Education Department Chief of Staff to Highlight Role of Technology in Spurring Student Achievement, Supporting Education Reform Efforts

U.S. Department of Education Chief of Staff Joanne Weiss will highlight the role of technology in transforming educational outcomes during discussions at the Aspen Ideas Festival this week.

First, Weiss will discuss the role that innovation and online classes will play in higher education – particularly in holding down college costs – during a plenary session moderated by NBC education correspondent Rehema Ellis entitled “Will College Learning be Transformed by Technology?” Weiss will be joined by Andrew Ng, founder of Coursera and an associate professor at Stanford. The discussion will begin at 9 a.m. MT on Thursday, June 28, in Paepcke Auditorium on the Aspen Meadows campus.

On Friday, Weiss will join several education leaders, including Miles Gilburne, chairman and CEO of ePals; Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers; and Ted Mitchell, president and CEO of the NewSchools Venture Fund, to discuss how technology can spur education reform and help improve student achievement. The panel session, called “Will Technology Disrupt the Way We Learn?” will be at 10:30 a.m. MT. It will also be moderated by Ellis in Paepcke Auditorium.

Members of the press who are interested in attending the festival can find more information and may register at http://www.aspenideas.org/festival/press.