Monthly Archives: October 2012

Free College Courses? Not in MN says MN Office of Higher Education

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Sometimes technology brakes come from unusual places – such as the Office of Higher Education.

I’ve written about Coursera in the past…

They are posting top classes from top universities online for free. It has leveled the playing field for access to education. But there are questions about what impact that will have on paying students. (Free classes do not qualify students for a degree.) I think this is an opportunity for some of the greatest education minds to figure out how to really make online education work.

It turns out that the greatest minds in Minnesota have decided that best answer is to just say no…

The state’s Office of Higher Education has informed the popular provider of massive open online courses, or MOOC’s, that Coursera is unwelcome in the state because it never got permission to operate there. It’s unclear how the law could be enforced when the content is freely available on the Web, but Coursera updated its Terms of Service to include the following caution:

Notice for Minnesota Users:
Coursera has been informed by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education that under Minnesota Statutes (136A.61 to 136A.71), a university cannot offer online courses to Minnesota residents unless the university has received authorization from the State of Minnesota to do so. If you are a resident of Minnesota, you agree that either (1) you will not take courses on Coursera, or (2) for each class that you take, the majority of work you do for the class will be done from outside the State of Minnesota.

Tricia Grimes, a policy analyst for the state’s Office of Higher Education, said letters had been sent to all postsecondary institutions known to be offering courses in Minnesota. She said she did not know specifically whether letters had been sent to other MOOC providers like edX and Udacity, and officials there did not immediately respond to questions from The Chronicle.

Again the classes are now offered for credit.

Goodhue & Dakota Counties may collaborate on fiber network

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According to a recent article in the Red Wing Republican Eagle…

One hundred forty-four strands of optical fiber are being installed between Red Wing and Hastings, and Goodhue County has the option to purchase a portion of them.

At a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday afternoon, Goodhue County commissioners were presented information by Dakota County officials about joining together for the purchase.

It’s one of the rare situations where supply of broadband seems to be outpacing demand – but the county is looking early at making the investment in the future. This is the opportunity…

The fiber is owned by Hiawatha Broadband Communications, but HBC is offering local government agencies the chance to buy 12 of the 144 total strands.

“Much of it’s in place already … and it’s a good opportunity for us to jump on board at a one-time cost,” Goodhue County Information Technology Director Randy Johnson said.

The cost is about $30,000…

Although numbers haven’t been officially negotiated, it is estimated that Goodhue County would contribute $30,000 for the project. The cost would be a one-time fee.

The policymakers are looking into reasons to make the investment…

Since the county already has a fiber connection in the Government Center, the board questioned why more strands would be needed.

“This would enhance that connection,” Asp said.

Still, some commissioners had trouble seeing more than a single advantage to the agreement.

“If somehow a line is cut to the south, we would have fiber to the north. That’s the benefit I see,” Commissioner Ron Allen said.

“That’s just one of the many, many possible benefits,” Johnson responded.

The IT director said there would be potential for connecting phone systems and backing up data with Dakota County, as well as opening up the fiber for economic development to private entities through leasing agreements.

“There’s a million things you could do,” Johnson noted in a follow-up interview after the meeting.

Cyber Security Summit 2012: Notes from Conference

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Last week I attended the second annual Cyber Security Summit in downtown Minneapolis. It was well attended by Government and private sector IT folks. I tried to take fairly complete notes – and I will include those below but I wanted to include a quicker summary of major themes and recommendations that seemed to emerge.

Several speakers alluded to profiles of attacks or attackers:

  • Terrorists – persistent, determined, organized
  • Warring Nations – motivated, well sponsored, relentless, targeted
  • Hackivists, such as Anonymous – unorganized, random, irrational
  • Cyber Criminals – looking for monetary gain
  • Corporate Espionage

They outlined the anatomy of an attack:

  • Choose your target
  • Study, analyze identify
  • Plan
  • Implement (and re-use your library of pre-weaponized exploits) and test
  • Execute

They outlined some steps to take as precautions:

