Posted on:
February 4, 2014
By:
White House Press Release
President Obama announced yesterday evening that the White House put together a public - private partnership to help American schools get connected.
(Washington DC - February 3, 2014) - Today, following up on his call to action, the President is announcing major progress toward realizing the ConnectED goal to get high-speed Internet connectivity and educational technology into classrooms, and into the hands of teachers trained on its advantages. The FCC and private sector are taking key steps to answer the President’s call, including through:
Over $750 million in private-sector commitments to deliver cutting-edge technologies to classrooms, including devices, free software, teacher professional development, and home wireless connectivity.
· American companies are answering the President’s challenge to “dig deep” in support of ConnectED to enrich K-12 education, expand opportunities for students, and train, a 21st century workforce. These commitments include:
Apple – Pledged $100 million in iPads, MacBooks, and other products along with content and professional development tools to enrich learning in disadvantaged schools.
AT&T – Pledged over $100 million to provide middle-school students free Internet connectivity for educational devices over their wireless network for three years.
Autodesk – Pledged to expand the company’s “Design the Future” program to be available to every secondary school in the country – offering for free over $250 million in value.
Microsoft – Committed to launch a substantial affordability program open to all U.S. public schools by deeply discounting the price of its Windows operating system, which will substantially bring down the cost of Windows-based devices.
O’Reilly Media – Partnering with Safari Books Online to make over $100 million in educational content and tools available, for free, to every school in America.
Sprint – Committed to offer free wireless service for up to 50,000 low-income high school students over the next four years, valued at $100 million.
Verizon – Announced a multi-year program to support the ConnectED vision through up to $100 million in cash and in-kind commitments.
* A $2 billion down-payment by the FCC’s E-Rate program to connect 20 million more students to next-generation broadband and wireless, beginning in 2014.
An additional commitment to rural schools with over $10 million in distance learning grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
