Washington, DC, Source: TechAmerica Foundation – At the first meeting of the Recommendations for Education and Advancement of Learning (REAL) Agenda Commission, the academic and industry experts of the commission were joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, to discuss the need to leverage innovative technology to empower students, parents and educators to create a competitive U.S. workforce, with a specific focus on K-12.
 
During the meeting, the Education Secretary made the announcement that a number of private companies have made a commitment to improve access to high-quality education data in order to spur the development of learning tools that can drive student achievement. In addition, the Department of Education detailed its own efforts to better leverage technology, including the launch of ed.data.gov. It also announced the Federal Student Aid “MyData” button, which will allow students to download their own aid data into a simple, machine readable text file and provide developers with an opportunity to develop customized tools to help students make better decisions about pursuing and paying for college.
 
The Commission, comprised of experts from industry and academia, is being led by Dr. David Belanger, AT&T Labs Chief Scientist; Dr. Arden Bement Jr., Director of the Purdue University Global Policy Research Institute and Dr. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti of the Apollo Research Institute.
 
“Having this type of talent and passion in one room, focusing on a very real challenge to our competitiveness gives me great confidence that Digital Promise will be a success,” said Jennifer Kerber, President of the TechAmerica Foundation. “The support of Secretary Duncan and Mr. Chopra will allow the recommendations of this commission to have real, tangible impacts on how our children learn."
 
The REAL Agenda, which was unveiled as part of the White House’s Digital Promise effort last year, has been tasked with outlining a set of initial research projects for Digital Promise and identifying any policy hurdles that inhibit progress. The commission will submit those recommendations to Mr. Chopra.
 
Digital Promise is designed to identify the information and technological needs that will improve all levels of formal and informal learning and education to prepare Americans to compete in the global economy.  The recommendations of the REAL Agenda will help provide the research direction.
 
For a full list of REAL Agenda Commissioners, please visit: www.techamericafoundation.org/real-commission-appointments

To learn more about Digital Promise please visit www.digitalpromise.org

Contact: Stephanie Craig at 202.682.4443 or Stephanie.Craig@techamericafoundation.org