of

0:15:29.600,0:15:32.300
educational technology will require significant research

0:15:32.300,0:15:33.533
and development.

0:15:33.533,0:15:36.500
And he also understands that our nation's schools and classrooms

0:15:36.500,0:15:39.233
are in serious need of modernization.

0:15:39.233,0:15:42.033
In far too many places, today's school buildings simply aren't

0:15:42.033,0:15:44.433
ready to support digital learning.

0:15:44.433,0:15:46.667
And last week, I went on a whirlwind six-state,

0:15:46.667,0:15:50.600
three-day bus tour across the Great Lakes region.

0:15:50.600,0:15:53.033
And I never, ever asked or want the red carpet treatment.

0:15:53.033,0:15:55.200
But when I visit schools, it's not uncommon for them to clean

0:15:55.200,0:15:56.767
up, tidy up a little bit.

0:15:56.767,0:15:59.100
But it was really clear that no amount of fresh paint was going

0:15:59.100,0:16:01.533
to cover up the fact that many of these schools simply aren't

0:16:01.533,0:16:05.500
prepared to lead the digital revolution in education.

0:16:05.500,0:16:08.200
And the American Jobs Act, President Obama is proposing

0:16:08.200,0:16:13.200
a $25 billion investment to modernize at least 35,000 of

0:16:13.200,0:16:15.433
our nation's schools, especially schools that

0:16:15.433,0:16:18.266
serve the neediest students, with facilities in the most

0:16:18.266,0:16:19.967
need of repair.

0:16:19.967,0:16:22.533
The President has committed to passing the jobs bill that

0:16:22.533,0:16:25.633
includes money to create school buildings that can give students

0:16:25.633,0:16:28.266
a 21st century education.

0:16:28.266,0:16:30.900
The Administration's commitment goes far beyond renovating and

0:16:30.900,0:16:32.467
modernizing schools.

0:16:32.467,0:16:35.200
Our goal is to become an engine of innovation that provides

0:16:35.200,0:16:38.300
leadership and support for reform.

0:16:38.300,0:16:41.066
The National Education Technology Plan we released last

0:16:41.066,0:16:44.000
year lays out an ambitious vision to leverage the full

0:16:44.000,0:16:47.367
power of technology to support compelling and personalized

0:16:47.367,0:16:50.567
learning environments for all children, regardless of race,

0:16:50.567,0:16:54.266
ethnicity, ability or disability or zip code.

0:16:54.266,0:16:56.700
We understand that technology is a critical,

0:16:56.700,0:17:00.166
critical ingredient in our work to make education the great

0:17:00.166,0:17:02.667
equalizer it must be.

0:17:02.667,0:17:05.467
But this is clearly not a task for government alone.

0:17:05.467,0:17:08.000
We can work to create an environment for innovation.

0:17:08.000,0:17:12.567
But experts in school, schools, research labs, entrepreneurs,

0:17:12.567,0:17:15.100
whether big or small, they will do the difficult work of

0:17:15.100,0:17:18.367
developing new technologies and getting them into homes and

0:17:18.367,0:17:21.367
schools and districts across the country.

0:17:21.367,0:17:24.166
Digital Promise will aid that work by bringing together people

0:17:24.166,0:17:27.266
from business, education, the research community,

0:17:27.266,0:17:30.333
to advance the education technology field.

0:17:30.333,0:17:32.200
Even as we're launching this new effort,

0:17:32.200,0:17:34.433
a group of school districts has already stepped forward to lead

0:17:34.433,0:17:37.700
this transformation and we're calling them the League of

0:17:37.700,0:17:39.567
Innovative Schools.

0:17:39.567,0:17:42.667
Researchers at the University of Chicago will also organize a new

0:17:42.667,0:17:46.100
alliance of more than 35 of America's top education

0:17:46.100,0:17:49.166
researchers dedicated to identifying policies and

0:17:49.166,0:17:52.767
practices that improve education outcomes for America's most

0:17:52.767,0:17:54.567
disadvantaged children.

0:17:54.567,0:17:56.767
A leading gaming company is committed to bringing their

0:17:56.767,0:18:00.467
creativity and expertise to this important effort.

0:18:00.467,0:18:03.100
Digital Promise will be a truly collaborative effort

0:18:03.100,0:18:04.867
across all sectors.

0:18:04.867,0:18:07.300
Working together, the collaboration can help

0:18:07.300,0:18:10.600
lead America in providing a world-class education for

0:18:10.600,0:18:13.533
millions of students using technology.

0:18:13.533,0:18:16.133
We all know, we all recognize that there are no silver bullets

0:18:16.133,0:18:17.300
in education.

0:18:17.300,0:18:20.433
But I absolutely do believe that we must use every tool at our

0:18:20.433,0:18:23.133
disposal, including the extraordinary creativity of

0:18:23.133,0:18:26.400
entrepreneurs, who are committed to producing the game changing

0:18:26.400,0:18:28.667
technologies we need.

0:18:28.667,0:18:31.700
The goal of all this work is admittedly ambitious.

0:18:31.700,0:18:34.500
We want to fundamentally reimagine learning.

0:18:34.500,0:18:37.166
And fortunately, we have examples of schools and

0:18:37.166,0:18:40.033
inspiring stories to tell like we already heard this morning.

0:18:40.033,0:18:42.433
Take another story, that of Daniel Mendez,

0:18:42.433,0:18:44.800
when he enrolled in San Diego's High Tech High,

0:18:44.800,0:18:46.233
he was repeating 10th grade.

0:18:46.233,0:18:48.400
Not too dissimilar to the challenges you were facing.

0:18:48.400,0:18:49.967
Like most disadvantaged children,

0:18:49.967,0:18:52.066
he faced some real significant obstacles.

0:18:52.066,0:18:54.867
With a long commute, family responsibilities,

0:18:54.867,0:18:57.734
and few educational resources at home,

0:18:57.734,0:18:59.834
he struggled to complete homework.

0:18:59.834,0:19:02.300
Unfortunately, that's the type of child that far too often is

0:19:02.300,0:19:03.300
simply written off.

0:19:03.300,0:19:05.000
Folks think they can't make it.

0:19:05.000,0:19:07.934
But things turned around for him when High Tech High issued him a

0:19:07.934,0:19:10.633
netbook with high speed Internet access.

0:19:10.633,0:19:12.867
His grades improved immediately.

0:19:12.867,0:19:14.800
Teachers noticed that he was doing extra reading

0:19:14.800,0:19:16.400
to dive deeper.

0:19:16.400,0:19:18.367
He passed all of his courses.

0:19:18.367,0:19:21.166
And today he's a senior, thriving academically and

0:19:21.166,0:19:24.000
planning to go to college this fall.

0:19:24.000,0:19:26.567
Across the country, in rural South Carolina,

0:19:26.567,0:19:29.934
technology helped Nicholas Huther be a full participant

0:19:29.934,0:19:32.633
in school, even when he was homebound because of

0:19:32.633,0:19:34.133
cancer treatment.

0:19:34.133,0:19:37.734
As a fourth grader, Nicholas used a laptop and a webcam to

0:19:37.734,0:19:41.500
participate in his class at Plainview Elementary School.

0:19:41.500,0:19:45.166
With the help of technology, he engaged in class discussions and

0:19:45.166,0:19:49.734
asked questions, almost as if he was actually in the room.

0:19:49.734,0:19:51.300
With the creative use of technology,

0:19:51.300,0:19:54.500
he had access to his teachers, and to his classmates and to so

0:19:54.500,0:19:56.834
many learning opportunities that would have been unavailable to

0:19:56.834,0:19:57.967
him otherwise.

0:19:57.967,0:20:01.200
And today, Nicholas attends middle school.

0:20:01.200,0:20:03.700
In rural Tennessee, the Niswonger foundation,

0:20:03.700,0:20:06.767
one of our I3 winners, is using technology to give high-need

0:20:06.767,0:20:10.000
students access to AB classes and language classes that

0:20:10.000,0:20:12.000
otherwise they would not have the opportunity to take

0:20:12.000,0:20:13.300
advantage of.

