Connecting the Pieces to Prepare America’s Schools for 21st Century Learning

[Commentary] In June 2013, President Barack Obama called on government and private sector leaders to close the Internet connectivity gap in our schools and libraries. At that time, thanks in large part to the Federal Communications Commission’s E-rate program  —  the nation’s largest education technology program — nearly all schools and libraries already had Internet access, but too many had insufficient bandwidth. The speed may have been enough for a typical American household, but it was inadequate for a school with hundreds of students and teachers. According to one analysis at the time, 63 percent of public schools — serving over 40 million students — lacked broadband connections capable of taking advantage of digital learning.

To close this gap, President Obama launched the ConnectED initiative, with a central goal of connecting 99 percent of America’s students to high-speed Internet within five years. Enough time has elapsed to see if these collective efforts are having an impact, and early signs show that the steps our agencies have taken are delivering results for which we’d hoped. A little more than two years ago, our government set a goal. We are meeting that goal, and the result is 20 million more American students now have expanded access to digital learning opportunities. Through continued work together, we can ensure that a fast-growing world of technologies brings remarkable possibilities for teaching and learning — helping teachers to do their vital work and making school even more engaging for students.