RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue returned briefly Wednesday to the public stage after a year away by announcing her initiative to expand the scope and value of electronic technology for teaching students of all ages.

Perdue, the founder and chairwoman of DigiLEARN, or the Digital Learning Institute, envisions the effort as bringing together teachers, policymakers, entrepreneurs and students to develop the most effective online or portable learning tools. The idea, Perdue said, is to determine how technology can best be used, then encourage companies or software engineers develop it for use in all classrooms.