0:20:13.300,0:20:15.767
And there are so many stories, so many stories like these,

0:20:15.767,0:20:19.133
that demonstrate what technology can do and the potential for

0:20:19.133,0:20:21.500
technology to help engage students and

0:20:21.500,0:20:23.533
to make learning fun.

0:20:23.533,0:20:26.533
No matter where students are or what obstacles they face,

0:20:26.533,0:20:29.367
a digital education can offer them a personalized plan to

0:20:29.367,0:20:33.734
engage them and support their ongoing learning and success.

0:20:33.734,0:20:36.633
We have a long, long way to go before America becomes a leader

0:20:36.633,0:20:38.133
in digital learning.

0:20:38.133,0:20:40.967
But we know what's possible and we know what's at stake both for

0:20:40.967,0:20:43.266
our children and for our nation.

0:20:43.266,0:20:47.033
America has always, always been a technological leader.

0:20:47.033,0:20:49.867
Our country pioneered manned space travel and the creation

0:20:49.867,0:20:51.033
of the Internet.

0:20:51.033,0:20:54.200
And yet today, our country is lagging behind other countries

0:20:54.200,0:20:58.033
in leveraging the power of technology in our classrooms.

0:20:58.033,0:21:01.133
It's time for us collectively to keep the digital promise to

0:21:01.133,0:21:04.100
America's children and provide all of them with a personalized

0:21:04.100,0:21:06.867
instruction that both raises the bar and levels

0:21:06.867,0:21:08.533
the playing field.

0:21:08.533,0:21:10.567
Thank you so much for your collective leadership,

0:21:10.567,0:21:13.934
commitment and collaboration in helping us keep that promise.

0:21:13.934,0:21:14.533
Thank you.

0:21:14.533,0:21:30.767
(applause)

0:21:30.767,0:21:32.100
Tom Kalil: Good morning. My name's Tom Kalil.

0:21:32.100,0:21:35.000
I'm the deputy director of the White House Office of Science

0:21:35.000,0:21:36.400
and Technology Policy.

0:21:36.400,0:21:38.400
I'm going to be moderating the next panel.

0:21:38.400,0:21:43.433
But before I do that, I want to welcome two leaders from the

0:21:43.433,0:21:46.233
National Science Foundation who are going to be making an

0:21:46.233,0:21:49.100
important announcement about cyber learning.

0:21:49.100,0:21:52.233
NSF, as you know, has played a critical role in the development

0:21:52.233,0:21:53.100
of technology.

0:21:53.100,0:21:57.700
They funded the NSF net, which played a very important role in

0:21:57.700,0:21:59.100
the emergence of the Internet.

0:21:59.100,0:22:03.066
They funded the development of the first graphical web browser,

0:22:03.066,0:22:05.800
which really helped the Internet take off.

0:22:05.800,0:22:11.734
They funded a project of two Stanford kids that turned out to

0:22:11.734,0:22:14.233
be Google, which was a pretty good investment.

0:22:14.233,0:22:18.700
And they're going to be making some exciting announcements

0:22:18.700,0:22:22.700
about the investments that NSF is going to be making in the

0:22:22.700,0:22:25.033
area of cyber learning.

0:22:25.033,0:22:28.734
So today we're fortunate to have Joan Ferrini-Mundy,

0:22:28.734,0:22:32.767
who leads NSF's efforts in education and human resources,

0:22:32.767,0:22:37.300
and Farnam Jahanian, who leads NSF efforts in computer science.

0:22:37.300,0:22:38.400
So come on up.

0:22:38.400,0:22:44.400
(applause)

0:22:44.400,0:22:48.633
At this time, I'm also going to ask our fantastic panel to

0:22:48.633,0:22:50.967
please come up and be seated.

0:22:50.967,0:22:53.333
This morning we've got Mark Edwards,

0:22:53.333,0:22:57.934
who is the superintendent of Morrisville Graded School District.

0:22:57.934,0:23:03.000
Dave Weiner, who is the Deputy Chancellor of New York City.

0:23:03.000,0:23:06.333
Gabe Newell, who is President and Founder of Valve,

0:23:06.333,0:23:08.100
a leading video game company.

0:23:08.100,0:23:11.200
And Shirley Malcolm, who is on the Board of the Digital Promise

0:23:11.200,0:23:14.734
and also leads the efforts in Education and Human Resources at

0:23:14.734,0:23:15.800
the AAAS.

0:23:15.800,0:23:17.166
So come on up.

0:23:17.166,0:23:26.467
(applause)

0:23:26.467,0:23:29.834
Joan Ferrini-Mundy: Good morning, everyone.

0:23:29.834,0:23:32.834
It's a great pleasure for us today to join Secretary Duncan,

0:23:32.834,0:23:36.066
Chief Technology Officer Chopra, the Digital Promise Board of

0:23:36.066,0:23:39.200
Directors, Congressman Yarmuth, and all of you,

0:23:39.200,0:23:41.533
to discuss the potential and the promise of learning

0:23:41.533,0:23:44.934
technologies, especially cyber enabled learning technologies.

0:23:44.934,0:23:47.734
For several decades, the National Science Foundation has

0:23:47.734,0:23:50.500
invested in the development of innovative learning tools for

0:23:50.500,0:23:53.700
science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

0:23:53.700,0:23:57.867
From cognitive tutors to Lego mind storms to scratch,

0:23:57.867,0:23:59.967
NSF has been a long-time supporter of learning

0:23:59.967,0:24:03.600
technologies that can be used at all education levels in all

0:24:03.600,0:24:06.066
settings across a wide range of disciplines

0:24:06.066,0:24:07.900
and for all learners.

0:24:07.900,0:24:10.767
As technology advances at a rapid pace,

0:24:10.767,0:24:13.467
realizing the potential of the new learning technologies

0:24:13.467,0:24:17.533
depends on more than inventing exciting tools and resources.

0:24:17.533,0:24:20.900
Success also depends on designing ways that innovative

0:24:20.900,0:24:23.800
tools can be effectively integrated into learning,

0:24:23.800,0:24:26.300
on understanding their impact on learning,

0:24:26.300,0:24:29.467
and on supporting and engaging teachers with the resources to

0:24:29.467,0:24:30.967
use them well.

0:24:30.967,0:24:34.700
So we are very excited about the potential of Digital Promise to

0:24:34.700,0:24:37.467
help bring innovative learning technologies from labs into

0:24:37.467,0:24:40.100
schools and to other educational venues.

0:24:40.100,0:24:42.533
We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the U.S.

0:24:42.533,0:24:45.867
Department of Education, the Digital Promise endeavor,

0:24:45.867,0:24:48.767
federal agencies, and all who are committed to improving

0:24:48.767,0:24:51.133
learning opportunities for the nation's students,

0:24:51.133,0:24:52.667
teachers and public.

0:24:52.667,0:24:56.633
Today, we announce a portfolio of new awards in our NSF-wide

0:24:56.633,0:25:00.233
program, Cyber Learning Transforming Education.

0:25:00.233,0:25:03.467
The program aims to improve learning by integrating emerging

0:25:03.467,0:25:07.400
technologies with knowledge from research about how people learn.

0:25:07.400,0:25:09.967
We are confident that the learning technologies that are

0:25:09.967,0:25:13.367
being developed through this program will enhance our ability

0:25:13.367,0:25:16.700
to collect and manage data, to give personalized realtime

0:25:16.700,0:25:20.166
feedback, and to promote better learning overall.

0:25:20.166,0:25:22.834
This group of funded projects has the potential to transform

0:25:22.834,0:25:26.300
learning, anytime, anywhere, and for anybody.

0:25:26.300,0:25:29.367
I now invite my colleague, Farnam Jahanian to talk more

0:25:29.367,0:25:32.967
about this exciting portfolio.

0:25:32.967,0:25:34.166
Farnam Jahanian: Good morning.

0:25:34.166,0:25:35.867
Josniel, I think in about 15 years,

0:25:35.867,0:25:37.500
we're all going to be working for you.

