Digital Curriculum Institute => eLearning/Research/Enterprise Institute

Phase I: Digital Curriculum Institute will be based in Arizona university system. Its practical task is to assess, make recommendations from the universe of K-12 digital curriculum. This wisdom and advice will be provided by a portal based knowledge system for educators. From this data the DCI can determine gaps in K-12 digital curriculum, specify solutions and advocate with providers. A hands-on extension service to schools and teachers is expected build to 100 curriculum experts and 150 instructional technologist extension agents. With the multitude of eLearning aspects at each of our universities it is expect that the DCI will have a networked flavor to its organizational design. The funding requirement for 1:2 matching funds requires outside enterprises, companies, foundations and philanthropists to become seriously engaged with the DCI. This positions the DCI as to develop and extend its reach and contributions to K-12 education.

Phase II: There could be a number of near term enhancements to the DCI. Discussions with the Advanced Distributed Learning System out of the Office of Secretary of Defense and Institutes of Defense Analysis addressed their interest in creating an ADL Co-Lab for K-12 education to collaborate with their four other US and one European eLearning Laboratories. The Air Force Research Laboratory at Gateway Airpark in Mesa is to move to Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The seventy percent of the world class eLearning research cadre could be retained to work within the DCI structure. A recent Arizona project for the Office of Secretary of Defense address the design and business case for a global elearning research communities of practice portal and data base. The implementation of this design would put the DCI in the center of knowledge world wide eLearning research. The skilled staff at DCI would develop and operate a service to field test and provide sound data on new eLearning products and services. This collaborative operation with Arizona schools would provide the most advanced and effective eLearning products to Arizona student, and position Arizona as the go-to place for eLearning providers. Through being the knowledge source of K-12 eLearning research, products and effectiveness the DCI would support national and global advocacy for eLearning research and adoption for K-12 education.