Letter: Report on digital learning task force

Letter: Report on digital learning task force

Kim J. Kendall
St Augustine FL

Dear Editor:

It has been a pleasure to serve on both of our State’s Appointed Digital Task Forces.

Due to Legislation that required end-of-course exams online using digital textbooks, and due to the school districts and unions signing off on the “Race to the Top” program that required digital implementation for all classrooms within 2 years, our Task Force was presented the challenges and was tasked to create solutions.

Once we complete final editing, our report will be presented to the Governor, Speaker of the House, Senate President, and State of Board of Education. The draft version of the final report can be viewed on our website – http://tinyurl.com/ahczx33

The elements I am most pleased to add – include

• assuring parental and community input into digital content – on a continual basis

• requesting the Legislature to remove our restriction of only textbooks – and move to an Open Resource basis (where we can also access free content)

• suggesting an Open Content Resource Repository – that can be accessed by all parents and teachers around the state – and has a rating structure to see how teachers rate different resources they have used

• and several funding sources to implement technology in the classrooms (getting all 2.6 million students a rented laptop & all 4300+ schools the needed upgrades in infrastructure) – WITHOUT raising taxes – but by repurposing resources…

• the number one choice of repurposing resources would be to allow LOCAL control of class-size restrictions – and reuse the $3 BILLION our state spends annually to implement class size – to instead use that funding to implement class-size – have funds for teacher merit pay – and at the same time would save all of our students’ electives/sports/honors courses.

I’d be happy to forward any feedback to our task force members.