Education technology

Facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources

FCC Announces Over $2.8 Billion In Funding Requests For Final Window In Ongoing Work To Close The Homework Gap

The Federal Communications Commission has received requests for $2,814,736,532 in the third application filing window of the Emergency Connectivity Fund program to fund 5,120,453 connected devices and 4,285,794 broadband connections. Applications will be prioritized to fund schools and libraries with the greatest need first, with a preference for schools and libraries located in rural areas.

EdTech Advocacy Day: Modernizing E-Rate is a Policy Priority

When ed-tech leaders from 21 states met with lawmakers to discuss 2022 policy priorities at EdTech Advocacy Day in Washington (DC), they coalesced around the idea of modernizing federal E-rate funding for new expenses. The May 12 event brought together officials from the US Department of Education, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks.

Dos Palos-Oro Loma, California, School District Bridges Homework Gap

Located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Dos Palos (CA) is halfway between San Jose and Fresno. It’s a remote community, which created challenges for the Dos Palos-Oro Loma Joint Unified School District (DPOL) when it needed to implement distance learning plans during the pandemic. Paoze Lee, the district’s technology systems director, said it was obvious that the district could provide wireless and broadband coverage only to about 50 percent of its students via commercial wireless operators. “As we tried to bridge the digital divide, we wanted to fill in the gaps,” Lee says.

FTC Announces Tentative Agenda for May 19 Open Commission Meeting

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan announced that an open meeting of the Commission will be held virtually on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The following items will be on the tentative agenda:

Benton Welcomes FCC Proposal to Turn Buses into Rolling Study Halls

Benton applauds Chairwoman Rosenworcel and this critical effort to support a continuum of connectivity for America's schoolchildren. As far back as 2016, approximately 3 percent of the schools had begun to offer Wi-Fi on school buses, and nearly 4 percent were planning to do so in the near future. The reasoning is clear: school buses can be an extension of the school and facilitate online study. The FCC should seize this opportunity to turn school buses into rolling study halls.

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Circulates Ruling Making Wi-Fi On School Buses Eligible For E-Rate Funding

For more than two decades, E-Rate has provided vital support to help connect schools and libraries to high-speed, modern communications all across the country. It got its start as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Over 25 million children take the bus to school every day. In rural areas that ride can be long. It can easily be an hour to school and an hour to return home at the end of the day.

New research shows the high costs of long school closures

When Covid-19 began to sweep across the country in March 2020, schools in every state closed their doors. Remote instruction effectively became a national policy for the rest of that spring. A few months later, however, school districts began to make different decisions about whether to reopen. Across much of the South and the Great Plains as well as some pockets of the Northeast, schools resumed in-person classes in the fall of 2020. Across much of the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast, school buildings stayed closed and classes remained online for months.

FCC Commits Nearly $39 Million In Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund Support

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $39 million in the 14th wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support, helping to close the Homework Gap. This latest round of funding is supporting 140 schools, 14 libraries, and 1 consortium across the country, including for students in California, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Puerto Rico, and Virginia. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, to ensure students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education.

FCC Opens 3rd Filing Window for Emergency Connectivity Fund

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the opening of a third application filing window to award at least $1 billion in Emergency Connectivity Fund support to help close the Homework Gap. From April 28, 2022 until May 13, 2022, eligible schools and libraries can submit requests for funding to purchase eligible equipment and services between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023.

Ohio Connectivity Champions Assist in Connecting Cleveland Metropolitan School District Students to Internet

The Ohio Connectivity Champions (OCC) partnered with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) to help deploy free internet service to more than 6,000 district households during the 2021-2022 school year ensuring online access to health, employment, school, skill improvement, and the economy. In September 2021, CMSD was awarded approximately $12 million from the Emergency Connectivity Fund (now the Affordable Connectivity Program), a federal $7.17 billion program that helps schools and libraries provide the tools and services needed for remote learning during the pandemic.