0:25:37.500,0:25:39.667
(laughter)

0:25:39.667,0:25:43.233
I am pleased to announce that NSF's cyber learning program

0:25:43.233,0:25:46.633
has just awarded approximately $15 million

0:25:46.633,0:25:49.033
to more than 30 institutions.

0:25:49.033,0:25:52.967
These projects cover a wide range of areas and show deep

0:25:52.967,0:25:55.834
creativity from the research community.

0:25:55.834,0:25:59.166
This investment is part of a commitment of more than

0:25:59.166,0:26:03.600
$40 million across NSF in merit-reviewed cyber

0:26:03.600,0:26:05.633
learning projects.

0:26:05.633,0:26:09.233
Awardee institutions include community colleges,

0:26:09.233,0:26:13.800
universities, and nonprofit organizations and companies.

0:26:13.800,0:26:17.700
These projects address learning across a broad variety of

0:26:17.700,0:26:20.834
context, elementary schools through high schools,

0:26:20.834,0:26:23.533
post secondary education institutions,

0:26:23.533,0:26:27.367
and informal learning environments such as museums,

0:26:27.367,0:26:31.266
libraries, and of course cyber space.

0:26:31.266,0:26:36.033
Several of the projects explore the use of large-scale data to

0:26:36.033,0:26:38.233
solve complex problems.

0:26:38.233,0:26:41.633
For example, researchers at the Ohio State University are

0:26:41.633,0:26:47.066
developing a virtual simulation workbench which uses geospatial

0:26:47.066,0:26:51.834
technologies and social networks to create online

0:26:51.834,0:26:53.900
interactive maps.

0:26:53.900,0:26:58.166
High school and college students can navigate the globe and use

0:26:58.166,0:27:03.400
graphical, cultural and economic data to solve real world

0:27:03.400,0:27:08.533
problems related to transportation, agriculture,

0:27:08.533,0:27:11.500
urban planning and emergency response.

0:27:11.500,0:27:14.000
In another large-scale data project,

0:27:14.000,0:27:17.834
researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell,

0:27:17.834,0:27:22.200
have joined forces with Machine Sciences Incorporated to build

0:27:22.200,0:27:26.367
software that will allow middle and high school students in

0:27:26.367,0:27:28.967
different parts of the country to share,

0:27:28.967,0:27:33.467
analyze and dynamically visualize data.

0:27:33.467,0:27:37.433
The cyber learning research portfolio also include projects

0:27:37.433,0:27:41.567
that focus on learners with special needs.

0:27:41.567,0:27:45.066
Researchers from Brigham Young University will investigate the

0:27:45.066,0:27:49.867
use of augmented reality to improve learning by deaf and

0:27:49.867,0:27:54.367
hearing-impaired children in planetariums and other venues

0:27:54.367,0:27:57.900
where learners are challenged to continuously move their

0:27:57.900,0:28:02.967
attention between a signing interpreter and a demonstration.

0:28:02.967,0:28:05.133
There are also projects that will develop learning

0:28:05.133,0:28:08.066
technologies for learning language skills,

0:28:08.066,0:28:11.867
such as one awarded to researchers at Harvard,

0:28:11.867,0:28:15.667
MIT and Northeastern University, to investigate the use of

0:28:15.667,0:28:20.800
interactive robots to help preschoolers develop vocabulary.

0:28:20.800,0:28:24.567
This project leverages emerging technologies in robotics with

0:28:24.567,0:28:27.700
recent findings from social, developmental

0:28:27.700,0:28:29.700
and cognitive psychology.

0:28:29.700,0:28:33.500
And along with supporting the design of new technologies,

0:28:33.500,0:28:37.166
the cyber learning program funded projects from Arizona

0:28:37.166,0:28:39.967
State University, Carnegie Mellon University,

0:28:39.967,0:28:43.367
and the University of Pittsburgh that focus on developing a new

0:28:43.367,0:28:48.200
generation of intelligent tutoring system.

0:28:48.200,0:28:53.066
To conclude, the projects within the NSF cyber learning portfolio

0:28:53.066,0:28:56.934
stand to demonstrate the promise of learning technologies to

0:28:56.934,0:29:00.500
transform our schools and to enhance our lives.

0:29:00.500,0:29:01.467
Thank you very much.

0:29:01.467,0:29:10.867
(applause)

0:29:10.867,0:29:12.000
Tom Kalil: Thank you.

0:29:12.000,0:29:14.633
So before we start with the panel,

0:29:14.633,0:29:18.934
I want to recognize a couple of the other individuals and

0:29:18.934,0:29:21.800
organizations that have made commitments to help launch the

0:29:21.800,0:29:24.367
Digital Promise initiative.

0:29:24.367,0:29:27.800
A number of organizations have come together to support the

0:29:27.800,0:29:30.900
2012 National Stem Video Game Competition,

0:29:30.900,0:29:36.734
including the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at the Sesame workshop,

0:29:36.734,0:29:41.834
Eli Media, and this is a video game competition to identify

0:29:41.834,0:29:45.333
new ways to use video games to support stem teaching

0:29:45.333,0:29:46.367
and learning.

0:29:46.367,0:29:48.867
It's being supported by the AMD Foundation,

0:29:48.867,0:29:53.300
the Entertainment Software Association, Microsoft Xbox,

0:29:53.300,0:29:56.400
CPB and PBS Ready to Learn Initiative.

0:29:56.400,0:29:59.066
So please join me in welcoming and supporting that.

0:29:59.066,0:30:04.800
(applause)

0:30:04.800,0:30:09.900
The Morgridge Family Foundation is providing a $2 million gift

0:30:09.900,0:30:12.967
to the Nature Conservancy to support the development of

0:30:12.967,0:30:17.800
digital content that is based on conservation science.

0:30:17.800,0:30:20.667
And John, so -- is in the audience,

0:30:20.667,0:30:24.900
so please join me in welcoming John and the

0:30:24.900,0:30:26.500
Morgridge Family Foundation.

0:30:26.500,0:30:30.800
(applause)

0:30:30.800,0:30:34.800
A number of organizations in the technology community,

0:30:34.800,0:30:39.000
the Tech America Foundation, the Information Technology Industry

0:30:39.000,0:30:42.633
Council, the Software and Information Industry Association

0:30:42.633,0:30:45.834
are all working together to build industry support for the

0:30:45.834,0:30:46.934
Digital Promise.

0:30:46.934,0:30:49.233
So if you are in the house, please stand up.

0:30:49.233,0:30:56.734
(applause)

0:30:56.734,0:31:02.367
And last, but not least, a number of foundations have

0:31:02.367,0:31:04.734
stepped forward to help launch the Digital Promise,

0:31:04.734,0:31:08.133
including the Carnegie Corporation and the

0:31:08.133,0:31:09.100
Hewlett Foundation.

0:31:09.100,0:31:12.066
So please join me in welcoming them and thanking them.

0:31:12.066,0:31:17.700
(applause)

0:31:17.700,0:31:25.800
So we have a terrific panel and let's get started.

0:31:25.800,0:31:30.066
Mark, you're the Superintendent of the Moorseville Graded School

0:31:30.066,0:31:34.500
District and you've recently been using technology to support

0:31:34.500,0:31:38.433
both challenge learning, real world problem-solving and

0:31:38.433,0:31:41.734
improving the graduation rate in your school district.

0:31:41.734,0:31:43.700
How have you been doing that?

0:31:43.700,0:31:46.200
Mark Edwards: Well, it's an honor to be here and thank you.

0:31:46.200,0:31:48.934
We've provided all students in Mooresville, North Carolina,

0:31:48.934,0:31:52.266
it's a small district north of Charlotte, 5,600 students,

0:31:52.266,0:31:54.767
we've provided all students 3rd through 12th grade with

0:31:54.767,0:31:56.300
a laptop computer.

0:31:56.300,0:32:01.200
We ranked 99th in the state in funding out of 115 districts and

0:32:01.200,0:32:05.333
we've been able to move forward using digital resources as our

0:32:05.333,0:32:07.800
primary curriculum model.

0:32:07.800,0:32:12.133
Our graduation rate has gone from 64% to 91% during the last

0:32:12.133,0:32:13.767
four years.

