Ellen Didier, president of Red Sage Communications, Inc., gave this presentation on October 19, 2012 at the Connecting Alabama: Broadband and Telehealth Summit in Prattville, AL. The presentation discussed the impact of broadband access on economic development, healthcare, and education.

1. *
The
Transforma,ve
Impact
of
Broadband
Web
Access

2. The
sad
thing
is
that
for
many
of
us
in
this
room,
access
to
broadband
is
not
considered
a
luxury
but
rather
a
way
of
life.
The
only
9me
we
find
ourselves
disconnected
for
an
extended
9me
is
truly
when
we
happen
to
be
traveling
to
a
tropical
island
somewhere
–
and
some9mes
not
even
then.
2

3. This
map
shows
that
traveling
to
a
tropical
island
isn’t
necessary
to
be
unconnected.
Looking
at
this
map
of
Alabama
showing
broadband
coverage
as
of
December
30,
2011,
you
have
to
wonder
what
the
people
are
doing
who
are
in
the
areas
that
are
not
colored
red
or
dark
orange.
This
is
the
digital
divide
in
Alabama
–
and
it
exists
in
every
state
between
urban
and
rural
areas
–
and
even
in
urban
areas
between
high
and
low
income
households.
Source:
hIp://al.linkamericadata.org/
3

4. This
is
a
comparison
of
internet
connec9on
type
by
urban
and
rural
areas
that
was
released
in
a
study
by
the
US
Census
Bureau
in
November
of
2011.
This
shows
that
72%
of
Urban
households
have
broadband
internet
connec9ons
of
various
types
versus
only
57%
of
Rural
households.
4

5. The
difference
is
much
more
stark
when
looking
at
household
incomes.
93%
of
households
with
incomes
of
$100,000
or
more
had
broadband
access
compared
to
only
43%
of
households
with
incomes
of
less
than
$25,000.
This
was
the
same
Census
Bureau
study.
I
want
to
read
you
some
words
from
a
speech
the
FCC
Chairman,
Julius
Genachowski
,
gave
on
March
3,
2010.
“Today,
with
more
and
more
job
pos9ngs
only
available
online,
you
simply
can’t
apply
for
many
jobs
without
broadband.
As
schools
increasingly
use
online
resources
as
part
of
their
curriculum,
you
can’t
get
a
first-­‐rate
educa9on
without
broadband.
As
health
informa9on
and
medical
records
move
online,
you
can’t
fully
control
your
health
care
without
broadband.
As
the
most
effec9ve
business
applica9ons
and
services
increasingly
move
to
the
cloud,
you
can’t
run
a
successful
small
business
without
broadband.
On
a
trip
to
Erie,
Pennsylvania
last
year,
a
farmer
told
me
that
for
most
of
his
career
he
never
thought
the
Internet
would
maIer
to
him.
But
today,
he
said,
you
can’t
be
a
farmer
without
high
speed
access
to
the
Internet,
to
check
the
weather,
crop
informa9on,
and
other
resources
only
available
online.
Today,
without
broadband,
if
you
can’t
be
a
farmer,
a
teacher,
or
a
small
business
owner;
you’re
at
a
5

6. So
that
was
the
bad
news.
Luckily,
my
job
to
day
is
to
talk
about
the
good
news
–
the
possibili9es
of
a
world
where
broadband
access
is
as
free
and
available
as
the
air
we
breathe.
What
would
such
a
world
look
like?
What
would
our
communi9es
look
like?
Every
area
of
our
lives
would
be
impacted.
The
amazing
thing
is
that
the
examples
I
will
share
with
you
today
–
exist
today,
are
in
use
today,
are
being
u9lized
today
across
our
country.
But
only
where
broadband
access
is
readily
available.
6

