Saturday, June 27, 2009

Go Carnegie Foundation! Intel's agency gets it.

The data points are:
1. Carnegie Foundation has been focusing on adolescent literacy for a long time see snippet
2. Whoever managed the latest Intel commercial understands that smart is the new cool. see video below.
3. Congress is going to change and increase funding for adolescent literacy. see snippet

The opportunity for an school based printernet is that to fix the schools you have to change the culture of under performing high schools. The easiest way to change the culture of a school is by publishing in print. The internet is great. Technology is great. But until they get print into the mix, it's going to mean that super human effort by administrators to change a culture. Super human efforts can not scale.

Wikis and blogs are the best ways to gather words. Wikis are the best way to edit words. Publishing in Print is that best way to share words. Sharing words in Print can change culture and expectations. Wikis and blogs can't do it as well.

The difference between a student news-on-screen versus news-on-paper.
The data from colleges is that college kids use the the print version. Not only because news-on-paper is more convenient, but because physical objects are tokens of membership in a community.

The design, predictability and tone of the news-on-paper communicates what it means it be "people like us." People like us is the operational definition of community's culture. When the culture of a school changes, everything changes. The natural passion of students are unleashed and learning can occur in real time, not in school time.

The trick is to make smart the new cool. That's the Intel part.

796,237 views as of this morning.

The other trick is to focus on adolescents.
That's the Carnegie Foundation part.
Carnegie has been working for many years “to get adolescent literacy on the nation’s agenda,” said Mr. Henriquez, “and I believe it has arrived.”
The other trick is to get some money from the Department of Ed.
That's the missing link. Now it's up to the globals, MPS and PSPs to get some of that money, and do some good at the same time.
Education Week:
Draft Literacy Bill Would Boost Funds for Older Students:
. . . and authorize nearly a fivefold increase in the amount of money the federal government provides for literacy in grades 4-12. The draft calls for providing funds for literacy programs along a continuum from birth to grade 12.

The Senate draft bill is “an opportunity to put the country on the right path for having a comprehensive literacy plan,” said Andres Henriquez, the program officer and manager of the adolescent-literacy project of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The philanthropy is a big funder of research in adolescent literacy and efforts by national organizations to support state and federal policy in that area. (Carnegie also underwrites coverage of new routes to colleges and careers in Education Week.)

Carnegie has been working for many years “to get adolescent literacy on the nation’s agenda,” said Mr. Henriquez, “and I believe it has arrived.”

The Senate draft bill is “an opportunity to put the country on the right path for having a comprehensive literacy plan,” said Andres Henriquez, the program officer and manager of the adolescent-literacy project of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The philanthropy is a big funder of research in adolescent literacy and efforts by national organizations to support state and federal policy in that area. (Carnegie also underwrites coverage of new routes to colleges and careers in Education Week.)

Globals, MPS and PSP's should get in touch with these folks, they probably don't get the Print piece.

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