IMS Global: What you're talking about here seems to go to the heart of DOE's commission findings on the need for assessment for accountability and accessibility.
LG: Testing, or assessment, has become central to new educational initiatives, in order to demonstrate accountability, productivity and responsible use of funds. With the new information technologies, we not only can assess how far students have come through standardized tests, but far better, can assess each person's individual strengths and weaknesses. Teachers and parents, and the students themselves, then can learn exactly what needs to be done and how it can best be achieved for each student. The best education, after all, is interactive and individually focused.
IMS Global: Considering your extensive background working in television, what do you believe we've learned from working in multimedia and its application to learning?
LG: The Digital Promise Project actually got its start by focusing on television, especially public television. Back in the 1990's I served on the board of Connecticut Public Television and chaired its strategic planning committee. Congress mandated that all television stations, public and commercial, had to convert to digital from analog distribution, a much more efficient use of the publicly owned radio spectrum. Digital TV allows many more channels per frequency; makes interactivity possible, and improves the quality of sound and picture. It became clear that Connecticut public television had to redefine its role in this new digital environment. In a digital world it has the opportunity to bring into the home, school and workplace the state's libraries and museums, which contain the DNA of our civilization; the services of its schools and universities, its public health and civic centers. Our project aroused the interest of the major foundations which then broadened the inquiry to explore the ways in which the new information technologies could serve the public interest. The result of our research was a book published in 2001 called A Digital Gift to the Nation, which laid out our recommendations, which eventually were translated into federal legislation in the House and Senate.
IMS Global: Are you frustrated that this initiative is not getting as much visibility as it should? Or that it is taking so long to gain momentum?
LG: The slow pace of progress can certainly be frustrating. But look at the precedents for our effort. The farsighted Land Grant Colleges Act was vetoed twice before it was signed by President Lincoln signed. The GI Bill was passed out of committee by just one vote. And a Senator had to be carried from his sick bed to cast that vote. In 1950, landmark legislation establishing the National Science Foundation was ready for passage when North Korea invaded South Korea. All new programs were put on hold, given the need to build up our armed forces and prepare for war. Eventually Congress realized the critical importance of improving and expanding our nation's investment in science. And so NSF received a small appropriation to start, and now has evolved as a major national force for innovation in science with a budget of several billion dollars a year.
We are optimistic that Digital Promise will have similar long-term success, and will be voted by Congress if not in this session, then in the next. As Brooklyn Dodger fans used to chant, "Wait `til next year."
