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Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog

  • Making the Most of the Wireless Spectrum

    Posted by Jason Furman and John P. Holdren on July 20, 2012 at 12:58 PM EDT

    Today the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released its latest report, Realizing the Full Potential of Government-Held Spectrum to Spur Economic Growth, which provides valuable insight on innovative ways to meet President Obama’s goal of maintaining and enhancing American leadership in cutting-edge wireless services — an important part of this Administration’s overall strategy to create jobs and increase growth.  

    America already leads the world in the availability of advanced 4G wireless broadband Internet services such as LTE; almost two-thirds of the global subscriber base for 4G LTE is right here in the United States. With global mobile data volumes more than doubling every year in the past four years and continued growth expected, wireless technology has great potential to be an important part of America’s ongoing economic recovery. New wireless networks are creating good jobs as companies invest tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure development. And these networks are serving as a platform for hundreds of thousands of additional jobs created by the apps and services riding on top of the mobile Internet.  

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  • Brainstorming Apps for a Clean Energy Future

    Posted by Nick Sinai and Ian Kalin on July 20, 2012 at 8:55 AM EDT

    Building off the recent launch of the Energy Data Initiative, fifty technologists, entrepreneurs, and investors joined staff from the White House, Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency to participate in an “Energy Data Jam” last week in New York City. One of the goals of the half-day workshop was to brainstorm how freely available datasets—i.e., open data—might be used by clean-energy entrepreneurs for new products, services, or apps.

    Launched by the Obama Administration earlier this year, the Energy Data Initiative aims to help Americans shrink their energy costs, improve the environment, and create jobs.  By “liberating” data from the vaults of the government and other sources, the Energy Data Initiative empowers innovators to transform data into valuable tools that we can actually use in our daily lives.

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  • Growing Momentum for Digital Promise

    Posted by Thomas Kalil and Kumar Garg on July 19, 2012 at 1:46 PM EDT

    Less than a year ago, the White House and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the launch of "Digital Promise," a new national effort to accelerate innovation in education with technology.  In that year, Digital Promise launched the League of Innovative Schools, a partnership of 26 school districts in 18 states that collectively serve roughly 2.5 million students.

    Yesterday, The Office of Science and Technology Policy joined superintendents from across the country in Digital Promise’s first Innovation Workshop, held in Washington D.C.  One of the topics discussed was “smart demand” – the use of the purchasing power of school districts to improve learning outcomes for students.  The League of Innovative Schools can:

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  • White House Office Hours: #STEM Master Teacher Corps

    Posted by Erin Lindsay on July 18, 2012 at 7:21 PM EDT

    This morning, the Obama Administration announced the President’s plan to create a national Science, Math, Technology, and Engineering (STEM) Master Teacher Corps. The STEM Master Teacher Corps will begin in 50 locations across the country, each with 50 exceptional STEM educators. Over the next four years the Corps will expand to include 10,000 of the best STEM teachers in the nation. 

    In the afternoon, Kumar Garg, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Steve Robinson, Domestic Policy Council, took to Twitter to answer questions about the STEM Master Teacher Corp and other Obama Administration initiatives to support STEM education. You can check out the full Q&A below or at Storify.com.

    Be sure to follow @WhiteHouse on Twitter for the latest news and more opportunities to engage.

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  • Statements of Support for the President's STEM Master Teachers Corps

    Posted by Bobby Dresser on July 18, 2012 at 5:56 PM EDT

    Secretary Duncan and Patrick Honner

    Brooklyn Technical High School teacher Patrick Honner is greeted by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at an educator’s roundtable to discuss the Administration’s new STEM Master Teacher Corps efforts at the White House, July 18, 2012. (Photo by Bobby Dresser)

    Today, the Obama Administration announced plans for a new national Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Master Teacher Corps to recognize outstanding STEM educators across the country and improve our Nation’s STEM education as a whole. The program will be funded by $1 billion requested in the President’s 2013 budget, which is currently in front of Congress.

    The Administration recognizes that STEM education must be a national priority if we are to continue to succeed in an increasingly global economy. America needs effective and accomplished STEM educators to engage and inspire our youth in the classroom. At the same time, our teachers must provide students with opportunities for critical thinking and deep learning.

    Below are statements from leaders in the education community who support the Preisdent's STEM Master Teacher Corps:

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  • President Obama Announces New Plan to Create STEM Master Teaching Corps

    Posted by Phil Larson on July 18, 2012 at 10:07 AM EDT

    Today, the Obama Administration announced the President’s plan to create a national Science, Math, Technology, and Engineering (STEM) Master Teacher Corps. The STEM Master Teacher Corps will begin in 50 locations across the country, each with 50 exceptional STEM educators. Over the next four years the Corps will expand to include 10,000 of the best STEM teachers in the nation. In joining the STEM Master Teachers Corps, these educators will make a commitment to champion the cause of STEM education in their respective communities, and will receive additional resources to mentor math and science teachers, inspire students, and help their communities grow.

    Improving America’s STEM education is one of President Obama’s top priorities.  As he has said repeatedly, efforts to improve STEM education are “going to make more of a difference in determining how well we do as a country than just about anything else that we do here.” A world-class STEM workforce is essential to virtually every goal we have as a nation – whether it’s broadly shared economic prosperity, international competitiveness, a strong national defense, a clean energy future, and longer, healthier, lives for all Americans.   If we want the future to be made in America, we need to redouble our efforts to strengthen and expand our STEM workforce.

    The Obama Administration is committed to ensuring America’s students are prepared to succeed in an increasingly competitive economy. To do so, we must make sure effective, capable teachers are guiding our youth in the classroom. By creating a STEM Master Teaching Corps to inspire students, and by giving these educators the necessary resources to teach well, we are investing in America’s future.

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