Gadgets as an economic cure?

That was part of the message the Obama administration s chief technology officer was promoting at during a Thursday meeting at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

There are certain national priorities where we need an all-hands-on-deck approach, said Aneesh Chopra, the country s first CTO. We have a widely dispersed knowledge base and we have to find a way to tap into that.

Chopra pointed to health care, education and energy savings as three critical areas where the government and private sector must collaborate to improve information flow and understanding for consumers. We re on the five-yard line with 95 yards to go, he said:

1) Energy

The stimulus provided $3.4 billion in grants to create a smart energy grid that improves energy efficiency and energy savings for consumers. As part of that, utilities will install 18 million free smart meters nationwide to offer consumers real-time updates on home energy use. Although some experts worry that the meters will actually lead to greater consumption because consumers will see how relatively inexpensive energy is Chopra flagged technology that could provide consumers with alerts for energy-saving opportunities or remote management.

This week, Control4, whose home-energy-management thermostat is offered by some utilities in conjunction with the smart meters, introduced a series of iPhone, BlackBerry and Droid apps. Consumers who have both a smart meter and a Control 4 thermostat can remotely monitor their home s energy use and control it using the apps. That could include adjusting the temperature or shutting off power to the electronics in a particular room, says a spokeswoman. The subscription costs $9.99 a month.

2) Education

In November, the White House launched the Educate to Innovate campaign to generate student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Technology could be used both to improve teacher training and add a spark to learning materials, says Chopra.

Intel (INTC) pledged Thursday to spend $200 million to train more than 100,000 math and science teachers over the next three years. Chopra also likes the Discovery, Sony (SNE) and IMAX (IMAX) collaboration to develop a 3D broadcast television network, which was announced Tuesday. Can you imagine how many kids are going to be inspired to get into science if they can see 3D visualization of the geology of the Earth, or of the human body? he said.

3) Health care

Another chunk of the stimulus -- $34 billion, to be exact -- is slated to improve electronic health-care records and connectivity between providers, with the aim of bettering care. Ideally, consumers should be able to receive an electronic summation of medical care within 48 hours of receiving that care, as well as an assessment of care and treatment options, Chopra said. Last year, Kaiser Permanente began offering members a $5 read-only USB drive containing their medical records, which could be offered to doctors in a medical emergency when that patient travels.

Chopra is also hopeful innovation would enable the government to better relay health education information to consumers. In December, the government launched the Innovations for Healthy Kids Game Challenge, a contest for developers to create nutrition games that teach kids about healthy food choices.