Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Flash Message from ETAN!

Congress is poised to determine how much federal economic recovery funding -- perhaps billions, perhaps nothing -- will go towards supporting education technology. Congress needs to hear from you right now about the value of investing in classroom learning technologies to prime the economy, create jobs and prepare today's students for tomorrow's jobs. NOW is the time to make your voice heard.

President-Elect Obama has made it clear that providing substantial funding for classroom technology in his economic recovery package is one of his top priorities. Just last week, he gave voice to this vision, saying: "To give our children the chance to live out their dreams in a world that's never been more competitive, we will equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries. We'll provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers so that students in Chicago and Boston can compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future."

Now, it is up to Congress to implement this vision by including substantial funding in the economic recovery package that its leaders are preparing. They are expected to complete work on this legislation before Presidents' Day.

We urge you to contact your Congressional members now. Tell them what an infusion of K-12 educational technology funding will do for America's economy and for its K-12 students. Please click here to share with your members of Congress the importance of education technology for your school, district and state.

Please do not let this opportunity to dramatically improve American education and jump start our nation's economy slip away. Act today.

ETAN updates are brought to you by the Consortium for School Networking and the International Society for Technology in Education.