The COVID-19 pandemic brought forth clarity on many pain points in education, especially with the digital divide. Many schools were still operating under a 19th century framework when the pandemic started, further exasperating the need for upgrades. Since 2020, $190 billion in federal funds have been distributed to help schools close the digital divide through updates and infrastructure. However, the challenge still remains of how schools can secure long-term funding to continue modernization efforts.

In this article, Ryan Petersen shares

• the pandemic’s impact on the digital divide;
• how schools are modernizing classrooms and infrastructure; and
• the need for long-term funding solutions.

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In 2022, ed tech adoption in K–12 settings increased by 99 percent. The demand for digital learning software shows that technology is not just an add-on in classrooms anymore, but a primary tool that allows teachers to create individualized education plans, interactive content, and repositories of course content. Despite the many benefits, there are potential hazards to avoid by following a few best practices.

In this article, Charlie Sander shares

• how to vet digital learning software;
• tools to reduce the risk of cyberattacks; and
• strategies for proper software use, privacy compliance, and interoperability.

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The mention of esports typically conjures images of teenagers in headsets, positioned in front of colorful keyboards and brightly lit computer monitors. As competitive gaming grows popularity at high schools and colleges across the nation, it becomes even more important to lay the groundwork for these teams early on. Learn how to introduce game-based education to increase students’ skills.

In this article, Jen Dawson shares

• the value of introducing esports in kindergarten;
• potential tech strains and how to overcome them; and
• how to build partnerships and forge a pipeline supporting students in esports.

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Although education has undergone rapid changes in the past few years, many of the processes have stayed the same. At this year’s Future of Education Technology Conference, Alberto and Mario Herraez, also known as the eTwinz, opened with this thought starter in their Thursday session, “Fostering Self-Regulation Skills and Personalized Learning in an Elementary Setting.”

The Herraez twins noted that technologies have changed with time — from photocopies to Microsoft OneNote — but the delivery process remains the same for many schools. Teachers deliver information to students, who are expected to absorb and remember the lessons.

The Herraezes shared strategies they used when working as fifth and sixth grade educators in Utah. They argued that personalizing learning and teaching students self-management skills prepares them for the workforce they’ll one day enter. They cited data from the World Economic Forum’s 2020 report “The Future of Jobs,” which showed the increased demand for employees with self-management skills.

As they explained the ways they incorporated these pedagogies and skills into their classrooms, the Herraezes encouraged districts to follow their example.

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The COVID-19 pandemic essentially ended the conversation about whether school districts should embrace one-to-one programs that put a computing device into the hands of every student.

“During COVID, a large number of individual devices were deployed,” says Amy McLaughlin, Cybersecurity Initiative director at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). “We exited the conversation of, ‘Should we do one-to-one?’ and entered the conversation of, ‘How do we maintain one-to-one?’”

Historically, many school districts have struggled to build device refresh cycles into their operating budgets. Often, new interactive displays or laptops are bought with one-time, nonrecurring funds, such as bond money for a school building project. More recently, schools received multiple rounds of federal government funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, the Emergency Connectivity Fund, and other grants to make necessary ed tech purchases.

As McLaughlin notes, the lifecycle for mobile devices such as laptops and tablets is much shorter — about three years, she suggests — than the lifecycle of a school building. In a 2022 CoSN survey, 75 percent of districts said federal economic stimulus funds were significant for supporting hybrid learning. Of those that relied on emergency funding for IT initiatives, 60 percent used the money to purchase devices.

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