  • Demand better software. When you write RFPs or upgrade systems – ask for the best in terms of security.
  • Deploy pro-active defenses and total vulnerability management
  • Test what you have for unknown vulnerabilities.
  • Fuzz – process of sending intentionally invalid data to product in the hopes of the triggering an effort condition or fault.
  • Create a contingency plan
  • Deploy data-centric not system-centric security
  • Crowdsource security!
  • Use positive social engineering
  • Show value to mission by allowing risks

Cyber Security Plan:

  1. Anticipate
  2. Plan
  3. Implement and Adapt
  4. Improvise

And spoke about the kill chain analysis:

Kill Chain Analysis – Reconnaissance – Weaponization – Delivery – Exploitation – Installation – C2 – Actions

They spoke a lot about users being a weak link – both in terms of making mistakes and being lured by nefarious sources to share information they shouldn’t. And mistakes are made at all levels, low level users who don’t know the risk and IT folks who get complacent.

And there was talk of security at a higher level. Everyone expressed a need for communication among security professionals. It’s important to share information on attacks or disruptions both in terms of helping recognize trends and in terms of sharing warning and advice with others. There was a lot of discussion about how much info to share. No one wants to give away any trade secrets or admit to too much damage. There was also talk of the role of government. Everyone seemed to agree that there is a role for government – but is that role to coordinate communication efforts not necessarily to actually mandate security standards.

In a funny way it was like listening to parents of grade school kids. When someone else’s kid is sick or maybe a better analogy, has lice – I want the school to make them stay at home until it’s fixed and I want to know exactly how close that kid got to mine. When my kid gets lice, I’m hoping for discretion. And the truth is while some discretion is kind, unless you want kids infecting (and re-infecting) each other parents need to know the dangers and the signs. Same as with cyber  security.

It was heartening to hear of some of the efforts that are happening, such as:

  • Center for Internet Security: a not-for-profit organization focused on enhancing the cyber security readiness and response of public and private sector entities, with a commitment to excellence through collaboration. Through its three divisions–Security Benchmarks, Multi-State ISAC and Trusted Purchasing Alliance–CIS serves as a central resource in the development and delivery of high-quality, timely products and services to assist our partners in government, academia, the private sector and the general public in improving their cyber security posture.
  • US-CERT: mission is to improve the nation’s cybersecurity posture, coordinate cyber information sharing, and proactively manage cyber risks to the nation while protecting the constitutional rights of Americans. US-CERT’s vision is to be a trusted global leader in cybersecurity – collaborative, agile, and responsive in a complex environment.

Both offer a range of services to public and private entities – such a personalized security scans and bulk email lists for sharing more general incidents and risks.

Finally it sounds like cyber security is big business. Folks were interested in developing a cluster in the Twin Cities. It would require trained people, access to research, access to businesses. To get the ball rolling, the FBI announced that they had just received word to hire new staff (Computer Science person) quickly. Contact Minneapolis FBI for more info.

And here are my more complete notes – offered asis… Continue reading →

Minnesota Broadband Task Force meeting October 16, 2012 – Full Notes

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Yesterday I attended the Minnesota Broadband Task Force. There were a couple of conversations that struck me as particularly interesting:

  • The Governor’s November budget forecast will be released December 5. It makes sense to release the Broadband report close to that date to make sure the recommendations are included in any budget discussion. (This is the first time I have heard any talk of public budget related broadband in Minnesota. I think it’s definitely a positive for advocates of better broadband!)
  • FirstNet is a public safety network approach – the task force saw an interesting presentation on it. (Kindly shared by Brandon Abley below.) One note – the safety net will reach some of the far corners of the state with LTE. While the FirstNet people cannot serve broadband to residents, they can work with private and/or semi-private entities to share middle mile access (sounds like open access model approach) to folks who could extend to last mile service. That being said, this network may take a while to build – it’s still in the planning stages
  • The League of Cities had some questions/suggestions in terms of policies. The details are outlines before. One concern is that the door remains open for municipal networks. Fun to see an outside entity engaging!
  • Also fun to get a demo of the online music classes offered by MacPhail, which is where the task force met this month.

