President Obama today unveiled ConnectED, a new initiative intended to connect 99 percent of America’s students to the internet through high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless within five years. He called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modernize and leverage its existing eRate program to meet that goal.
Obama also directed the federal government to make better use of existing funds to get internet connectivity and educational technology into classrooms, and into the hands of teachers trained on its advantages. And he called on businesses, states, districts, schools, and communities to support this vision. This initiative does not require Congressional action.
(Next page: A White House fact sheet, and what digital learning advocates are saying)
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