0:32:13.767,0:32:17.734
We've also increased our composite academic performance

0:32:17.734,0:32:22.100
from 68 to 88% and we're currently 3rd in the state.

0:32:22.100,0:32:23.934
We have also --

0:32:23.934,0:32:25.734
(applause)

0:32:25.734,0:32:28.200
Thank you.

0:32:28.200,0:32:31.200
During that same time our poverty ratio has gone up

0:32:31.200,0:32:35.500
by 25% so we have felt the effects of the economy.

0:32:35.500,0:32:38.066
But our performance in biology, in which every student has to

0:32:38.066,0:32:43.333
pass as a state exam, has gone from 68% to 93%.

0:32:43.333,0:32:45.200
Another area that we're particularly proud of is at the

0:32:45.200,0:32:50.300
3rd grade level our composite pass rate for reading is 94%;

0:32:50.300,0:32:55.200
92% for African-Americans, 91% for Hispanic students.

0:32:55.200,0:32:59.066
We've also been able, last year we made 100% of our AYP goals,

0:32:59.066,0:33:01.400
this year we dropped to 92%.

0:33:01.400,0:33:03.667
There's some more stringent requirements.

0:33:03.667,0:33:06.433
But I think the real key to that has been leveraging

0:33:06.433,0:33:07.700
digital resources.

0:33:07.700,0:33:12.033
Our motto was "Every Child Every Day" and we have used the

0:33:12.033,0:33:15.266
relevance and the engagement in using technology.

0:33:15.266,0:33:18.967
We've been able to leverage the use of digital data to

0:33:18.967,0:33:21.500
inform teachers and to expedite and to bring

0:33:21.500,0:33:23.567
precision with intervention.

0:33:23.567,0:33:26.433
And we've also been able to build collaboration and a

0:33:26.433,0:33:28.567
convergence of teachers, students,

0:33:28.567,0:33:32.400
family and community working together which students feel

0:33:32.400,0:33:33.433
every day.

0:33:33.433,0:33:37.367
I really do believe that the key to this has been a sense of

0:33:37.367,0:33:42.800
spirit of working together to make a difference and laptops

0:33:42.800,0:33:45.333
are huge; digital resources are huge.

0:33:45.333,0:33:49.200
But the community sense of obligation/responsibility for

0:33:49.200,0:33:51.900
Every Child Every Day has been a key to it.

0:33:51.900,0:33:54.333
We've had hundreds of visitors from 42 states

0:33:54.333,0:33:55.867
in the last three years.

0:33:55.867,0:33:59.033
And I don't think anybody walks away saying anything dramatic

0:33:59.033,0:34:02.734
other than the fact that we've provided resources,

0:34:02.734,0:34:06.400
we're using 24th century digital resources and I do believe that

0:34:06.400,0:34:10.066
there's great opportunity and "may the promise be with us!"

0:34:10.066,0:34:10.633
(laughter)

0:34:10.633,0:34:11.266
Thank you.

0:34:11.266,0:34:16.734
(applause)

0:34:16.734,0:34:21.600
Tom Kalil: The President's Council of Economic Advisors has developed

0:34:21.600,0:34:25.066
a report that is looking at the market for learning technology

0:34:25.066,0:34:28.066
and we're fortunate this morning to have both Katharine Abraham

0:34:28.066,0:34:32.800
and two of the folks, Ben Jones, and Ronnie Chatterji,

0:34:32.800,0:34:35.133
who helped out on the report.

0:34:35.133,0:34:39.533
And one of the things that they identified as a challenge to

0:34:39.533,0:34:41.900
using technology to transform learning was

0:34:41.900,0:34:43.367
the nature of the marketplace.

0:34:43.367,0:34:45.934
You have 15,000 different school districts.

0:34:45.934,0:34:47.767
You've got lengthy adoption cycles.

0:34:47.767,0:34:52.433
It's difficult for schools to make evidence-based decisions

0:34:52.433,0:34:54.433
about what to buy.

0:34:54.433,0:34:57.066
A lot of school districts don't spend a whole lot of money on

0:34:57.066,0:34:59.533
educational software.

0:34:59.533,0:35:03.166
So what do you think are some of the things that a large school

0:35:03.166,0:35:07.367
district look New York City could do to help drive more

0:35:07.367,0:35:11.767
innovation in learning technologies?

0:35:11.767,0:35:13.900
David Weiner: Sure, thank you very much.

0:35:13.900,0:35:16.033
My name is Dave Weiner, I am a Deputy Chancellor in New York

0:35:16.033,0:35:18.700
City and one of the areas that I oversee is called

0:35:18.700,0:35:20.567
our Innovation Zone.

0:35:20.567,0:35:23.367
The Innovation Zone was started about three years ago.

0:35:23.367,0:35:25.667
Chancellor Joel Klein was there and he basically brought

0:35:25.667,0:35:29.900
together private partners, federal funds and local funds

0:35:29.900,0:35:34.500
to actually build what we call the iZone now.

0:35:34.500,0:35:37.533
Within the iZone this past year we had about 40 schools in it

0:35:37.533,0:35:40.300
and we actually, this school year that just started a few

0:35:40.300,0:35:44.166
weeks ago, we now have 185 schools in the iZone.

0:35:44.166,0:35:47.800
These schools are basically using technology to personalize

0:35:47.800,0:35:52.333
learning for students so we have lots of examples of schools that

0:35:52.333,0:35:55.567
are basically, one example a school we called "School of One"

0:35:55.567,0:36:00.667
which basically uses technology to individualize instruction for

0:36:00.667,0:36:03.100
every single student in the class and actually every single

0:36:03.100,0:36:05.233
student in school in math.

0:36:05.233,0:36:07.500
Students come in, they are working literally on a computer,

0:36:07.500,0:36:09.233
there actually is a teacher facilitating as well,

0:36:09.233,0:36:12.700
and every single student could be at a different place.

0:36:12.700,0:36:15.100
But it's personalized to each child so that they're growing

0:36:15.100,0:36:17.567
and it's not, you know, teaching to the middle where some kids

0:36:17.567,0:36:19.266
are at the top, some kids at the bottom don't get taught,

0:36:19.266,0:36:21.633
but every single child has an individualized plan for them

0:36:21.633,0:36:26.367
which is regularly assessed to make sure it continues.

0:36:26.367,0:36:28.333
So we've have lots and lots of examples.

0:36:28.333,0:36:33.433
Josiah School is one of the schools that's in our iZone.

0:36:33.433,0:36:35.867
And we're kind of launching the next stage of it.

0:36:35.867,0:36:38.100
It directly relates to the question that was asked.

0:36:38.100,0:36:41.433
We've created what we call an education ecosystem.

0:36:41.433,0:36:44.467
We started this about a month or two ago.

0:36:44.467,0:36:46.500
Actually, a little longer now, probably about three or four

0:36:46.500,0:36:50.066
months ago, and largely what we believe is that within the

0:36:50.066,0:36:53.567
district we cannot innovate fast enough and so we have to look to

0:36:53.567,0:36:55.400
outside partners to come in.

0:36:55.400,0:36:58.734
But in order to do that we've got to define exactly what needs

0:36:58.734,0:36:59.867
we have.

0:36:59.867,0:37:03.100
What areas we need support and help in.

0:37:03.100,0:37:05.467
And we need to be able to pilot some of these programs to be

0:37:05.467,0:37:07.900
able to see how well they can grow.

0:37:07.900,0:37:09.100
And then programs that don't work we're going

0:37:09.100,0:37:10.166
to shut down quickly.

0:37:10.166,0:37:13.033
And programs that do work, like School of One we're going to

0:37:13.033,0:37:14.367
expand pretty rapidly.

0:37:14.367,0:37:18.066
And we really see the school district as being the nexus of

0:37:18.066,0:37:22.000
that connection between outside entrepreneurs, developers,

0:37:22.000,0:37:24.066
funders that want to come together to try out these

0:37:24.066,0:37:26.400
different types of options.

0:37:26.400,0:37:30.500
One thing that, I've been to quite a few of our iZone schools

0:37:30.500,0:37:32.834
and the only one thing that, you know,

0:37:32.834,0:37:35.066
puts them together into one bucket is that they are all

0:37:35.066,0:37:36.333
completely different.

