Bridging the Educational Divide

The enrichment of students of all ages through the power of the Internet was the subject matter of a recent Nortel Capitol Hill policy briefing.  The briefing was aimed at explaining some of the private initiatives taking place to enhance online learning and the role public policy plays in pushing greater funding and availability for science and technology curriculum.   Presenters at the Briefing included Congressman Bart Gordon (D-TN), chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, Bilel Jamoussi, head of Strategic Standards for Nortel's Chief Technology Office, and Dr. Barbara (Bobbi) Kurshan, the Executive Director of Curriki.  View the video of this event.

Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), told the audience of his committee's efforts to push forward legislation to increase funding for math and the sciences.  Gordon pointed out that legislation his Committee passed earlier this year, which is now in a Senate-House conference to work out languauge differences, includes some additional important provisions, such as creating a new generation of teachers by offering science and technology graduates a $10,000 bonus if they commit to teach for five years.  "We all need to understand the importance of encouraging those intererested in high tech, to teach those subjects."  Gordon told those in attendance.  "It is important to our country, our next generation and to the ability of the U.S. to retain its leadership in the critical technology arena."  Presently, Gordon said, the greatest majority of those teaching high tech courses do not have high tech degrees but, rather, "fill in" the gap from their areas of expertise, such as coaching and reading.

Dr. Bilel Jamoussi, who manages Nortel's participation in the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program, an initiative that will provide hardware and wireless connectivity for millions of children in impoverished nations, discussed the importance of the program and the impact it will have on developing countries, Dr. Jamoussi passed the OLPC laptop, known as the XO around for the attendees to explore. Dr. Kurshan discussed the work to build a global community with a web-based open source tool known as Curriki. This project allows teachers, students, and other educators to participate in the design and sharing of curriculum and learning resources.

Nortel's community relations initiative, Nortel LearniT has recently partnered with Curriki in the world of Internet based education. Together they are working to empower users to collectively benefit from both of their models and access their resources simultaneously.    View Nortel LearniT coverage of the briefing, including the Curriki presentation; OLPC Presentation; a slideshow of the afternoon's events; and a descriptive photocollage of pictures from the event.

Nortel Policy Briefing video

Double click arrow to play.  If needed, you can download the free Flash video player.