The next meeting will be in Duluth on November 13 – immediately preceding the Fall Broadband Conference.

Agenda:

 •10:00 – 10:15 Welcome/Public Comments/Approve Minutes – (moved to end of day

 •10:15 – 10:45 Welcome, Overview and Demonstration by MacPhail

Here’s a very cool demonstration of the remote music instruction – remote jazz class is in Yellow Medicine East…

  Continue reading →

Two views on ARRA-funded fiber in Brainerd

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It’s week for opposing views on community fiber networks. Yesterday Renville-Sibely, today Brainerd.

In September, Northland’s NewsCenter ran an article on the fiber network expanding around Brainerd…

Construction of nearly 430 miles of fiber optic network cable is underway in Brainerd.

It’s part of the three year Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project that rolled into Duluth and Superior last year in August. …

“Those that have reached out to us are excited about the opportunity of another broad band pipe and capacity in the community,” Jennifer Spaude, Enventis Director of Investor Relations said. “Broadband is certainly not a luxury it’s a requirement for a healthy community to thrive.”

The network will deliver a minimum of 100 MB of broadband Ethernet services to 80 major healthcare, government and education systems as well as to 74,000 small and medium businesses.

On Sunday (Oct 14, 2012), the Brainerd Dispatch posted a letter to the editor with a rebuttal to the original story…

But what the article fails to mention, and bureaucrats at the federal and state levels grossly overlooked when awarding grant funds, is that this network and bandwidth already exists. …

I’m simply amazed that this project is even happening and that the federal government is picking up the tab for 69 percent of it. It is a fact that there are already multiple fiber cables along 100 percent of this route from Brainerd to Moorhead. There are portions of this route where the new Enventis facility is the sixth fiber cable to be placed in the road ditch and there’s barely any room to place another cable. Federal funding is being given to duplicate facilities that are already in place.

With transport capacity and fiber windows already available along the Brainerd-Moorhead route today through the networks of the independent telephone companies (as well as others), all of the services proposed to be offered by Enventis are already available. The independent telephone company networks can already provide 100 Mb/s, 1 Gb/s, or even 10 Gb/s ethernet network connectivity to any of the cities, towns, and community anchor institutions that Enventis proposes to reach with its Brainerd-Moorhead route.

Here is more information on the Eventis project – borrowed from when I took a closer look at the project in 2010…

Enventis Telecom – This approximately $16.8 million award, with more than $7.2 million in matching contributions, will allow Enventis Telecom to offer affordable middle-mile broadband service in Minnesota. The project plans to directly connect 70 community institutions to broadband. As many as 350,400 people stand to benefit as do 28,000 businesses. Enventis estimates that the project will create more than 250 jobs…

The project will connect Rochester’s Mayo Clinic campus with 12 rural health care facilities throughout southern Minnesota. The high-speed broadband will enable the clinic to provide distance health care training, education and remote telemedicine services to patients in rural areas.

And a little more information on Jason Dale, who wrote the letter to the editor…

Jason Dale is the CEO of Cooperative Network Services, LLC, headquartered in Menahga, Minn. Cooperative Network Services (or “CNS”) is owned by 20 rural cooperative telephone companies, mostly in Minnesota.

CNS sent these similar concerns to NTIA back in 2010 when service providers were invited to send responses to applications.  

Minnesota Mobile App Contest – win up to $25,000 in prizes

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I just learned about the following opportunity from MobCon from the MHTA (Minnesota High Tech Association) newsletter and I thought/hoped it might spur some fun app developing…

As part of MobCon 2012, in conjunction with Mobile Twin Cities and Lazard Middle Market, we will present a series of mobile application demonstrations by developers. A cash prize of $5,000 plus a $20,000 credit towards mobile development will be awarded to the developers of the mobile application deemed most “technical, innovative and profitable”, by conference attendees. …

Apply now to present a mobile application demonstration at MobCon 2012. A committee of judges will select finalists to showcase their applications and MobCon attendees will vote to choose a winner. Deadline for entries is October 15th, 2012.

Good luck! Applications due November 1, 2012.