7. These
are
the
three
main
areas
I
have
chosen
to
talk
about
today
although
broadband
web
access
has
a
tremendous
impact
in
many
other
areas
such
as
local
government,
public
safety
and
more.
As
some
background,
I
am
an
entrepreneur
who
started
a
web
design
and
strategic
marke9ng
company
in
2006.
My
world
is
an
online
world
–
it
is
how
I
do
business
and
is
woven
through
every
aspect
of
my
life.
The
three
area
we’ll
be
looking
at
today
are
very
special
to
me
and
are
each
sectors
my
company
serves.
One
third
of
my
business
comes
from
work
I
do
with
communi9es
around
the
state
for
economic
development
and
community
development.
I
also
provide
web
and
marke9ng
services
to
hospitals
and
to
school
systems
–
and
partner
with
our
local
school
system
in
some
neat
ways
with
my
company.
It
has
been
interes9ng
to
look
at
each
of
these
areas
in
rela9on
to
broadband
access
rather
than
marke9ng
or
websites
as
I
prepared
this
presenta9on
–
there
are
so
many
great
things
happening
that
we’ll
look
at
together.
7

8. Let’s
start
with
Economic
Development.
As
I
said,
one
third
of
the
business
my
company
does
is
helping
Alabama
communi9es
market
themselves
globally.
8

9. I
organized
this
next
sec9on
based
on
survey
results
of
economic
development
professionals
on
where
they
saw
the
most
impact
of
broadband
in
economic
development.
Craig
SeIles,
a
leading
broadband
expert,
conducted
a
survey
of
economic
development
professionals
na9onally
in
partnership
with
the
Interna9onal
Economic
Development
Council
on
broadband
and
economic
development.
Results
were
presented
a
couple
of
weeks
ago
at
the
2012
IEDC
Conference.
Source:
hIp://roisforyou.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/sneak-­‐peek-­‐at-­‐broadband-­‐
and-­‐economic-­‐development-­‐data/
9

10. The
top
target
outcome
gained
by
broadband
access
in
economic
development
that
was
selected
by
31%
of
the
ED
Pros
surveyed
was
broadband’s
ability
to
improve
job
skills
and
professional
development.
The
website
shown
here
is
one
of
many
online
industrial
cer9fica9on
and
online
training
resources
for
industries
and
workers.
Online
educa9on
available
through
broadband
internet
connec9ons
allows
companies
to
train
and
develop
their
workforce
without
paying
travel
costs
and
losing
9me
spend
traveling.
Of
course
the
other
side
of
the
coin,
is
that
the
availability
of
broadband
internet
is
a
major
factor
looked
at
by
site
selectors
when
choosing
a
community
for
a
new
facility.
Communi9es
that
lack
access
to
broadband
are
behind
the
8
ball
when
it
comes
to
suppor9ng
exis9ng
industry
with
online
workforce
training,
or
aIrac9ng
new
industries
to
the
area.
Source:
hIp://roisforyou.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/sneak-­‐peek-­‐at-­‐broadband-­‐
and-­‐economic-­‐development-­‐data/
10

11. The
2nd
most
popular
choice
regarding
the
target
outcomes
of
broadband’s
impact
on
economic
development
was
its
ability
to
support
online
home
based
businesses.
The
website
shown
here
provides
many
ideas
–
including
the
top
10
Internet
Home
Business
Ideas
You
Can
Start
and
Run
in
Your
Underwear.
Their
ideas
include
blogging,
eBay
&
Ac9on
selling,
E-­‐commerce,
freelance
design,
or
web
development,
or
online
video
edi9ng,
or
copywri9ng.
The
list
goes
on
and
on.
Of
course
the
big
IF
here
is
that
reliable
Broadband
web
access
has
to
be
available
and
it
would
be
helpful
to
have
an
educa9on
system
or
local
business
incubator
that
provides
educa9on
opportuni9es
that
promote
this
type
of
entrepreneurship.
Other
areas
of
business
and
entrepreneurship
that
rely
on
broadband:
According
to
data
compiled
by
the
Internet
Innova9on
Alliance
and
the
Small
Business
and
Entrepreneurship
Council,
broadband
access
can
save
entrepreneurs
more
than
$16,000
in
start-­‐up
costs.
(hIp://interne9nnova9on.org/small-­‐biz/)
by
11

12. Broadband’s
ability
to
help
people
reach
higher
educa9on
levels
was
the
3rd
most
popular
target
outcome
selected
by
ED
pros.
This
is
very
related
to
the
job
training
that
was
the
top
selec9on
in
the
survey.
Just
about
every
college
out
there
today
offers
online
educa9on
from
earning
a
GED,
to
a
bachelor’s
degree
or
beyond.
Source:
hIp://roisforyou.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/sneak-­‐peek-­‐at-­‐broadband-­‐
and-­‐economic-­‐development-­‐data/
12

