While the focus here is on K-12 school systems, Higher Ed would be wise to take note of this new federal program regarding digital textbooks:

FCC Chairman Genachowski's Remarks: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0201/DOC-312248A1.pdf

FCC Fact Sheet: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0201/DOC-312244A1.pdf

FCC Digital Textbook Playbook: http://transition.fcc.gov/files/Digital_Textbook_Playbook.pdf

Digital Textbook Playbook Homepage: http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/digital-textbook-playbook

Senate HELP Committee Hearing on "Innovations in College Affordability" on Feb. 2, 2012, at 10:20 am EST:

WITNESSES: Education Undersecretary Martha Kanter; Kevin Carey, Education Policy Director for Education Sector; Charlie Earl, Executive Director of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, Olympia, Wash.; Robert Mendenhall, President of the Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, Utah; and Carol Quillen, President of Davidson College, Davidson, N.C.

LOCATION: 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Webcast:  http://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=a3f52183-5056-9502-5de6-a9c486cfa17d

The FCC Emergency Access Advisory Committee, an advisory committee required by the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, will meet at Commission headquarters, 445 12th St., SW., Commission Meeting Room, Washington, D.C. on Friday, February 10, 2012 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST).  All meetings are open to the public.

It is expected that the February meeting will review achievements from 2011 and consider plans for activities for 2012 related to Next Generation 9-1-1 Access for Persons with Disabilities.

Source: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0126/DA-12-93A1.pdf

A U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing will explore “The Video Privacy Protection Act: Protecting Viewer Privacy in the 21st Century.”

William McGeveran, Professor - University of Minnesota Law School, will serve as a panelist at the hearing.

Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law

DATE: January 31, 2012

TIME: 10:00 am

ROOM: Dirksen 226

For details and webcast information, see: http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=f14e6e2889a80b6b53be6d4e412d460f

The New America Foundation and The Wireless Innovation Alliance host a breakfast briefing on Spectrum Auctions and Super Wi-Fi.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012: 10:00am - 11:30am

Senate Russell Building

Room 253 (Commerce Committee Hearing Room)

Washington, DC

Yochai Benkler, the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, serves as an expert panelist for this event.

Source: http://newamerica.net/events/2012/spectrum_auctions_super_wi_fi

For details and access to the live video feed, see: http://homeland.house.gov/markup/subcommittee-markup-hr-3674

The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, in cooperation with the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), will host a workshop focusing on distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cell solutions on Wed., Feb. 1, 2012, in Washington, D.C. from 9:30 am – 4 pm, EST. The workshop will be webcast on the FCC web page as well – www.fcc.gov.

The workshop will provide an overview of DAS and small cell technologies that augment mobile broadband and wireless services in cities and communities. Successful deployments of DAS and small cell technologies in both outdoor and indoor public spaces, including hospitals, campuses, buildings, business and historical districts, and transit systems will also be discussed.

 

U.S. Senate Education Committee Hearing regarding Innovations in College Affordability

February 2, 2012, starting at 10 am

430 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

http://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=15eea6a0-5056-9502-5d55-b899d73ef5f9

2012 NIST/NSTIC IDtrust Workshophttp://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/ct/nstic_idtrust-2012.cfm Purpose: “Technologies and Standards Enabling the Identity Ecosystem”The 2012 NIST/NSTIC IDtrust Workshop will be held March 13-14, 2012 at NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The workshop will focus on how technologies and standards can help the framework of the identity ecosystem coalesce.

From Jan. 17 -18, EDUCAUSE Policy team representatives attended “State of the Net,” the largest Internet policy conference in the country, which is hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee (http://www.netcaucus.org/conference/2012/). Videos of the conference sessions and keynotes can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/InternetCaucusAC

The issue dominating the conference was the federal anti-online copyright infringement legislation, the Protect IP Act (PIPA) (S. 978) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) (H.R. 3261).  This is not surprising as the event took place during the “web blackout” organized to protest this legislation.