Working Groups

	US Delegation to Europe, 2002: Internet Technology and Schools Agenda Working Groups Delegation Members London Briefing Materials Paris Briefing Materials Brussels Briefing Materials Bonn Briefing Materials Sponsor Background Information US Education System Review Trip Report #1: Government Demand/Resource for Education Technology/ICT Trip Report #2: Assessing ICT's Educational Impact Trip Report #3: Standards & Accessibility - SIF, SCORM, IMS, GEM, etc. Trip Report #4: As a Member of the European Delegation of CoSN Trip Photos

To make this a working trip that ends with a useful outcome, CoSN is designating three Working Groups comprised of our delegation members. The topics of the Working Groups intersect and therefore all members of the Delegation will have interest in all of them. The designation of Working Groups is not to be understood as a basis for convening separate discussions; instead, individuals in the working groups will have responsibility for preparing the summary report, which will distill information from the discussions, as well as for preparing an action agenda.

• Working Group One - Implications for US Federal & State Education Technology Policy
  This group will focus on federal policies in the US that pertain to the deployment and use of education technology (ICT). Preliminary discussions have indicated that there may be feasible and valuable ways for the development of ways for policy makers in the U.S. and those in Europe (both in individual countries and also on a pan-European Union basis) to share information bearing upon policy formation that would be useful on both sides of the Atlantic. This working group will explore the development of a process of a sharable on-line resource for information pertaining to federal and state policy. (Bailey, Krueger, Givens, O'Conner-Kelly)
  
  
• Working Group Two - Applications of High Speed Networking in Primary and Secondary School Applications There is substantial involvement in both Europe and the U.S. in the development of high speed networking. This group will provide information about efforts in the U.S. and secure information about similar efforts in Europe. Of particular interest will be opportunities for partnerships between NGO's in Europe and the U.S. (Flynn, Hirsch, Nelson, Caballero)
  
  
• Working Group Three - Innovations in the Promotion and Assessment of the Improvements in the Learning Environment in Schools through ICT
  The bottom line in the use of ICT is the improvement of learning in schools. Working Group Three will be interested in innovative approaches on using ICT in ways that show promise of making substantial improvements in the learning environments of schools. The focus will be on efforts that go beyond individual classrooms and provide us a scientific basis for research. The "No Child Left Behind" legislation requires intensified attention to assessment of ICT. This group will also be interested in exploring assessment efforts in Europe and sharing what is being done in the U.S. (Bosco, Hamilton, Williams, Gilcher, Kuszmaul)
  
  

In addition to encouraging more thoughtful discussion on the trip by organizing these Working Groups, we also want to end the trip with a short report on what we learn in each of these areas. We believe that an education technology publication may be interested in publishing such a status report on US/European efforts on these topics. In addition, we hope that opportunities for collaboration will be identified during the course of the trip.