Two Views on Renville-Sibley County

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Last week we reported that RS Fiber in Renville and Sibley Counties is holding off any decisions on a community fiber to the premise network. The New Ulm Journal posted more details…

Minneapolis attorney Robert J.V. Vose of Kennedy & Grave, representing RS Fiber – the project designed to provide phone, cable and broadband internet service in Sibley and Renville counties – said Oppenheimer, the project’s bond underwriter, requires legal opinions from local counsel for the RS Fiber Joint Powers Agreement and a project Debt Service Shortfall Agreement.

That’s where the rub comes. No legal opinions on those two agreements have been received. …

According to an Oct. 2, letter to the Sibley County Board and County Attorney David Schauer, Verlane L. Endorf of Dorsey & Whitney wrote that the law firm is unable to reach the certainty necessary to express an opinion that the JPA and SA would, if challenged, be upheld in the courts.

The letter further stated that the lack of an opinion does not mean that the law firm believes that the County is legally prohibited from project participation.

Endorf wrote that one possibility to resolve the issue would be to seek special legislation to clarify transaction authorization.

On the same day the New Ulm Journal also posted a letter to the editor from Brent Christensen from Minnesota Telecom Alliance. He had serious about the viability of the community fiber plan. The following day, Mark Erickson Winthrop City Administrator/EDA Director posted a rebuttal to the concerns. I thought I’d try to post the points and counter points below…

From Brent:

The consulting team responsible for the Monticello, Minnesota fiber project is working on the Sibley County project. The same financial advisor, the same telecommunications consultant, the company that ran the Monticello network and walked away around the time the city decided to stop making bond payments. In Monticello, the news media has reported that the city has stopped making payments on its bond and the municipal liquor operation is using its profits to help cover operating expenses.

From Mark:

Yes, we have the same consultant and company that ran the Monticello network and we’re not only excited to have them working for us we’re proud to have them on board. Both are recognized as the best in their fields. If Mr. Christensen had done the homework we did, he would have learned the problems Monticello experienced had nothing to do with their consultant and operator. And the operator didn’t “walk away” from the Monticello project. In fact they are still providing some services to Monticello.

From Brent:

An attorney retained by the city of Gaylord prepared a legal memorandum that stated, “I believe the financing involves substantial risks which should be considered.” …

Gaylord’s legal advisor also disagreed with legal advice previously given to the project that a referendum is not needed before constructing the network. Even though state law requires a referendum, project leaders do not want voters to have a say in the matter and have ignored that requirement. Given the size of the bonding, voters deserve a say on the matter.

From Mark:

In fact, their bond attorney did say that. However he was not asked and is not qualified to give an opinion on the risk involved in the project. Why? Because he is a specialized bond attorney not a telecommunications consultant. The cities and counties have discussed the risk involved for almost two years and feel the rewards greatly outweigh the risk. …

Again, Gaylord’s bond attorney is not qualified to answer that question. It’s not a bonding question it’s a telecommunications law question. The current law on phone authority was written about 80 years ago. Technology has evolved in the last eight decades and we have been advised by our project attorney, who specializes in telecommunications law that our fiber network is not subject to the outdated law.

From Brent:

According to the Gaylord Hub, Sibley County’s bond counsel provided legal advice to the county that it was not authorized under state law to participate in a project of this type. Unfortunately, county residents can’t be sure what is in the document because the county’s attorney claims the document is “privileged information” which means it is not publicly available for viewing.

From Mark:

That is simply not true. Sibley County’s bond counsel said they wouldn’t offer an opinion on the matter. That’s a far cry from not authorized. In fact, one of the legal points that is generally not in dispute is that cities and counties have authority to work together to construct a fiber network.

From Brent:

The business model suggests 70 percent of all households will subscribe to two services. This number is not achievable. The trend in Minnesota is toward wireless.

From Mark:

Again, that is not a true statement. The business model says that 59 percent of the home and businesses in the county need to take phone service to make it cash flow. We are aware of the trend toward wireless, that’s why our business model predicts a steady drop in wire line phone revenues in the years ahead. Already about 55 percent of the households and small businesses in the project have sent in pledge cards. The project only needs about 300 more customers in the first three years to break even. That’s achievable.