0:37:36.333,0:37:37.767
And that's kind of something that we

0:37:37.767,0:37:39.100
really feel is important.

0:37:39.100,0:37:41.834
That what might work for Josiah in East Harlem,

0:37:41.834,0:37:45.200
may not necessarily work for a kid in Statton Island and the

0:37:45.200,0:37:48.600
way the technology is being used in The Bronx may look different

0:37:48.600,0:37:50.367
than the way it's being used in Brooklyn.

0:37:50.367,0:37:54.000
But using technology to personalize instruction is

0:37:54.000,0:37:58.000
really the main theme that kind of goes throughout it.

0:37:58.000,0:38:00.300
Tom Kalil: And what are some of the ways in which you think you could

0:38:00.300,0:38:05.533
leverage the purchasing power of New York City potentially even

0:38:05.533,0:38:08.867
working with other school districts to help drive the

0:38:08.867,0:38:11.000
evolution of the market?

0:38:11.000,0:38:12.967
David Weiner: So we're hoping that through Digital Promise and through

0:38:12.967,0:38:16.266
Educational Ecosystem we're basically able to come together

0:38:16.266,0:38:18.467
with different urban districts, Newark, Baltimore,

0:38:18.467,0:38:22.333
D.C., Philadelphia, to be able to say there are some common

0:38:22.333,0:38:23.700
themes that we're having.

0:38:23.700,0:38:26.867
Supporting students getting through 9th grade with enough

0:38:26.867,0:38:29.633
credits, actually, to be 10th graders has been a struggle for

0:38:29.633,0:38:32.033
us and some of our other large urban districts.

0:38:32.033,0:38:35.500
And by being able to define these challenges and problems

0:38:35.500,0:38:39.467
that we're having we hope to go to the marketplace and be able

0:38:39.467,0:38:41.667
to say these are the challenges and we need your help in

0:38:41.667,0:38:44.033
creating technologies to actually be able to innovate

0:38:44.033,0:38:44.900
and improve that.

0:38:44.900,0:38:48.066
So almost a buyer's consortium of school districts and

0:38:48.066,0:38:50.400
organizations that can come together to outline the

0:38:50.400,0:38:53.433
challenges we have and look to the outside marketplace to help

0:38:53.433,0:38:56.567
us figure out how to improve on those challenges.

0:38:56.567,0:38:57.934
Tom Kalil: Great.

0:38:57.934,0:39:01.233
As I mentioned early, Gabe Newell is the President and

0:39:01.233,0:39:03.900
founder of Valve, which is an incredibly successful

0:39:03.900,0:39:06.200
video game company.

0:39:06.200,0:39:10.433
Clearly the video game industry knows a lot about how to grab

0:39:10.433,0:39:13.367
and maintain the very high levels of attentive time on

0:39:13.367,0:39:17.033
task, both young people and grownups.

0:39:17.033,0:39:20.633
What role do you think there could be for your company and

0:39:20.633,0:39:25.166
for the video game industry more broadly in terms of transforming

0:39:25.166,0:39:27.533
teaching and learning?

0:39:27.533,0:39:31.133
Gabe Newell: Well, we got here because of our customers.

0:39:31.133,0:39:34.300
We've been successful as a video game company,

0:39:34.300,0:39:38.734
as an entertainment company because we watch exactly what

0:39:38.734,0:39:40.633
our customers are doing.

0:39:40.633,0:39:45.533
And what started to happen was that teachers and students

0:39:45.533,0:39:49.400
started to bring our games into an educational setting and

0:39:49.400,0:39:52.533
we're, like, aren't we enemies; right?

0:39:52.533,0:39:53.233
(laughter)

0:39:53.233,0:39:56.100
I mean, aren't we entertainment?

0:39:56.100,0:40:00.166
And isn't that, you know, in opposition to education?

0:40:00.166,0:40:03.166
So we started talking to the teachers and we started talking

0:40:03.166,0:40:08.100
to researchers and the more we looked at it it seems like the

0:40:08.100,0:40:10.133
technology, the engineering, the design,

0:40:10.133,0:40:15.734
the science behind what we do is the same as the science and the

0:40:15.734,0:40:19.100
technology that shows so much opportunity in

0:40:19.100,0:40:21.000
the educational field.

0:40:21.000,0:40:25.066
So we decided, well, if that's true,

0:40:25.066,0:40:29.400
then teachers should be good video designers and,

0:40:29.400,0:40:33.333
video game designers, and we should be able to build

0:40:33.333,0:40:35.800
compelling, engaging curriculum.

0:40:35.800,0:40:37.667
So we decided to go ahead and try to do that,

0:40:37.667,0:40:39.633
so we're in the process of building some middle

0:40:39.633,0:40:42.767
school curriculum.

0:40:42.767,0:40:44.000
We're building new tools.

0:40:44.000,0:40:46.967
We're building new distribution technology to give teachers and

0:40:46.967,0:40:49.400
students the ability to have access to that.

0:40:49.400,0:40:51.533
And then we're going to give those tools themselves to the

0:40:51.533,0:40:53.200
teachers and students.

0:40:53.200,0:40:54.900
So we're going to learn a lot about that.

0:40:54.900,0:41:00.266
We're going to learn, you know, how these technologies

0:41:00.266,0:41:01.767
are converging.

0:41:01.767,0:41:04.433
And I also think that we're going to show other video

0:41:04.433,0:41:07.433
game developers what the opportunity is,

0:41:07.433,0:41:10.300
how they can be contributing, how everything that we've been

0:41:10.300,0:41:15.333
learning in our industry to engage and excite children,

0:41:15.333,0:41:19.100
is very applicable in an educational environment as well.

0:41:19.100,0:41:21.967
And we're very excited working with teachers to figure out how

0:41:21.967,0:41:27.300
what we do can be a tool to them rather than a distraction.

0:41:27.300,0:41:28.000
Tom Kalil: Right.

0:41:28.000,0:41:32.233
It seems one of the things that a great video game does

0:41:32.233,0:41:36.834
is continually keep you on the knife edge between a challenge

0:41:36.834,0:41:41.400
being just too hard in which case you give up in frustration,

0:41:41.400,0:41:44.734
and being too easy in which case you get bored.

0:41:44.734,0:41:49.367
What are some other things that the video game industry has

0:41:49.367,0:41:55.633
figured out how to do that you think are broadly applicable to

0:41:55.633,0:41:58.333
great teaching and learning.

0:41:58.333,0:42:00.867
Gabe Newell: You know, we have to think about progression,

0:42:00.867,0:42:03.133
we have to think about pacing, we have to think about

0:42:03.133,0:42:05.333
appropriate levels of frustration.

0:42:05.333,0:42:08.600
Our best -- well, you have to be challenged; right?

0:42:08.600,0:42:09.400
Tom Kalil: Right.

0:42:09.400,0:42:12.533
Gabe Newell: And you can't be too challenged or you walk away from the task.

0:42:12.533,0:42:14.000
Tom Kalil: It has to be hard fun.

0:42:14.000,0:42:19.900
Gabe Newell: It has to be, yeah, it has to be hard fun is a good way to do it.

0:42:19.900,0:42:23.266
I think one of the biggest steps forward we came to recently is

0:42:23.266,0:42:27.700
when we started using biometric information to directly measure

0:42:27.700,0:42:30.633
sort of frustration and engagement levels among game

0:42:30.633,0:42:37.000
players and it taught us a lot about everybody has a different

0:42:37.000,0:42:39.967
optimal pathway through an experience,

0:42:39.967,0:42:42.200
and we think that those are the kinds of lessons that are going

0:42:42.200,0:42:47.467
to be very applicable, just as applicable in the classroom as

0:42:47.467,0:42:50.834
they are in people's dens.

0:42:50.834,0:42:53.133
Tom Kalil: Great.

0:42:53.133,0:42:57.266
Shirley, one of the points that Secretary Duncan made is that we

0:42:57.266,0:43:00.100
really have to harness these technologies in ways that are

0:43:00.100,0:43:03.000
not only going to promote excellence, but equity.

