BIG WHEELS KEEP ON TURNING: Momentum is building for President Obama's ConnectED initiative to provide students with tech devices and high-speed Internet access by 2017. On Feb. 3, the FCC announced it will double funding for broadband services to schools. A day later, during a visit to Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Maryland, the POTUS announced that major tech and telecom companies are committing a combined $750 million to give free hardware, software and Internet access to U.S. schools. (Company announcements linked below.)
- Apple: $100 million in iPads, MacBook, software and professional development tools for disadvantaged schools
- AT&T: $100 million to provide free mobile Internet access for middle-school students over the next three years
- Autodesk: $250 million of 3-D design and training software to every middle and high school in the U.S.
- Microsoft: 12 million free copies of Office 365 Education, discounts for Windows devices, and free IT training for educators and staff
- O'Reilly Media: $100 million to make educational resources free to 15,000 schools
- Sprint: $100 million to provide free wireless Internet service for up to 50,000 low-income high school students over the next four years
- Verizon: $100 million in cash and in-kind commitments to expand the Verizon Innovate Learning Schools Program, the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, and other efforts to boost STEM achievement and professional development
More details are available in the official White House press release.