From Brent:

RS Fiber plans to price 10 percent below existing providers according to the information on their website. Check with Monticello to see how pricing works in a competitive market.

From Mark:

We did and the residents and businesses in Monticello are saving several million dollars a year in lower fees from the providers. The fact is the phone company in Monticello sued the city and then built out a fiber network while the lawsuit was settled in the city’s favor. If one of the phone companies in Sibley County wants to build a fiber to the home/farm network in our project area, please do so. We think that would be great.

Reducing rates to get low income folks online is smart investment for providers

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Last week the Blandin Foundation hosted a webinar on Digital Inclusion: Success from the Frontline. One of the speakers was Dick Sjoberg, of Sjoberg Cable. Dick talked about their success with offering low cost broadband access to low incomes folks in their services area around Thief River Falls.

I thought it would be helpful for other local broadband providers and communities to hear how and why their program works. Dick points out that while it’s nice to do something for the community, that it has also been a very good marketing project. He offers reduced rates for a set period of time, but finds that 80 percent of those who trial broadband through the program extend their subscription.

Dick has been working with MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) partners. The community has been working to provide low cost computers and training as well as reduced broadband subscriptions.

Privacy: How much does your cell phone provider know about you?

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Yesterday Senator Al Franken announced the release of a new report he requested from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that shows wireless companies are not providing consumers enough information about how they use and share their private location data, and says that federal action would likely help address this problem.

Franken is the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. According to a recent press release, Franken maintains…

Americans have a fundamental right to privacy: to know what information is being collected about them and to be able to control whether or not that information is shared with third parties

The GAO reports indicates that this is not currently the case…

Location-based services provide consumers access to applications such as real-time navigation aids, access to free or reduced-cost mobile applications, and faster response from emergency services, among other potential benefits. However, the collection and sharing of location data also pose privacy risks. Specifically, privacy advocates said that consumers: (1) are generally unaware of how their location data are shared with and used by third parties; (2) could be subject to increased surveillance when location data are shared with law enforcement; and (3) could be at higher risk of identity theft or threats to personal safety when companies retain location data for long periods or share data with third parties that do not adequately protect them.

Industry associations have made recommendations, but as of yet those are just recommendations not requirements. Franken goes on in his press release to introduce his Location Privacy Protection Act…

And this report clearly shows that mobile industry companies often fail to respect that right, giving out consumers’ location data without their knowledge or explicit consent. The report makes a strong case that legislation is needed to better protect our privacy-and I’ve authored a bill to do just that. My Location Privacy Protection Act would require companies to get your permission before they get your location information or share it with third parties-a commonsense solution to make sure that consumers’ privacy is protected.

I think a huge part of the issue is getting people to understand how much data is collected and how little control they have over their data. I attended a Cyber Security conference this week (hope to write up the notes over the weekend) and that was a common theme there too – people need to understand the importance.

Last summer I saw a fantastic talk on exactly how much data a mobile carrier has about its users. Perhaps this will help spur an interest in personal privacy…

Police in Benton County using broadband

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St Cloud Times recently highlighted a Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) project that helped local police officers get better connected…

McDermott details some of the current uses of technology…

He already has accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Benton County also opened up an Emergency Mass Notification System that works as a reverse 911. Residents can sign up for alerts to their land and mobile lines as well as email. Stearns County offers similar services. …

He sees iPads as an incredible tool for emergencies in the operation centers, and he has gotten board approval for a number of iPads to be purchased for county use. It would be useful to get the instantaneous, boots-on-the-ground information streamed video could provide.

An app available to McDermott can help first responders quickly deal with an improvised explosive device or a hazardous materials (hazmat) situation. It quickly calculates an evacuation radius, factors in real-time weather data, determines needed road blocks and identifies schools and emergency centers near the area. Other apps will help narrow down what a substance is so they can quickly look up procedures to deal with it.

He also has programs to track dangerous weather systems.