0:43:03.000,0:43:06.033
What do you think are some of both the challenges and

0:43:06.033,0:43:13.233
opportunities in using digital learning to promote equity and

0:43:13.233,0:43:16.233
to expand the circle of opportunity?

0:43:16.233,0:43:18.734
Shirley Malcolm: One of the things that really excited me about the first

0:43:18.734,0:43:23.867
presentation was that when called upon to talk about

0:43:23.867,0:43:26.934
performance of different groups, that there was the opportunity

0:43:26.934,0:43:30.834
to see that in fact that it had made a difference for all kids.

0:43:30.834,0:43:36.233
And I think that that is the real opportunity that is there.

0:43:36.233,0:43:42.166
Obviously the real challenge is to make sure that the tools that

0:43:42.166,0:43:45.867
are needed are going to be available.

0:43:45.867,0:43:50.700
I think that these, the stubborn performance gap,

0:43:50.700,0:43:54.900
and I will say it in all honesty,

0:43:54.900,0:43:59.934
that this is an unusual situation to be able to report

0:43:59.934,0:44:04.200
data such as Mooresville has reported.

0:44:04.200,0:44:06.834
In most cases, that's not what we're seeing.

0:44:06.834,0:44:11.633
We're seeing a gap that persists and that just does not move.

0:44:11.633,0:44:14.800
And so the question is why is that.

0:44:14.800,0:44:18.900
In part it is because we have thought about learning really as

0:44:18.900,0:44:23.767
only something that in fact happens in school all too often.

0:44:23.767,0:44:28.266
When in fact it happens or should happen everywhere.

0:44:28.266,0:44:31.533
Being able to have the technology allows you to do that

0:44:31.533,0:44:36.467
everywhere, you know, anywhere any time with the students.

0:44:36.467,0:44:40.033
And I think that that is a real promise and

0:44:40.033,0:44:42.533
it's a real opportunity.

0:44:42.533,0:44:47.433
Making sure that we in fact have the access that is available and

0:44:47.433,0:44:52.667
not differential expectations for students is really going to

0:44:52.667,0:44:55.333
be a challenge.

0:44:55.333,0:45:01.500
I was happy to hear that in the cyber learning grants were

0:45:01.500,0:45:04.500
included some which addressed issues related

0:45:04.500,0:45:06.767
to students with disabilities.

0:45:06.767,0:45:10.767
And I think that that's another access issue of a different

0:45:10.767,0:45:15.066
kind, but it is in fact an access issue and very happy

0:45:15.066,0:45:21.233
to see that these kinds of things are being attended to.

0:45:21.233,0:45:23.767
Tom Kalil: What do you think are the opportunities around

0:45:23.767,0:45:27.100
professional development, particularly in STEM,

0:45:27.100,0:45:28.834
science technology, engineering and math?

0:45:28.834,0:45:31.967
As you know this is a major priority for the President to

0:45:31.967,0:45:34.433
move the United States from the middle to the top of the pack

0:45:34.433,0:45:38.200
over the next decade and certainly teacher quality

0:45:38.200,0:45:40.567
is a major challenge in the STEM area.

0:45:40.567,0:45:44.800
So what are some opportunities to harness technology in the

0:45:44.800,0:45:48.100
area of professional development?

0:45:48.100,0:45:53.066
Shirley Malcolm: I think that especially for teachers who are seeking

0:45:53.066,0:45:55.700
professional education and professional experiences,

0:45:55.700,0:45:58.934
while at the same time they're in the classroom,

0:45:58.934,0:46:05.200
they need a place to be able to go and grab and get and learn

0:46:05.200,0:46:07.734
and update their content.

0:46:07.734,0:46:11.200
They need to be able to have access to hybrid learning

0:46:11.200,0:46:13.633
opportunities, not just ones that depend on

0:46:13.633,0:46:15.533
face-to-face contact.

0:46:15.533,0:46:19.200
And they need to be able, I think just as many of the rest

0:46:19.200,0:46:22.633
of us, if they don't understand it the first time around to be

0:46:22.633,0:46:25.633
able to go and revisit it time and time again until

0:46:25.633,0:46:27.100
they do understand it.

0:46:27.100,0:46:29.567
And I think that's one of the things that the technology can

0:46:29.567,0:46:31.500
actually allow.

0:46:31.500,0:46:35.567
We did a small experiment basically driven by necessity

0:46:35.567,0:46:38.633
by the fact that some of the teachers in a program that we

0:46:38.633,0:46:41.700
were running this summer could not, in fact,

0:46:41.700,0:46:45.133
all of them couldn't be there at the same time,

0:46:45.133,0:46:50.700
that we were able to incorporate a digital component with that

0:46:50.700,0:46:54.900
face-to-face in-the-lab kind of aspect.

0:46:54.900,0:46:58.467
And I think that those kinds of opportunities that we really

0:46:58.467,0:47:03.900
have to explore how we're going to be able to move that and to

0:47:03.900,0:47:10.033
use that in ways that are thoughtful to help teachers

0:47:10.033,0:47:14.433
have the tools that they need to address their learning and

0:47:14.433,0:47:16.533
their improvement.

0:47:16.533,0:47:17.867
Tom Kalil: Great.

0:47:17.867,0:47:22.166
Gabe, one of the things that Valve is doing is making your

0:47:22.166,0:47:25.100
level editors available so that's going to really

0:47:25.100,0:47:30.734
democratize both teachers and students being able to develop

0:47:30.734,0:47:32.834
games for learning.

0:47:32.834,0:47:36.266
What are some of the other things that you think the video

0:47:36.266,0:47:43.133
game industry can and should do to support games as a powerful

0:47:43.133,0:47:45.033
tool for learning?

0:47:45.033,0:47:47.400
Gabe Newell: Well, one of the things that we're doing is providing support

0:47:47.400,0:47:49.300
materials for teachers.

0:47:49.300,0:47:53.300
So there is a website that we've put up called "learning with

0:47:53.300,0:48:00.333
portals.com" that will give teachers guides to how to use

0:48:00.333,0:48:08.166
in an educational situation the physics curricula and the tools

0:48:08.166,0:48:10.500
that we're creating.

0:48:10.500,0:48:13.033
You know, just recognizing that you're part of that community

0:48:13.033,0:48:19.467
and connecting with giving them the ability to create -- you

0:48:19.467,0:48:22.667
know, we're all used to social networking, well, but, you know,

0:48:22.667,0:48:24.433
and most of the social networking environments there's

0:48:24.433,0:48:26.633
not this notion of a class, there's not this notion of

0:48:26.633,0:48:28.333
a teacher.

0:48:28.333,0:48:31.500
And those are easy things for us to add, you know, whether it's,

0:48:31.500,0:48:38.367
you know, an origin for EA or it's a battle net at blizzard,

0:48:38.367,0:48:42.767
and it would be very helpful as we explore ways that

0:48:42.767,0:48:45.166
entertainment software is complementary to educational

0:48:45.166,0:48:50.900
experiences for other game developers to embed those

0:48:50.900,0:48:54.967
kinds of notions into their social networking systems.

0:48:54.967,0:49:03.166
Tom Kalil: And are there ways in which you think that the industry could be

0:49:03.166,0:49:07.400
incented to do these types of things from a commercial point

0:49:07.400,0:49:09.333
of view as opposed to just a, you know,

0:49:09.333,0:49:11.133
corporate social responsibility or

0:49:11.133,0:49:12.400
philanthropical point of view?

0:49:12.400,0:49:13.033
Gabe Newell: Well, absolutely.

0:49:13.033,0:49:15.667
I mean, I'd sit down with Bobby Kodak at Activision or John

0:49:15.667,0:49:18.900
Riccitiello at Electronic Arts and just walk them through our

0:49:18.900,0:49:22.233
experiences and what we've been learning, you know.

0:49:22.233,0:49:25.000
I think there are tremendous opportunities to, you know,

0:49:25.000,0:49:27.200
not just commercial opportunities,

0:49:27.200,0:49:29.367
but I think to better understand the businesses

0:49:29.367,0:49:30.633
that we're already in.

