Obama, tech companies to get more devices into U.S. classrooms

[jsr]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/04/us-usa-obama-education-idUSBREA130J520140204

Obama, tech companies to get more devices into U.S. classrooms
WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 4, 2014 6:07am EST

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama is set to announce on Tuesday that private companies have agreed to give more than $750 million in devices, software and wireless service to U.S. students, part of Obama's pledge to help modernize classrooms.

The corporate donations come as the Federal Communications Commission said it would spend $2 billion over two year to upgrade Internet speed and quality in schools and libraries.

Obama will speak about the effort at Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Maryland, where students use tablets for their lessons.

"What this really does is give us the potential to revolutionize how teaching and learning happen in the classroom," said Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, in a conference call with reporters.

[NYC_SKP]

1. It gets pretty expensive but it's the right thing to do.

It gets expensive when schools get technology but don't know how to implement it well, and sometimes the stuff just sits around.

But, to the extent that it's distributed fairly, with poorer schools getting priority and equipment at least equal to the richer districts, it's vital to educational equity.

The digital divide still exists.