McDermott has also set up wiki pages for agencies he works with so they can post electronic copies of information and share it. For instance, Benton County’s Emergency Operation Plan is available there.

He also has mapping apps, a police radio, apps on setting up a crime scene. One app shows him every current alert in the world. There are also extrication guides for cars which show areas to cut or to avoid.

And the article highlights the need for greater broadband coverage, such as the statewide Emergency System radio system for the state, which will hopefully mean that police officers will no longer have to rely on commercial cell phone coverage. They are also working on next-generation 911 system

Currently, the department is working on a next-generation, statewide 911 system. Operators can often easily transfer voice communication to a neighboring center but not necessarily all the data gathered from that call at the same time. …

Once next-generation 911 is available throughout the state, 911 text messages become a possibility. But first, they have to get carriers to decide how they will perform the service, and they want to make sure it’s available statewide.

Minnestoa Broadband Task Force: Next Meeting October 16

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The agenda is now out for the next Task Force meeting. I plan to attend and will take notes:

Details:

October 16
Minneapolis
MacPhail Center for Music
501 South Second Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Agenda:

  • 10:00 – 10:15 Welcome/Public Comments/Approve Minutes
  • 10:15 – 10:45 Welcome, Overview and Demonstration by MacPhail
  • 10:45 – 11:00 Discussion of new mobile subgroup lead by Bob Bass, call for volunteers
  • 11:00 – 11:45 Discussion of December report—content, organization
  • 11:45 – 12:15 Working lunch: Discussion of “roadmap” for 2013 (for inclusion in December report)
  • 12:15 – 12:45 Andrew Elofson and Casey Sorensen, PCs for People
  • 12:45 – 1:15 Brandon Abley, Minnesota Department of Public Safety—FirstNet
  • 1:15 – 2:45 Subgroup breakout time—use for discussing workplan and setting up weekly calls:
    • 1:15 – 1:45 First breakout time for subgroups
      Room 310: Locations
      Room 125: Best Practices/Incentives
      Room 127: State of Broadband
    • 1:45 – 2:15 Second breakout time for subgroups
      Room 125: Coordination Across Government Levels
      Room 127: Mobile Broadband
    • 2:15 — 2:45 Third breakout time for subgroups
      Room 127: Monitor/Understand Impact of FCC & PUC Decisions; Cost of Broadband
      Room 125: Broadband Adoption
  • 2:45 – 3:00 Other business/Upcoming meetings

Update on Ramsey County Fiber Project: Incumbents want to see financials

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It’s been a tough week for county-wide fiber projects. Yesterday the Renville-Sibley Fiber project remained on hold. The Ramsey Fiber project has also found a fly in the ointment; the St Paul Pioneer Press reports…

The St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce has requested a financial analysis of Ramsey County’s proposed $14 million fiber optic broadband network, saying it wants to make sure the county is using taxpayer money wisely.

The request is not unexpected, the Pioneer Press reported last month…

The county and Minnesota Fiber are negotiating a contract and expect to come to an agreement in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Comcast has filed an open records request with the county to find out more about its financial arrangements with Minnesota Fiber, Coleman [regional vice president of government affairs for Comcast] said.

The Chamber reports that they are looking out for the best interest of the taxpayers…

[St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce President] Kramer said the chamber wants to see the analysis before it makes up its mind on whether the county is fulfilling its role as “stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”

But the article points out that they also represent the main competition…

The request is a response to chamber members that oppose the county’s project or have concerns about its viability, chamber President Matt Kramer said Tuesday, Oct. 9.

Among those are Comcast, the nation’s leading cable company and the Twin Cities’ dominant provider of cable broadband services, as well as CenturyLink, the state’s dominant telephone company. Both oppose the Ramsey County project, saying it will create a subsidized private competitor and possibly take away cities and other public entities that currently buy their services.

I understand the Chamber looking out for the interests of their members. I wasn’t aware that they represented taxpayers – except of course the taxpayers who are also members.

