Dive Brief:

• President Barack Obama and Discovery Education are teaming up for a virtual field trip as part of an "Of the People: Live from the White House" series.
• At 10:40 a.m. EST on Thursday, April 30, classrooms across the nation can tune in for a virtual discussion with Obama about the importance of reading.
• According to Discovery Education, the session, entitled “Read to Discover a World of Infinite Possibilities,” will focus on "improving literacy, expanding digital learning, and the ConnectED initiative’s efforts to make books and libraries more accessible to children nationwide."

Dive Insight:

What an awesome use of technology. Not only will this talk be cool, but the general premise of giving students a behind the scenes look of the White House is something they will remember for a long time. According to Discovery Education, the White House series has already introduced students across the nation to a number of political big shots. They've been able to hear about art and the history of the famous house with curator William Allman, digital classrooms with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and cooking with White House chef Sam Kass, in addition to catching up with Michelle Obama on a recent trip to China and U.S. Archivist David S. Ferriero on Constitution Day.

This virtual field trip is the first to involve the president himself.