February 25, 2009
SFL Announces Educational Wireless Broadband Contest Winner

RESTON, VA – The Source for Learning, Inc., has named the grand prize winner in a national competition designed to elicit ground-breaking ideas about educational uses of wireless broadband services.

The contest was sponsored by The Source for Learning and the National EBS Association (NEBSA – www.nebsa.org), two nonprofit organizations in the vanguard of the development of “anytime/anywhere” high-speed online access, with its enormous implications for education.

The winning entry was submitted by the RiverRidge Foundation (www.riverridgefoundation.org), which develops innovative research and education projects focusing on the environment. RiverRidge courses combine field work with online learning, and employ “Web 2.0” collaborative tools to enhance communication among students and faculty.

Christopher Packert, President of RiverRidge, said, “Field work is vital for learning about the environment, and wireless broadband will open great possibilities for us. While on location, our students will have access to sophisticated online services and data, and can build their multimedia digital portfolios as they work. We’ll be able to share our experiences in real time with students in classrooms, and even instantly share our research results on a global scale.”

Steven J. Gorski, President and CEO of The Source for Learning, added, “RiverRidge’s impressive entry was only one of many creative proposals we’ve seen for putting 4G wireless broadband to work for education. We’re excited about the initiative and enthusiasm that educators across the country have demonstrated for this new technology.”

Christopher Packert presented RiverRidge’s plans for use of the technology on Wednesday February 25, at NEBSA’s annual meeting in Boca Raton, Florida.

Over the next several years, 4G wireless systems for distributing data, voice, and video will become widely available throughout the United States. Much of that service will be accessed through Educational Broadband Service (EBS), microwave frequencies licensed to educational and nonprofit organizations that have an obligation to use a portion of their spectrum to provide educational services.