13. Isn’t
it
interes9ng
that
the
three
out
of
the
top
five
ways
broadband
can
impact
economic
development
are
related
to
access
to
online
educa9on
and
training?
19%
of
ED
Pros
thought
broadband’s
ability
to
help
transi9on
to
a
different
career
was
a
top
target
outcome.
Shown
above
is
a
resource
that
allows
people
to
take
an
online
skills
assessment
and
find
careers
that
are
a
good
match.
There
are
countless
resources
for
similar
skills
assessments
online.
Source:
hIp://dolchallenge.ideascale.com/a/dtd/19375-­‐5847
13

14. And
last
but
not
least,
5%
of
ED
Pros
thought
broadband’s
ability
to
help
people
find
a
job
was
a
top
target
outcome.
If
you
factor
in
lack
of
digital
literacy
in
addi9on
to
lack
of
broadband
web
access,
the
ability
to
find
a
job
is
extremely
limited.
Many
companies
no
longer
accept
paper
applica9ons.
Walmarts
online
applica9on
takes
30
minutes
to
an
hour
to
complete
according
to
their
website
–
and
videos
are
provided
for
job
seekers
which
of
course
require
broadband
to
watch.
Job
seekers
are
using
public
libraries
as
their
main
link
to
broadband
–
hoping
that
a
computer
will
be
available
for
several
hours
as
they
search
and
fill
out
applica9ons.
14

15. Moving
on
to
the
impact
broadband
has
on
healthcare.
15

16. Let’s
start
with
a
fairly
common
impact
area
of
broadband
in
healthcare.
This
is
the
website
of
Lawrence
Medical
Center
in
Moulton,
Alabama,
the
county
seat
of
Lawrence
County
–
but
a
small
community
of
less
than
3,500
people.
Lawrence
Medical
Center
has
a
state
of
the
art
MRI,
but
as
a
rural
hospital,
it
is
difficult
to
provide
both
the
cuong
edge
equipment
and
the
full
staff
of
physicians
for
reading
the
scans.
Lawrence
Medical
has
technology
that
can
allow
the
scans
to
be
taken
by
highly
trained
radiologists,
and
then
sent
via
internet
as
digital
files
so
the
team
of
over
30
physicians
at
Radiology
of
Huntsville,
a
partner
of
the
hospital,
can
provide
24/7/365
readings
of
the
scans.
This
has
provided
cuong
edge
technology
within
a
rural
county,
as
well
as
the
power
of
a
full
staff
of
physicians
from
a
partnering
group
in
a
large
city,
so
that
residents
can
have
extremely
high
quality
scans
and
accurate
readings.
Coun9es
that
don’t
have
this
technology,
and
before
the
broadband
access,
residents
of
rural
coun9es
would
have
to
travel
a
distance
to
get
these
services
or
wait
days
for
scans
to
be
sent,
delivered,
read,
and
returned.
Again,
this
is
a
more
and
more
common
example
of
the
impact
of
broadband
in
healthcare.
16

17. A
therapy
department
in
a
rural
area
in
Washington
state
was
staffed
with
a
single
physical
therapy
assistant
(PTA).
The
issue
was
that
in
the
state
of
Washington,
a
pa9ent
needs
to
be
seen
by
a
Physical
Therapist
(a
PT)
every
5th
visit.
A
PT
was
driving
a
few
hours
from
Oregon
to
Washington,
was9ng
a
good
bit
of
their
professional
9me
driving
–
while
driving
up
the
expense
of
the
visit.
According
to
this
blog
ar9cle,
“A
telehealth
solu9on
was
put
in
place
to
eliminate
this
wasted
9me
and
expense.
The
way
it
works
is
the
PTA
brings
the
pa9ent
to
the
gym
and
calls
the
PT
via
Telehealth.
Once
the
connec9on
is
completed,
the
PTA
gives
a
synopsis
of
what
is
happening
with
the
pa9ent,
what
the
concerns
are,
and
the
PT
can
ask
ques9ons
or
observe
part
of
the
therapy
session
that
day.
The
PT
then
documents
the
visit
and
makes
recommenda9ons
as
needed.”
Broadband
is
a
requirement
for
this.
This
blog
ar9cle
can
be
found
at
hIp://www.infinityrehab.com/blog/2012/01/25/
infinity-­‐rehab-­‐advances-­‐pa9ent-­‐care-­‐with-­‐telehealth/
17