Renville-Sibley Fiber – still on hold

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The Sibley County Commissioners met today – and the short answer is the community fiber project is still waiting for the counties to vote. RS Fiber has been spearheading the community fiber effort. The current crossroad is getting the counties to agree to move forward. A vote to move forward was delayed about two weeks ago and planned for today. The vote has again been postponed.

KEYC reported on the story…

The work session was not about if the project was something the counties wanted, the question at hand was if the counties could legally provide the RS Fiber. It’s an estimated 70 million dollar publicly financed, privately managed projected that would provide high speed Internet and state–of the–art telephone and television service. Despite residents requests for the commission to move forward with approval the commissioners didn’t feel comfortable doing so without first getting approval from legal council. Sibley County Economic Development Director Tim Dolan says, “I think it has merit I think it certainly has legal merit to do it that way. You know I think there are selfish reasons why people might want to see the project move forward quicker, but you know we’re not going to be able to break ground on it until spring next year. So, I’m thinking there maybe time there still and we’ll go ahead. You know, I’m an optimist.”

The RS Fiber Facebook page also reports on the day’s activities:

After more than 90 minutes of comments and discussion, the commissioners decided to wait until a bond counsel opinion has been received before taking action on the matter. Commissioner Jim Swanson stated, “We all agree on the benefits,” but said that if it were put to a contingency vote at that moment, he would vote no. The meeting ended without a motion, and the consensus that the matter would be brought up again when there is something to act on.

It looks as if local residents are posting good questions (and getting answers) on the Facebook Page if you are interested in more info.

New language of education: Knowmads on the infinite campus

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Yesterday I attended the second annual EduTech conference at the University of Minnesota. It is cosponsored by TiE and College of Education and Human Development. The theme was “Defining the Frontier of Education, Research and Entrepreneurship.” Attendees included a mix of educators and entrepreneurs that met in the middle in a quest to harness technology to improve learning. A couple of themes stood out for me:

  1. the idea of using technology to personalize education
  2. the importance of arming teachers to facilitate education – to move from “sage on the stage to  guide on the side” (they need tools, not subject specialists – they are the specialists!)
  3. Society 3.0 will reward the knowmads, but they need education 3.0 to succeed

I was particularly inspired by the lunchtime keynote – Dr John Moravec, who was kind enough to share his presentation with me…

He introduced the idea of knowmads. They…

  • Are not restricted to a specific age.
  • Build their personal knowledge through explicit information gathering and tacit experiences, and leverage their personal knowledge to produce new ideas.
  • Are able to apply their ideas and expertise contextually in various social and organizational configurations.
  • Are highly motivated to collaborate, and are natural networkers, navigating new organizations, cultures, and societies.
  • Purposively use new technologies to help them solve problems and transcend geographical limitations.
  • Are open to sharing what they know, and invite the open access to information, knowledge and expertise from others.
  • Develop habits of mind and practice to learn continuously, and can unlearn as quickly as they learn, adopting new ideas and practices as necessary.
  • Thrive in non-hierarchical networks and organizations.
  • Are not afraid of failure.

These are the skills of the future. I think the big question is – are we preparing students to succeed in this world?  More immediately, are these skills we are cultivating in the US at any level? If not, why not?

Funny enough Dr Moravec mentioned one place where you tend to see Knowmads – in the coffee shops. In the workplace, that atmosphere is being replicated in coworking centers – but again where in school is this happening? An interesting quote from his presentation speaks like the ghost of Education Past – intending I suspect to inspire change, not predict the future…

“Education is particularly resistant to change because its whole purpose is to preserve the past.” –Anya Kamenetz futr.es/11a

We also heard from some ghosts of Education present…

We heard from a few Minnesota schools and projects on the front lines; faculty from Byron ISD spoke about “Classroom Transformation with eee’s.” The three e’s being:

  1. E-curriculum (especially the flipped classroom
  2. E-learning (blended classes that meet sometimes)
  3. E-Portfolios (that highlight students’ work and reflection

A key component, I think, is creating students that are more active and more responsible for their own education. Students are responsible for doing their work – from watching videos to homework and to choosing work to highlight work in the portfolio. Kids who don’t do their work have privileges revoked. The teachers note that the eee’s have been effective. They have seen improvement in classwork and general understanding of subjects. Students and parents like the changes. Moving to a flipped model is saving the district money – no more textbooks. And teaching is not available 2/47, which seems to suit students.

