National Education Technology Leader Joins Board of Directors for The VHS Collaborative

July 17, 2012 - PRLog -- Maynard, MA – The VHS Collaborative (VHS), the nonprofit pioneer of K-12 online learning, today announced the appointment of national education technology consultant, Linda Roberts, to their board of directors. Roberts is best known as the former Director of the U.S. Department of Educational Technology and for her role as the Secretary of Education’s Special Adviser on Technology, both under the Clinton Administration.

“Linda has a wealth of experience with online learning and we couldn’t be more delighted to have her on board,” said Carol Ribeiro, VHS Chief Operating Officer and Acting CEO. “Her work in science and technology, in particular, will be invaluable as we continue to help schools worldwide meet the challenge of increasing enrollments and achieving better academic success with STEM courses.”

A former elementary school teacher, university professor and Academic Dean,  Roberts’ illustrious career includes developing our nation’s first National Technology Plan, launching five new technology programs for the Clinton Administration and increasing the Federal technology budget from $30 million to over $900 million annually.  She also played a key role in the development of the E-RATE, a $2.25 billion program to bring the Internet and advanced telecommunications to U.S. schools and libraries.
 
Roberts advises state and local education agencies, foundations, corporations, and government on the use of technology for teaching and learning, focusing on STEM, 21st century skills and literacy, open education resources (OER) and digital content, social networking and online communities of practice. She has provided consultation to Apple and several other leading education and technology companies. Roberts currently serves as a visiting scholar at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and previously served on both the Visiting Committee for NSF’s National Science Digital Libraries Program and on the Steering Committee for the 2012 NAEP Technological Literacy Assessment.

Before joining the Clinton Administration, she led the research on educational technology at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, where she directed three landmark studies: Power On! New Tools for Teaching and Learning (1988); Linking for Learning: A New Course for Education (1989); and Adult Literacy and Technology: Tools for a Lifetime (1993).

“I have followed VHS's development and been a fan of the organization since their inception in 1995 when their pioneering work in online learning was supported by one of the very first Technology Innovation Challenge Grants,” said Roberts. “The success of the VHS program is well documented and I look forward to helping VHS further refine their model.”

About The VHS Collaborative (VHS) Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Maynard, MA, The VHS Collaborative (formerly Virtual High School Global Consortium) is the pioneer of K-12 online learning, having first brought online learning into secondary education. Since then, the organization has been setting the standard for quality online education. VHS helps schools by providing co-synchronous courses for secondary school students taught in global online classrooms, online professional development in 21st century teaching best practices for educators, support with blended learning initiatives, custom course development and private offerings to meet unique educational needs. Their design and delivery standards were the model used by the National Education Association in their recommended standards for online learning.  In addition, VHS has won numerous awards, including the Stockholm Challenge Award for Global Excellence in Information Technology and is a three time winner of the United States Distance Learning Association’s (USDLA) award for Excellence in Programming and Excellence in Best Practices. For more information, visit www.TheVHSCollaborative or call (978) 897-1900.  Press Contact: Carol Arnold, Arnold Communications, carol@arnoldcomm.com, (877) 718-4604 x2.