Hi, I'm Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, and I've tried to do everything I can through all my life

to give opportunity to children from communities who haven't had the best of advantages and haven't had a chance to fulfill their real academic and social potential.

And I've always tried to champion everything I think that can make a real difference

when it comes to helping students fulfill their academic and social potential.

And that's why I'm a big, big believer in the promise of learning technologies.

This isn't just about doing things online that we used to do with a pen and paper,

and it is not just about connecting classrooms with the wider world, although that is really important.

It's about offering teachers powerful new ways of identifying whether their students are struggling, and how to reach them before it's too late.

It's about giving our best teachers the chance to teach more students in more places,

and it's about offering all of our students a personalized education, tailored to their individual needs,

an education that has never before been possible without hiring an individual or a private tutor.

These kinds of cutting-edge technologies hold extraordinary promise.

Countries around the world understand that, and that's why they are pushing the boundaries of what's possible with learning technologies.

And the question for all of us is, is America going to lead, or are we going to be a laggard, are we going to follow?

And we know America must lead, and that's why I am so proud to support Digital Promise,

America's new National Center for Advancing Learning Technologies.

Created by Republicans and Democrats, and championed by a coalition of educators and business leaders,

Digital Promise is an independent non-profit that will help spur breakthrough learning technologies,

and will make sure Americans of all ages and all races, regions and backgrounds can benefit from them.

By harnessing the extraordinary work being done by educators, innovators and citizens across the country,

Digital Promise can help prepare Americans and America to succeed in the 21st century.

I know some folks may be skeptical that technology offers a silver bullet for solving the problems in American education.

The truth is we all know there are no silver bullets when it comes to education.

But with technology, we can more rapidly ramp up opportunities for excellence and equity through personalization.

I've seen it in classrooms, I've heard it from educators.

Technology can be an extraordinarily powerful tool for helping teachers teach and for helping students learn,

and Digital Promise will help all of us unlock its potential.