The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) just released a report “High-Speed Broadband Access for All Kids: Breaking through the Barriers” that makes recommendations on what schools need in terms of broadband. The short answer – they need more.

School need broadband to provide students with access to unique learning opportunities – my favorite was the class that watched the knee operation remotely. Just think of how much better school would have been with cool stuff like that. Many students also need access to distance learning and accessibility tools created from broadband applications.

Teachers need broadband for professional development. I’m going to add that teachers also need time for professional development. They can’t be expected to learn how to use these new tools in their off hours. The report names a few good places for students to learn remotely – in Minnesota I think TIES is a great resource.

Administrators need access to work more efficiently.

The report advices schools to work with local and community stakeholders to develop policies to support the network. (They also advocate for a national broadband strategy.) They also need to look into federal, state and local funding resources. The E-Rate stuff is still a good resources – but we need to make sure that doesn’t go away.

Read the report form more specific (broadband specific) goals and recommendations. The report is incredibly reader-friendly; all report writers should take a look at how they’ve done it. It looks like an educational resource.