Last week I had the pleasure to participate in an hour long Webinari [0] that presented the current progress of the Office of Secretary of Defense’s Advanced Distributed Learning System:

http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=35942&s=1&k=8A775C7BDDA7FD5B7E54D30964855C3A [1]

I participated in the founding meeting of ADL in Arlington in October, 1997. Since then it has accomplished it goal of developed standards for instructional digital curriculum. Their Sharable Content Object Reference Model uses metatags so that metatag repositories can be created to share digital content across learning management systems and multiple courseware applications. The initial focus has been on military and government training and education with strong extensions into workforce training and higher education.

There was one big surprise in ADLS president Bob Wisher’s presentation. Korea’s K-12 education system is the largest SCORM adopter in the world. With Korea at about 10 times the size of Arizona, this means 10 million students are supported by this system. Korea may have taken the lead in transition from computers and connectivity to digital curriculum.

There is an interesting back story where Arizona may have played a role in Korea’s current situation. In 1992-93 the Korean president’s brother, the Minister of Information Technology and also the CEO of their largest computer company visited ASU. In this pre-Internet era, ASU was (and still is) developing innovative high broadbandi [1] data file transfer and communication systems.

eSATSi [1] at that time was called Learning/Researchi [1]/Enterprise Institute and had been asked to speak to the Minister and his cohorts. We spilled the beans about how the next generation of education must have a systems approach with focus on courseware and would require broadband telecom into the classroom.

Fourteen years later Korean national government stepped up to the plate and installed 100 mbs into every home at a fraction of the $16 a month we pay for 1 mbs. They also have the most advanced instruction support system into their schools and home. Korea has a per capita income of $10,000. Arizona has a per capita income of $30,000. All it took was political will with an action priority on education. Go figure!

HB2742 schools: technology systems grants: The normal committee hearings and floor votes have halted on the eLearningi [1] bill and it has become a “money bill.” Republican legislative leadership responds to their membership in both house and senate when they form their priorities. Now is the time for an all out effort to take our message to each legislator. We must assure that the $10 million bill to launch the transition of Arizona schools to eLearning is on as many member priority lists as possible.

Your task is simple. Just sent an email to your district legislators (3) requesting that HB2742 be put on their priority list. Just one, two or three constituents contacting a legislator will make a huge difference. This is Representative Mark Anderson’s top priority bill. He has worked hard for the past six months bring it to budget consideration. We must not let him down.

If you have not yet contacted your legislator, just this once take ten minutes, go to www.azleg.gov [2] and click on members. If you do not know your district number click on How Do I Find My Legislators? [3] Then get off that all important email right now.