The White House Makes A Digital Promise

The White House and the Department of Education announced recently the creation of the Digital Promise center to promote technology in the nation's classrooms. Digital Promise is a publicly created non-profit, primarily funded by the private sector, but promoting ties between education and high tech. According to one news report:

"The board that will oversee the Digital Promise center is made up of technology and education leaders, and aims to close the education gap between U.S. and foreign schools, according to a White House statement"

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made the need for such a program clear when he co-authored an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal (September 19, 2001)

"Other countries are far ahead of us in creating 21st-century classrooms. South Korea, which has the highest college attainment rate in the world, will phase out textbooks and replace them with digital products by 2015. Even Uruguay, a small country not known for leadership in technology, provides a computer for every student"

The White House has released a detailed "Digital Promise" Factsheet, which sets forth the program's three general goals.

• Identifying breakthrough technologies
• Learning faster what's working and what's not
• Transforming the market for learning technologies

According to the White House, "Digital Promise is an independent 501(c)(3), created through Section 802 of the federal Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008."

White House’s School-Technology Program Aims to Improve Learning (Bloomberg News)

A Digital Promise to Our Nation's Children (The Wall Street Journal)

"Digital Promise" Factsheet (White House)

Who We Are, Digital Promise Website (White House)