The Internet is a powerful new means of communication. It is global, it is fast, and it is growing rapidly Reaching to the far corners of the earth, the Internet is making the world at once smaller and more connected, transmitting information at nearly real-time speed. An estimated 377 million people are currently using the Internet, only half of whom are in the United States The World Wide Web is bringing rapid and radical change into our lives wonderfully beneficial to the terrifyingly difficult.
For education, the Internet is making it possible for more individuals than ever to access knowledge and to learn in new and different ways. At the dawn of the 21st Century, the education landscape i changing Elementary and secondary schools are experiencing growing enrollments, coping with critical shortages of teachers, facing overcrowded and decaying buildings, and responding to demands for higher standards. On college campuses, there is an influx of older, part-time students seeking the skills vital to success in an Information Age. Corporations are dealing with the shortage of skilled workers and the necessity of providing continuous training to their employees
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The Internet is enabling us to address these educational challenges, bringing learning to students instead of bringing students to learning It is allowing for the creation of learning communities that defy the constraints of time and distance as it provides access to knowledge that was once difficult to obtain. This is true in the schoolhouse, on the college campus, and in corporate training rooms
The power of the Internet to transform the educational experience is awe-inspiring, but it is also fraught with risk. As legislators and community leaders, we have the responsibility to develop policies and make informed decisions to ensure that new technologies will enhance, and not frustrate, learning. That is why Congress established the Web-based Education Commission.
For the past year, we have been chairing an effort that has explored how the Internet is changing the delivery of education. Along with Senators Jeff Bingaman and Michael Enzi, Representative Chaka Fattah, and a distinguished group of education and business leaders, the Commission has heard about the tremendous power of the Internet to empower individual learners and teachers. We have also heard about the barriers that frustrate learning in this new environment. Our witnesses urged us to 'think big' as we addressed the challenges of a rapidly changing educational landscape.
The report we are now submitting to the President, to Congress, and to the nation reflects the cumulative work of our Commission and a consensus of our findings. It is a call to action to all of those who must be involved if we are to implement real and positive change-policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels; students and educators; parents; communities; and the private sector. No one group can bring about this change alone.
The Internet is a promising tool. Working together, we can realize the full potential of this tool for learning With the will and the means, we have the power to expand the learning horizons of students of all ages.
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