There are some challenges. There is more upfront work for the teachers to create the content they need – and teachers talk about the need for more tools to create content easily that allows them to collaborate with students. They also wish that the department of education would help facilitate flipped model with tools that help teachers better collaborate – and maybe even a shared repository of content. Finally teachers need time and help learning how to teach online. Byron has a 6-week online e-certification program for teachers and a digital learning coach to help implement and evaluate classes. (You can learn more here: https://sites.google.com/a/byron.k12.mn.us/bps-transformation)

And the ghost of Education future…

The morning keynote (Dr Charles Miller) introduced two projects happening at the University now:

  • Ave – a cool tool that facilitates video use in ASL classes. Teacher and students can create quick videos to share with each other. Allowing for more and better interaction and feedback for students. Feedback was emphasized by several presenters as key in online education – well any education really. Frequent and fast feedback was most helpful.
  • FlipGrid – a digital space where students respond to short teacher-created questions, enhancing community and social presence in online, hybrid, or face-to-face classrooms. Give your students a voice.

There was also a showcase of entrepreneurial ideas that aim to make teaching and education better. Some tools improved assessment, some scheduling, some methods for teaching. I’ll include my quick list of projects below – including the loose notes – and I’ll ask folks to forgive the shorthand. I’m at another conference today and tomorrow and I know if I don’t post this now the details will get lost with time:

  • eLumen – web-based tracking of student evaluation – of what they have actually learned, not just grades
  • Millennium 3 Education – helps to track reviews
  • Radiant Education – maps 21st century skills, which helps students figure what they are good at, where they should go to school, what careers make sense
  • LessonLogs – helps organize lessons, such a music or band. Allows teachers to give fast feedback and schedule quickly
  • ComputaColor   – system for learning colors
  • Whitewater Learning – online lessons for professional development for CEUs
  • Awear – neurocognitive feedback – glasses fog when the mind wanders
  • Investyr – financial literacy can improve lives
  • Invisible Campus – online student information system

Telework from the Broadband Provider Pespective

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Last week I attended the Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) Industry Showcase. I was particularly interested in their telework tract, especially after talking to Dave Bickett from Park Region/Otter Tail Telecom about their Fergus Falls telework initiative at the MTA Annual Conference in the spring. Dave was presenting at the Industry Showcase this time – and was kind enough to share his presentation.

It was nice to get an update on what’s happening in Fergus Falls – but also instructive for any community interested in pursuing telework in their area too. There was a lot of talk from attendees about how telework provides opportunities for local residents but also provides great draw for folks looking to relocate. As several people pointed out – you no longer have to wait to retire to move to beautiful areas outside the Twin Cities (or Chicago or Tokyo!).

At the conference we also heard from Walt Stolrzyk, who has teleworked for several years now. He gave some pros:

  • Less travel
  • Less sickness
  • Less
  • Cost
  • Productivity in emergencies (no more fire drills, stay home with sick kids)

And he gave some cons:

  • Different distractions
  • More dependent on technology
  • Limited to local provider
  • Need back up when technology fails

He clearly was a big fan of teleworking and it had worked well for him and for his company.

We also heard from Larry Kugler from Olsen Thielen. He was sort of the exception that proved the rule. He was very negative about teleworking. He seemed to think that workers wouldn’t work as well or as collaboratively from home. He said the key was communication and seemed to feel that only face-to-face communication would suffice. Then he made some comparison to a football game from 1967, which I have to admit was wasted on me – because I’m not a football fan and I definitely wouldn’t recall anything from a football game from 1967. So maybe his presentation did indicate that telework may not be for everyone – but I don’t think the issue is the technology, it’s the people.

Also for those of us who are proponents of telework, it was heartening to see the audience defend telework. At least a third of the room had a story to share of successful telework initiatives in their office and several were clearly taken aback with his take on telework.