18. According
to
the
Kentucky
P20
Innova9on
Lab
website,
this
telehealth
program
provides
evidence-­‐based
psychosocial
services
for
children
and
families
in
rural
and
remote
areas
of
Appalachia
Kentucky
using
telehealth
technologies
(videoconferencing,
videophones,
telephone,
Internet).
Children
and
families
in
Kentucky
are
vastly
underserved
–
approximately
75%
of
children
diagnosed
with
developmental,
behavioral,
and
emo9onal
problems
are
not
receiving
the
appropriate
services
in
their
schools
or
communi9es.
This
problem
is
exacerbated
in
rural
Appalachia
where
there
is
a
shortage
of
treatment
providers
to
provide
these
needed
specialized
services
(Kentucky
Department
of
Educa9on,
2006).
Source:
hIp://p20.educa9on.uky.edu/labs/telehealth-­‐lab/
18

19. Telehealth
is
being
used
to
bring
24-­‐hour
emergency
stroke
treatment
via
the
web
to
rural
areas
in
Georgia
(as
seen
in
this
ar9cle)
and
many
other
places.
These
kinds
of
internet
or
phone
based
telehealth
services
are
popping
in
up
nearly
every
area
of
healthcare
today
including
allergy,
anesthesia,
cardiology,
den9stry,
emergency
medicine,
family
prac9ce,
infec9ous
diseases,
internal
medicine,
and
just
about
every
other
specialty.
Source:
hIp://www.gpb.org/news/2011/09/23/help-­‐for-­‐stroke-­‐pa9ents
19

20. Moving
beyond
the
telehealth
capability
to
speed
delivery
of
informa9on
to
physicians
or
specialists
–
or
even
connect
pa9ents
and
physicians
for
direct
consulta9ons
remotely,
things
in
healthcare
delivery
are
star9ng
to
get
very
interes9ng.
In
the
UK,
falls
are
a
leading
cause
of
injury-­‐related
death
and
hospitaliza9on
in
people
aged
65
years,
crea9ng
a
burden
on
the
healthcare
system
in
Australia
as
the
popula9on
ages.
According
to
the
case
study
on
this
program
released
by
the
Na9onal
Broadband
Network
in
the
United
Kingdom,
a
General
Prac99oner
(GP)
or
other
health
professional
can
conduct
a
one-­‐on-­‐one
consulta9on
to
develop
a
tailored
exercise
regime.
This
is
delivered
as
a
dance
video
game
via
an
in-­‐home
television
equipped
with
a
video
camera.
The
gaming
technology
can
detect
and
respond
to
human
movement.
The
camera
records
sessions
so
health
professionals
have
a
database
char9ng
progress
over
9me.
Health
professionals
can
also
conduct
in-­‐home
consulta9ons
via
a
video
conference
over
broadband.
This
program
is
currently
on
clinical
trial
at
a
nursing
home
in
Sydney,
Australia
This
case
study
can
be
read
at:
hIp://www.nbnco.com.au/news-­‐and-­‐events/case-­‐studies/
case-­‐study-­‐neura-­‐healthcare.html
20

21. This
is
a
blog
by
Leah
Rohlson,
the
head
of
FACES
Founda9on
in
Portland,
Oregon,
a
group
that
provides
cler
palate
surgeries
in
the
remotest
villages
of
Peru
and
the
Amazon.
She
says
in
her
blog:
“I’m
envisioning
a
new
solu9on
where
pa9ents
can
go
through
therapy
without
having
to
connect
with
a
therapist
every
day,
week,
or
even
month.
They
would
have
a
course
of
treatment
(videos,
sound
matching,
vocabulary)
that
would
be
pre-­‐
programmed
on
some
sort
of
app
or
video
(modules
formulated
sort
of
like
RoseIa
Stone).
The
pa9ent
(especially
rural
pa9ents)
could
go
through
the
modules
and
then,
every
month
or
two
(depending
on
their
remoteness)
could
connect
via
the
Internet
with
a
therapist.
The
therapist
could
then
assess
their
progress
based
on
the
app
and
recommend
a
further
course
of
treatment.
This
could
be
to
go
back
and
re-­‐
do
past
modules,
or
go
ahead
and
con9nue
to
the
next
modules.
This
way,
the
pa9ent
could
prac9ce
and
prac9ce
without
taxing
the
9me
and
resources
of
the
stretched-­‐too-­‐thin
specialist.
If
something
like
this
existed,
it
would
solve
the
problem
off
too
few
speech
therapists
who
have
too
liIle
9me.
It
would
be
especially
benefit
rural
popula9ons,
but
the
app/videos
could
be
used
as
a
tool
for
prac9ce
for
anyone.”
We
are
at
a
point
where
imagina9on
is
running
wild,
the
technology
is
available,
21

