Bri Alys, LLC

“Last year, I also pledged to connect 99 percent of our students to high-speed broadband over the next four years. Tonight, I can announce that with the support of the FCC and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon, we’ve got a down payment to start connecting more than 15,000 schools and twenty million students over the next two years, without adding a dime to the deficit.”

Those are words from President Obama’s 2014 State of the Union. As a techie and an advocate of continuous education for all ages, that gets me excited! Mashable reports that $750 million is being donated, some to low-income schools. Apple is contributing iPads, MacBooks and other products; AT&T and Sprint will provide Internet access; Autodesk and O’Reilly Media will provide software; Microsoft will “deeply” discount the price of its Windows operating system for all public schools, and provide millions of free copies of its Office software; and Verizon will provide cash and technical support. Several of the companies targeted their donations at low-income schools.

I’m a big proponent of supporting businesses that invest in “social good”, so I thought I’d share discounts you can get right now! In most cases, if you have a .edu email you will qualify immediately!

Apple: Offers Educational Pricing, up to $200 off a new Mac. You can shop Apple’s official online education store and check your eligibility here.

Microsoft: Academic Volume licensing for institutional purchasing agents, educators, or students. Free Office 365 (email, sites, online document editing and storage, IM, and web conferencing).

Verizon, AT&T and Sprint all have offers and discounts up to 20% on your monthly wireless bill.

You can read more about Obama’s ConnectEd program here.