Prezi, the cloud-based startup which competes with Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote, and Adobe are the latest technology companies to join President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative to help the U.S. education system move forward into a more technology-centred world.
Prezi’s commitment will provide $100 million in Edu Pro licenses to hundreds of thousands of high schools and educators. Adobe is making available over $300 million worth of free software to teachers and students, including Photoshop Elements for creative projects; Presenter and Captivate to amplify e-Learning; EchoSign for school workflow; and a range of teacher training resources.
The new commitments bring the total ConnectED investment to more than $1 billion. ConnectED hopes to transform American education by connecting 99% of students to next-generation broadband and wireless technology within five years.
The White House previously announced $750 million in commitments from Apple, Microsoft, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Autodesk, and O’Reilly Media.