0:49:30.633,0:49:32.500
And, I mean, these are convergent problems.

0:49:32.500,0:49:33.100
Tom Kalil: Right.

0:49:33.100,0:49:37.233
Gabe Newell: If they learn how to help a student in a middle school

0:49:37.233,0:49:39.934
understand fractions, they're probably going to find that

0:49:39.934,0:49:43.900
they're better across the board at everything else that they're

0:49:43.900,0:49:44.734
trying to do.

0:49:44.734,0:49:47.400
I think, you know, being better at this will help their bottom

0:49:47.400,0:49:51.100
line in a very ongoing basis.

0:49:51.100,0:49:52.600
Tom Kalil: Great. That's terrific.

0:49:52.600,0:49:57.900
So, David, as you have worked on developing an innovation

0:49:57.900,0:50:04.400
ecosystem, what are some of the challenges that smaller

0:50:04.400,0:50:07.500
companies, which is where a lot of the innovation occurs,

0:50:07.500,0:50:12.834
have reported to you as challenges associated with

0:50:12.834,0:50:16.500
addressing the educational market and what are some of the

0:50:16.500,0:50:19.467
things that you think school districts could do to help

0:50:19.467,0:50:21.266
address those barriers?

0:50:21.266,0:50:24.033
David Weiner: One of the biggest barriers that we've heard people say

0:50:24.033,0:50:25.734
is simply access.

0:50:25.734,0:50:28.800
People don't know how to access the marketplace of schools.

0:50:28.800,0:50:30.333
It's very difficult to get in.

0:50:30.333,0:50:31.800
If you can make a connection you may be able to get into

0:50:31.800,0:50:32.767
one school or two schools.

0:50:32.767,0:50:38.567
But it's really hard to actually be able to get access.

0:50:38.567,0:50:41.433
The second thing is is this idea of piloting programs or having,

0:50:41.433,0:50:44.166
you know, some degree of research and design.

0:50:44.166,0:50:47.767
In education it's, you know, it's the "do no harm."

0:50:47.767,0:50:50.500
There's a nervousness that if we try something new it might

0:50:50.500,0:50:52.000
be worse than what we currently have.

0:50:52.000,0:50:54.266
And although what we currently have is not great,

0:50:54.266,0:50:56.834
we're a little nervous it's going to go down.

0:50:56.834,0:51:00.133
And we feel like that that actually is our responsibility

0:51:00.133,0:51:01.834
as the district to actually, first of all,

0:51:01.834,0:51:05.033
open up our environment to smaller developers,

0:51:05.033,0:51:08.633
new people that want to get in, but also to pilot.

0:51:08.633,0:51:12.667
One of the things I think we recognize most clearly is we

0:51:12.667,0:51:16.300
have about 185 schools that are now in our iZone and we're going

0:51:16.300,0:51:19.066
up to 400 in two years, that some of the models that we

0:51:19.066,0:51:21.133
create are not going to work.

0:51:21.133,0:51:21.734
Tom Kalil: Right.

0:51:21.734,0:51:24.033
David Weiner: They may be fine, and they may not, you know,

0:51:24.033,0:51:26.433
they may not harm students, but they're not going to be those

0:51:26.433,0:51:30.467
groundbreaking leaps forward that we actually need.

0:51:30.467,0:51:34.433
But our hope is that of the 400 schools that are trying out lots

0:51:34.433,0:51:37.333
of different technologies, and partnering with outside smaller

0:51:37.333,0:51:41.867
and larger entrepreneurs, that we will find enough in that to

0:51:41.867,0:51:43.300
dramatically be able to grow.

0:51:43.300,0:51:46.100
School of One is a great example again because it's something

0:51:46.100,0:51:47.266
that has worked well.

0:51:47.266,0:51:49.433
It's at a school in Brooklyn right now.

0:51:49.433,0:51:53.000
We're expanding to five new Schools of One sites in January

0:51:53.000,0:51:55.166
and actually seven additional ones in September.

0:51:55.166,0:51:59.900
So data that shows that some of these entrepreneurial,

0:51:59.900,0:52:03.000
these different types of ideas that are actually working,

0:52:03.000,0:52:05.333
we want to expand quickly and that ideas that aren't going to

0:52:05.333,0:52:07.633
work we're going to close down as fast as we can.

0:52:07.633,0:52:10.834
And allowing smaller businesses, smaller groups to actually

0:52:10.834,0:52:12.633
access and come into the schools,

0:52:12.633,0:52:15.934
be able to try things out and pilot things is really where we

0:52:15.934,0:52:19.800
feel like we can have a lot of support and influence.

0:52:19.800,0:52:24.200
Tom Kalil: So it seems like one of the ways in which large school districts

0:52:24.200,0:52:27.500
could help drive the market is to define, as you said,

0:52:27.500,0:52:30.667
some specific learning outcomes or specific problems that you're

0:52:30.667,0:52:32.500
facing and saying, you know, if you could develop

0:52:32.500,0:52:36.333
a technology-enabled solution that would deliver the following

0:52:36.333,0:52:40.433
results, and here is how we'd measure it,

0:52:40.433,0:52:42.100
then we would buy it.

0:52:42.100,0:52:47.300
So by being a more proactive voice of the customer,

0:52:47.300,0:52:49.133
you might be in a position of saying, you know,

0:52:49.133,0:52:52.667
we don't want to just go out and buy a lot of technology for the

0:52:52.667,0:52:55.233
sake of technology, but we want to use it to solve a

0:52:55.233,0:52:56.567
particular problem.

0:52:56.567,0:53:01.166
Are there things like that that come to mind that could serve as

0:53:01.166,0:53:06.066
the basis for a pilot for how procurement could drive

0:53:06.066,0:53:12.900
innovation to solve a particular learning challenge?

0:53:12.900,0:53:15.200
David Weiner: Yeah, I mean, one of the challenges I think school

0:53:15.200,0:53:18.166
districts, and New York City, I would say, is one of them,

0:53:18.166,0:53:20.100
has really been defining what those challenges are.

0:53:20.100,0:53:21.467
We've done a bad job of saying, hey,

0:53:21.467,0:53:23.433
this is the challenge we're facing,

0:53:23.433,0:53:25.300
whether it's the achievement gap or supporting students with

0:53:25.300,0:53:28.333
disabilities or allowing students to access more

0:53:28.333,0:53:31.166
curricula, we've done a poor job of doing that.

0:53:31.166,0:53:34.633
The innovation ecosystem, and again kind of coupled with

0:53:34.633,0:53:37.900
Digital Promise, we hope, will allow us to be able to say these

0:53:37.900,0:53:39.567
are some of the challenges we're facing.

0:53:39.567,0:53:42.767
What's really important also is that we looked at all of

0:53:42.767,0:53:45.100
our different schools and some of our schools have

0:53:45.100,0:53:47.400
different challenges.

0:53:47.400,0:53:49.533
One of the schools in the iZone right now is a school called

0:53:49.533,0:53:53.767
Brooklyn Tech, it's one of our, one of our exam schools that is

0:53:53.767,0:53:54.800
a really high functioning school,

0:53:54.800,0:53:57.233
it's a Steiverson-type school so it really has

0:53:57.233,0:53:58.667
a top-level student.

0:53:58.667,0:54:01.033
Well, one of the challenges that we heard from their community

0:54:01.033,0:54:04.633
and their parents were that -- it sounds crazy -- but juniors

0:54:04.633,0:54:07.033
and seniors in their schools, their schedules were so tight

0:54:07.033,0:54:09.233
they weren't able to access enough AP classes.

0:54:09.233,0:54:11.633
So I'm not sure any student wants to take seven or eight AP

0:54:11.633,0:54:14.100
classes as a high school student but if there is a child that

0:54:14.100,0:54:15.967
does it's going to be at Brooklyn Tech.

0:54:15.967,0:54:18.467
So what we actually did is we actually built a digital

0:54:18.467,0:54:21.567
platform to actually allow blended learning.

0:54:21.567,0:54:23.433
So students are now actually getting some of the learning

0:54:23.433,0:54:25.400
in the classroom about half the time.

