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"America's reputation as an international leader rests in the hands of our youth," said Sen. Chris Dodd. "It should be among our top priorities to provide our students with the tools they need to maintain and build upon this standing." The Senator was one of the original sponsors of a bill that proposed the setting up of the centre. Meanwhile Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky spearheaded the passage of the bill through the House and said its timing could not be more critical. "American businesses know that they need a well-educated workforce to face growing competition from China, India and Europe." The Federation of American Scientists said, "The creativity that developed extraordinary new information technologies has not focused on finding ways to make learning more compelling, more personal and more productive in our nation's schools. Education has not kept pace with technological advances said the FAS "People assumed that the explosion of innovation in information tools in business and service industries would automatically move into classrooms." That, the Federation said, has simply not happened.

Some of these features might cause tutors to balk, but Elgg's creators say the collaborative, conversational exchanges in which today's students have become so fluent outside class are the best way to deliver learning inside it.

Broadly, Elgg represents a shift from aging, top-down classroom technologies like Blackboard to what e-learning practitioners call personal learning environments -- mashup spaces comprising del.icio.us feeds, blog posts, podcast widgets -- whatever resources students need to document, consume or communicate their learning across disciplines.