22. And
finally,
let’s
look
at
educa9on
which
to
me
has
the
most
exci9ng
opportuni9es
available.
Of
course
I
may
be
biased.
I
have
been
very
ac9ve
with
our
local
school
system,
serving
on
the
School
Founda9on
board
raising
money
for
classroom
technology
and
establishing
a
partnership
with
a
high
school
class
I
helped
found
that
teaches
high
school
students
how
to
be
the
hands
on
marke9ng
department
for
the
school
system
primarily
through
social
media,
blogging,
photography,
and
video
produc9on.
It
is
indeed
a
passion
and
I
can’t
wait
to
show
you
the
next
few
slides.
22

23. With
broadband
access,
and
the
accompanying
technology,
students
can
literally
connect
to
other
students
and
people
around
the
world.
There
are
a
mul9tude
of
online
resources
to
make
this
easy,
such
as
ePals.com
which
makes
it
easy
to
search
and
connect
classes
and
students
by
loca9on,
language,
or
age.
Source:
hIp://www.epals.com/
23

24. Collabora9ve
projects
are
available
to
join
–
or
you
can
create
your
own.
These
can
be
searched
by
subject
or
age.
This
is
one
project
I
found
on
this
site
–
a
social
studies
project:
Research
and
problem
solving
go
into
this
geography
game
where
classes
exchange
clues
about
their
loca9on
while
trying
to
figure
out
the
other
classes’
whereabouts.
In
this
collabora9ve
project,
Mystery
Skype
Loca9on,
students
use
their
research
skills
to
create
a
PowerPoint
presenta9on,
as
well
as
answers
to
10
ques9ons
about
their
loca9on.
Students
then
meet
online,
via
Skype,
with
a
class
in
a
mystery
loca9on
who
has
done
the
same.
They
ask
and
answer
ques9ons
during
the
20
minute
Skype
session
and
use
their
geography
and
problem
solving
skills
to
determine
where
their
partner
class
is
located.
Arerwards,
students
can
ask
general
ques9ons
to
further
their
knowledge
of
one
another
and
the
areas
where
they
live.
Talk
about
a
great
way
to
learn
about
the
world
you
live
in
and
actually
get
to
meet
people
in
real
9me
to
share
ideas
and
compare
similari9es
and
differences!
Source:
hIp://www.epals.com/
24

25. You
can
also
search
for
another
classroom
to
connect
with
–
searching
by
country,
number
of
students,
language,
age,
and
even
how
you
would
like
to
connect
–
either
with
Email,
Skype
or
Video.
For
example,
the
boIom
right
lis9ng
on
the
screen
reads:
I'm
the
Media
Specialist
in
a
K-­‐5
school.
Our
first
grade
class
is
currently
studying
communi9es
and
is
interested
in
communica9ng
with
a
rural
classroom
to
compare
and
contrast
community
life,
tradi9ons,
family
life,
geography,
etc...
Looking
forward
to
hearing
from
you
soon!
Think
about
the
impact
on
student
engagement
and
how
the
world
can
come
alive
when
broadband
allows
interac9ons
like
this
that
make
the
walls
of
a
classroom
fall
away.
Source:
hIp://www.epals.com/
25

26. Broadband
paves
the
way
for
more
effec9ve
teachers
by
connec9ng
them
to
great
ideas
and
resources.
This
is
Promethean
Planet
–
the
first
paragraph
says
“Created
by
teachers
for
teachers,
Promethean
Planet
is
a
unique
teaching,
sharing,
and
support
community
–
your
place
to
connect,
create,
and
change
the
classroom!
Promethean
is
a
manufacturer
of
interac9ve
smartboards
–
technology
that
can
integrate
a
variety
of
tools
–
including
internet
access.
This
is
one
of
many
sites
available
for
teachers
to
share
technology
based
ideas
and
lesson
plans.
Source:
hIp://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-­‐us/
26

