Grab A Share Of Education's $6 Trillion Marketplace
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Jim Shelton is the acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. “Education, worldwide, is a $5-6 trillion marketplace,” he said, explaining that there are many countries that won’t be able to make the switch to connected learning by themselves. “Some country will need to lead on this; hopefully it will be us.”
Other than Shelton’s comment, the focus was mostly domestic at Connected Learning In The Digital Age: Improving American Education Through Technology. The event, organized by The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands,The LEAD Commission, Common Sense Media, and the New School Venture Fund was a change of pace for me. Ordinarily, I meet with developers, educators, researchers, and tech entrepreneurs; they focus on envisioning the future. At this conference–star-studded with moderators like Chelsea Clinton–the focus was more policy oriented. The objective was to “move the needle forward,” to work toward 100% adoption of connected and blended learning. In the words of Steve Case, who spoke early in the day, “this is about how our kids learn and how our country moves forward.”
I woke up early to take Amtrak from my home in Philadelphia to Washington D.C. I sat in the audience, surrounded by business leaders,