'Digital Promise' launched to help competitiveness

Experts have long sounded alarms that America is losing its competitive edge with growing unemployment and a frigid economic climate. But now there is a glimmer of hope: Congress has created Digital Promise, a new national center that will work to advance technologies to transform teaching and learning.

The center will be led by the Recommendations for Education and Advancement of Learning Agenda commission, which was unveiled Sept. 16. The benefits of the new center will “ultimately be seen in every sector of the U.S. economy — but its full potential will only be realized if we identify a relevant research agenda and remove policies or practices that slow the research,” said Dr. David Belanger, AT&T Labs chief scientist, who will serve as co-chair on the commission.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed article today, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and former president of the California Board of Education and current Netflix CEO Reed Hastings discussed the goal of Digital Promise: to advance technologies that transform teaching and learning in and out of the classroom.

“Transforming the use of educational technology is vitally important to America's continued success in the global economy,” they wrote. “We are optimistic that with the right ideas the U.S. can become a leader in leveraging the power of technology to promote learning.”

In addition to building a more efficient market for education technology, the center will also support new investments in research and development, Duncan and Hastings said.

“Transforming the use of educational technology is vitally important to America's continued success in the global economy,” they said. “We are optimistic that with the right ideas the U.S. can become a leader in leveraging the power of technology to promote learning.”