27. Teachers
can
search
for
interac9ve
lessons
by
topic,
grade,
language,
or
search
term.
You
can
also
search
for
lessons
that
meet
Alabama’s
course
of
study.
Source:
hIp://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-­‐us/
27

28. This
par9cular
lesson
teaches
students
about
the
parts
of
a
plant
–
including
a
variety
of
different
interac9ve
lessons
that
include
allow
students
to
drag
and
drop
answers,
click
to
learn
more,
or
follow
links
to
videos
online
that
may
be
produced
by
scien9sts
and
provide
more
in-­‐depth
informa9on.
Source:
hIp://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-­‐us/
28

29. This
par9cular
company
provides
subscrip9on
or
purchased
resources
that
can
be
used
on
computers,
tablets,
and
smart
phones.
One
of
the
high
schools
in
my
community
uses
A.D.A.M.
Interac9ve
Anatomy
sorware.
It
is
the
best
thing
to
performing
an
autopsy
but
with
no
blood
and
no
actual
dead
body.
You
can
literally
dive
into
any
area
of
the
body
and
see
all
systems,
all
parts
of
systems
and
how
they
work.
Even
their
free
video
giving
a
preview
is
incredible
–
I
urge
all
of
you
to
look
this
up
on
Ventura’s
website.
Think
of
these
kinds
of
resources
and
the
impact
of
providing
them
to
kids
in
every
community,
in
every
classroom.
Think
of
how
much
more
you
can
learn
with
interac9vity.
Our
na9on
is
lagging
other
countries
in
science
and
math
literacy
–
what
if
our
classrooms
used
tools
like
this
every
single
day
to
teach
our
students?
The
tools
are
there.
The
technology
is
there.
The
broadband
access
is
not.
29

30. In
2010,
Alabama
made
na9onal
news
with
its
ACCESS
program
which
wired
every
high
school
in
the
state
to
allow
for
distance
learning.
This
brought
more
AP
classes,
foreign
language
classes,
and
other
classes
to
rural
areas
where
there
may
not
have
been
enough
students
to
hire
a
full
9me
teacher
for
these
types
of
classes.
This
par9cular
video
screenshot
shows
coverage
of
Alabama’s
ACCESS
program
on
CNN.
Distance
learning
can
help
level
the
playing
field
for
students
in
rural
areas.
30

31. HudsonAlpha
in
Huntsville,
AL,
developed
a
free
iPhone
app
that
gives
students
a
3D
view
inside
three
different
types
of
cells:
animal,
plant,
and
bacteria.
You
can
zoom
in
and
out
and
learn
about
the
various
parts
of
the
cell.
You
can
use
your
finger
to
tap
on
parts
of
the
cell
to
select
and
zoom
in
on
that
par9cular
organelle.
Each
organelle
comes
with
a
name
and
a
short
descrip9on
of
its
func9on
in
the
cell.
This
app
was
listed
on
Apple’s
top
10
free
educa9on
apps
this
year
and
also
was
just
put
on
the
top
smart
phone
app
list
by
the
Gene9c
Engineering
and
Biotechnology
News.
Many
schools
that
can’t
afford
a
1:1
program
where
every
student
gets
their
own
computer,
netbook,
or
tablet,
allow
students
to
bring
their
own
devices
to
school.
Many
students,
including
those
in
rural
or
low
income
areas,
may
have
a
smart
phone
and
be
able
to
take
advantage
of
videos
and
apps
for
learning
–
if
mobile
broadband
is
available.
Source:
hIp://hudsonalpha.org/icell-­‐app-­‐featured-­‐best-­‐list-­‐science-­‐apps
31

