Making a Digital Promise to our Students

Cross-posted from the White House Blog.

Over the past two decades, technology has dramatically transformed the way we live and work. Yet despite this progress, technology has yet to have a transformational impact in the classroom.

I’m a big believer in the promise of learning technologies, and it isn’t just about doing things online that we used to do with pen and paper. Technology can be an extraordinarily powerful tool for helping teachers teach, and for helping students learn. It can provide teachers with powerful new ways of identifying where their students are struggling, and how to reach them before it’s too late.

Technology can personalize and accelerate instruction for students of all educational levels, and it provides the capability of reaching students around the country who otherwise would be stuck attending sub-standard schools.

Countries around the world are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with learning technologies and are far ahead of the United States in creating the classrooms of the 21^st century. Education technology is not a silver bullet for improving the United States’ stagnating student achievement, but investing in significant improvements to educational technology has the potential to rapidly advance learning, and to keep Americans competitive.

I’m proud to announce that the Obama Administration is taking an historic step in putting the United States on a path to become a leader in educational technology. Today, the U.S. Department of Education launched a new unique public-private partnership entitled Digital Promise.

Digital Promise is a bipartisan initiative that is championed by a coalition of educators and business leaders. Digital Promise is an independent nonprofit that will help spur breakthrough learning technologies that transform teaching and learning in and out of the classroom, while creating a business environment that rewards innovation and entrepreneurship.

If America is going to continue to succeed in the global economy, it is vital that we transform the use of educational technology. With technology, we can more rapidly increase opportunities for excellence and equity, as well as provide a world-class education for America’s students. And that’s a promise we need to keep.

Read the fact sheet to find out more about Digital Promise.

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