President Obama Visits Tech Savvy Md. Middle School

President Barack Obama visited a Prince George's County middle school Tuesday to talk about bringing better technology to students nationwide.

During his trip to Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, the president shared his ConnectED initiative, a plan to connect 99 percent of students in the U.S. to next generation broadband or wireless technology. He picked Buck Lodge because it's a school that's already tech savvy, featuring tablets in classrooms and homework programs online.

Obama wants other schools on the same page within five years.

According to the Department of Education, 80 percent of schools currently have internet access that's simply too slow or too limited.

"A pen and paper is no longer enough for you to get your education. You need resources on the internet, and you need to know how to operate it regardless, especially in this day and age," said Buck Lodge alum Rama Keita.

Private companies are pouring $500 billion into the plan. In the end, it'll help connect 15,000 schools and 20 million students by stocking schools with iPads, free internet access and discounted operating systems.

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