32. Let’s
take
a
moment
to
talk
about
Digital
Literacy,
every
bit
as
important
as
reading
literacy
and
math
literacy
these
days.
Digital
literacy
means
teaching
students
the
language
of
technology
–
how
to
use
different
types
of
technology,
how
to
u9lize
technology
to
solve
problems
and
find
answers.
How
to
eliminate
fear
of
technology
and
bring
in
curiosity
so
that
there
is
a
natural
comfort
with
using
technology
to
unlock
the
solu9ons
to
problems
and
to
explore
the
world.
Achieving
digital
literacy
means
geong
to
the
point
where
you
forget
to
concentrate
on
the
steps
of
using
technology
and
begin
to
be
lost
in
the
explora9on
of
what
it
unlocks
–
very
similar
to
reading
literacy
being
the
point
at
where
you
get
beyond
the
mechanic
and
rules
of
reading
and
spelling
and
comprehension
to
losing
yourself
in
the
world
described
in
a
book.
Because
of
the
lack
of
broadband
access,
we
have
a
great
deal
of
digital
illiteracy
–
especially
in
rural
communi9es
or
low
income
communi9es.
This
type
of
illiteracy
is
every
bit
as
limi9ng
as
reading
illiteracy
–
affec9ng
the
ability
to
search
for
and
apply
for
jobs
or
to
develop
the
skills
required
for
the
jobs
of
today
and
tomorrow.
32

33. Yes,
absolutely,
digital
literacy
+
broadband
+
innova9ve
educa9on
means
that
we
can
produce
students
who
truly
are
prepared
for
tomorrow’s
jobs
–
including
careers
in
math
and
science.
There’s
a
whole
other
level
to
this
which
starts
affec9ng
economic
development
and
jobs
crea9on
to
if
you
consider
the
impact
on
entrepreneurship.
The
first
paragraph
in
this
blog
by
Young
Entrepreneur
states:
One
of
the
fantas9c
things
about
the
internet
is
that
there
is
no
such
thing
as
age
discrimina9on
when
it
comes
to
being
successful
online.
Let
me
share
a
couple
of
stories
with
you
–
from
the
collec9on
of
27
young
entrepreneurs
this
ar9cle
shares.
Source:
hIp://hudsonalpha.org/icell-­‐app-­‐featured-­‐best-­‐list-­‐science-­‐apps
33

34. JulieIe
Bindak
created
Miss
O
and
Friends,
a
website
for
girls,
by
girls,
when
she
was
10
years
old.
In
2009
(age
19)
her
company
was
worth
$15
million.
Oh
yeah,
and
she
also
published
her
first
book
at
age
16
and
sold
over
120,000
copies.
34

35. This
is
Kevin
Sproles
–
he
started
building
websites
at
age
16.
By
age
25
he
had
coded
and
marketed
one
of
the
top
award-­‐winning
e-­‐commerce
solu9ons
available
and
had
over
100,000
customers
using
his
sorware.
Anyone
feel
inadequate
yet?
These
are
just
two
stories
–
you
are
all
already
familiar
with
the
young
founders
of
Google,
Mashable,
and
other
successful
online
companies
that
have
been
responsible
for
crea9ng
hundreds
of
thousands
of
jobs.
Internet
entrepreneurship
can
be
done
from
any
community
–
as
long
as
there
is
broadband
access.
35

36. This
is
a
young
lady
I
met
when
she
was
a
senior
in
High
School.
She
already
had
two
business
ventures
under
her
belt
by
the
9me
I
met
her.
• She
designed
and
sold
400
t-­‐shirts
online
as
Freshman
in
High
School
• As
a
junior
in
High
School,
she
imported
clothing
from
Vietnam
and
sold
it
online
• Think
back
to
our
first
sec9on
about
the
impact
of
broadband
on
economic
development
related
to
star9ng
home
based
businesses.
She
did
this
twice
before
she
graduated
from
high
school.
This
young
lady
is
going
to
go
very
far.
I
only
hope
she
will
return
to
start
her
business
in
Decatur
when
she
graduates
from
college
so
our
community
will
benefit
from
the
jobs
she
will
create.
36

37. I
firmly
believe
that
one
of
the
main
keys
to
ensure
a
bright
future
for
our
country
is
the
establishment
of
reliable
broadband
access
for
every
community,
the
aIainment
of
digital
literacy
by
every
student
in
our
schools,
and
the
abolishment
of
the
digital
divide
in
our
country,
in
every
community.
The
stories
I
shared
with
you
today
are
so
hopeful
and
paint
an
incredible
opportunity
for
us
in
our
communi9es
that
can
really
be
transforma9ve.
However,
these
stories
can’t
be
universal
reali9es
un9l
broadband
is
universal.
37

38. 38