0:54:25.400,0:54:27.400
And then half the time they're required to do it at home as

0:54:27.400,0:54:29.900
part of, you know, homework and extended day.

0:54:29.900,0:54:33.133
This almost reminds me when I was in college and I had to do

0:54:33.133,0:54:35.133
some online work but we're really allowing our high school

0:54:35.133,0:54:35.967
students to do it.

0:54:35.967,0:54:39.667
So whereas last year Brooklyn Tech seniors could only take

0:54:39.667,0:54:41.667
five AP classes, they can now take seven.

0:54:41.667,0:54:43.600
(laughter)

0:54:43.600,0:54:45.567
Not that again that I would encourage anyone to do that

0:54:45.567,0:54:47.934
if they didn't want to, but that's something they could do.

0:54:47.934,0:54:49.567
On the other end of the spectrum --

0:54:49.567,0:54:50.967
Tom Kalil: That's a high class problem.

0:54:50.967,0:54:53.467
David Weiner: Yes, yes, yes, but it is a problem that we're hoping to

0:54:53.467,0:54:55.333
solve and that marketplace does.

0:54:55.333,0:54:58.166
And on the other end of the spectrum we have schools that

0:54:58.166,0:54:59.834
are called transfer schools.

0:54:59.834,0:55:02.133
And these schools are for students who have actually

0:55:02.133,0:55:04.667
dropped out of a traditional high school and they're trying

0:55:04.667,0:55:06.367
to get reengaged.

0:55:06.367,0:55:08.834
What we find is these kids come to us at 16, 17,

0:55:08.834,0:55:12.166
18 years old with two credits, three credits, so, you know,

0:55:12.166,0:55:14.133
it's going to take them four, almost five more years to

0:55:14.133,0:55:16.533
actually get through high school.

0:55:16.533,0:55:18.934
Traditionally we have been unable to provide more than

0:55:18.934,0:55:21.066
about five or six classes a year.

0:55:21.066,0:55:24.734
With our online platform now we are actually able to double and

0:55:24.734,0:55:26.667
actually almost triple the number of classes a student

0:55:26.667,0:55:27.834
would be able to take in a year.

0:55:27.834,0:55:29.967
So if you're 17 years old and you have the credits of a 9th

0:55:29.967,0:55:32.166
grader you can actually get through high school in two years

0:55:32.166,0:55:34.734
as long as you're committed and able to do learning inside the

0:55:34.734,0:55:36.266
school day and outside of it.

0:55:36.266,0:55:38.333
It allows you to meet students who have

0:55:38.333,0:55:39.934
nontraditional schedules.

0:55:39.934,0:55:42.166
Students that have to work or raising a child,

0:55:42.166,0:55:44.667
that we can actually work around their schedule.

0:55:44.667,0:55:47.533
Tom Kalil: So you're trying to move towards competency-based assessment as

0:55:47.533,0:55:50.000
opposed to how many hours were you in class?

0:55:50.000,0:55:51.533
David Weiner: That's exactly right. That's exactly right.

0:55:51.533,0:55:53.300
And we see it basically for all of our students.

0:55:53.300,0:55:54.500
Students, some of our top students,

0:55:54.500,0:55:56.200
some of our students that are struggling the most,

0:55:56.200,0:55:57.300
and all over the board.

0:55:57.300,0:56:00.367
So we have defined these challenges and we have worked

0:56:00.367,0:56:03.200
with groups like SYSCO and Google and Apple to say these

0:56:03.200,0:56:06.266
are some of our challenges; we need to get credit accumulation

0:56:06.266,0:56:09.433
faster in a competency-based manner and we need your help in

0:56:09.433,0:56:10.667
figuring out how we can do that.

0:56:10.667,0:56:12.400
That's really where we've been able to innovate.

0:56:12.400,0:56:13.133
Tom Kalil: Right.

0:56:13.133,0:56:16.967
Now, Mark, you cited some really extraordinary figures in terms

0:56:16.967,0:56:20.734
of the improvements that you've been able to make in student

0:56:20.734,0:56:22.133
learning outcomes.

0:56:22.133,0:56:25.767
And obviously, you know, there were probably a lot of things

0:56:25.767,0:56:28.867
that went into that, you know, leadership, parental engagement,

0:56:28.867,0:56:31.700
you know, teacher professional development.

0:56:31.700,0:56:35.066
But what do you think were some of the key wins in terms of the

0:56:35.066,0:56:38.266
role that technology-enabled learning played in that?

0:56:38.266,0:56:40.900
Mark Edwards: Well, you know, one of the real exciting outcomes,

0:56:40.900,0:56:44.433
it was kind of an unintended, is the level of collaboration that

0:56:44.433,0:56:48.266
goes on after school, that goes on with teachers in the evening

0:56:48.266,0:56:50.600
and on the weekends and from state to state and

0:56:50.600,0:56:51.967
region to region.

0:56:51.967,0:56:55.433
And there is this sense of a collaborative hum that occurs.

0:56:55.433,0:56:58.333
And there's this same type of excitement that is occurring

0:56:58.333,0:57:00.500
with teachers that we see with students.

0:57:00.500,0:57:03.667
And I think the relevance, the fact that it's relevant to the

0:57:03.667,0:57:06.600
future rather than part of the past,

0:57:06.600,0:57:09.633
is driving our new teachers' energy and excitement.

0:57:09.633,0:57:13.000
And I also think that when parents see this opportunity

0:57:13.000,0:57:16.600
for children, that they're more inclined to be part of it.

0:57:16.600,0:57:20.166
We're seeing in the evenings our teachers will engage with

0:57:20.166,0:57:22.300
students on online discussion boards.

0:57:22.300,0:57:26.200
Last winter we were out for snow and we had semester

0:57:26.200,0:57:27.367
exams coming up.

0:57:27.367,0:57:29.934
And we were on a time -- we had to move ahead.

0:57:29.934,0:57:32.767
But our teachers sent e-mails and we had hundreds of students

0:57:32.767,0:57:35.800
online in the evening connecting with each other,

0:57:35.800,0:57:39.533
connecting with their teachers preparing for this opportunity.

0:57:39.533,0:57:41.834
So I think that there are huge dividends.

0:57:41.834,0:57:45.266
And I think with the Lead Innovative Schools, Terry Grier,

0:57:45.266,0:57:47.100
the Superintendent of Houston ISD,

0:57:47.100,0:57:49.467
a good friend and colleague, we talk regularly.

0:57:49.467,0:57:52.200
Now, he's a district of 200,000 plus students,

0:57:52.200,0:57:56.834
but the opportunity to connect locally across the nation,

0:57:56.834,0:58:00.467
across the world, I think brings a level of excitement to the

0:58:00.467,0:58:04.333
classroom that there's a new sense of opportunity for all.

0:58:04.333,0:58:07.600
For teachers and for students.

0:58:07.600,0:58:10.066
Tom Kalil: Well, please join me in thanking what has been

0:58:10.066,0:58:11.500
an absolutely terrific panel.

0:58:11.500,0:58:19.266
(applause)

0:58:19.266,0:58:23.500
So we're going to go to the next phase of the program.

0:58:23.500,0:58:27.934
There are going to be three breakout sessions.

0:58:27.934,0:58:30.934
Everyone should know which breakout session they're

0:58:30.934,0:58:36.333
supposed to go to and there will be people with signs telling you

0:58:36.333,0:58:38.033
where to go.

0:58:38.033,0:58:42.066
I also want to introduce Adam Frankel who is -- Adam,

0:58:42.066,0:58:43.400
stand up.

0:58:43.400,0:58:44.667
Please join me in thanking Adam.

0:58:44.667,0:58:47.800
(applause)

0:58:47.800,0:58:52.000
And this is really going to require an all-hands-on-deck

0:58:52.000,0:58:56.867
effort, so please talk to Adam if you're interested in talking

0:58:56.867,0:58:59.500
about how you can get involved, how your organization can get

0:58:59.500,0:59:03.400
involved in making the Digital Promise a reality.

0:59:03.400,9:59:59.000
Thank you!