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Obama Meets Technology Executives
posted by: Alix | February 22, 2011, 05:00 AM   

Last week President Obama unveiled his federal budget to mixed reviews from both parties. Among the proposals was the administration's commitment to increasing investments in new education technology. Thursday evening President Obama met with some of the biggest Silicon Valley names to discuss his plans and gain support for his technology agenda.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Apple's Steve Jobs, and others including the heads of Twitter, Yahoo, NetFlix and Oracle, were in attendance last Thursday for an unprecedented meeting of leaders in technology and business.

Although the meeting was closed to the press, Obama has argued that targeted spending, including education initiatives aimed at producing a more competitive workforce, is critical for job creation and future U.S. competitiveness in a global economy. An endorsement from the Silicon Valley's leading innovators and job creators could help his case.

Not only would a stamp of approval be beneficial to his agenda, drawing new technologies into our education system could revolutionize classrooms all over the country.

While the president has done extensive travelling to rally support for his increases in targeted spending, his spending proposals have been denounced by congressional Republicans. Chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee John Kline has committed to a lot of the education reform initiatives supported by the Obama administration but argues that we must focus on policy that "restores local control, lets teachers teach, empowers parents, and protects taxpayers."

It will be interesting to see what news and policies will come out of this groundbreaking meeting. While politicians argue how to pay our education bills, these technology executives will undoubtedly come up with new ideas to innovate and improve the current system.

Do you think the President was wise to meet with these tech leaders?
Comment below.

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