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Media Advisory No.: PENDING
Contact: USDA Office of Communications
202-720-4623
White House Rural Council Online Event Connects Rural Schools
with Innovative Solutions and Federal Resources
National Rural Education Technology Summit 2.0 Launches Monday, April 30
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2012- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will welcome educators and students throughout rural America to the National Rural Education Technology Summit 2.0 through video address on Monday, April 30, when the free virtual conference boots up at www.ruraleducationtechsummit.org. Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and more than a dozen federal partners are contributing to this White House Rural Council online event hosted by the U.S. Department of Education.
The virtual conference was designed to engage participants in interactive demonstrations and discussions of how technology is being used to overcome distance and increase educational opportunities in rural schools. Participants could be an individual at a computer or a teacher logging in with an entire class to join an interactive session on STEM with the Smithsonian or Robotics with the Naval Surface Warfare Center.
Other topics include demonstrations of how technology is being used to increase college access, civic responsibility in Native American communities, broadband, implementation of college and career-ready standards, professional development tools, and communities of practice. Attendees also will be able to browse through the virtual "Resource Hall" to discover programs, loans, and grants available to support rural schools from across the federal government.
In July 2010, the Department of Education hosted a national rural education technology summit at the Smithsonian's National Museum for the American Indian in DC with more than 155 participants from 26 states. The goal of Monday's free virtual conference is to include more stakeholders in the conversation about using technology to overcome distance and increase opportunity in rural America.
WHO:
Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education
G. Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
Julius Genachowski, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Karen Cator, Director of Education Technology, U.S. Department of Education
John White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach, U.S. Department of Education
WHAT:
National Rural Education Technology Summit 2.0, a free virtual conference
WHEN:
Monday, April 30, 2012, noon-6 p.m. ET
WHERE:
www.ruraleducationtechsummit.org
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