Digital Equity

The Latah County commissioners signed a resolution Tuesday giving jurisdictions across the area there new power to move forward with a large-scale broadband infrastructure project.

Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced a $10 million state grant to help deliver affordable broadband to every home in the city. The grant funds come from a wing of the Ohio Department of Development known as BroadbandOhio.

Efforts to extend broadband to unserved parts of the county are underway with the Cooke County Commissioners Court working on new language for a request for bids to provide better Internet service to underserved areas.

In the past two years, Outcomes Based Contracting worked with school districts in nine states to procure money-back guarantees from online tutoring providers. For 2024, the organization hopes to broaden its reach in K-12.

As Maryland works to fill gaps in Internet access, Gov. Wes Moore and local groups are focused on ensuring residents have digital literacy skills, technical support and broadband, especially in areas like Baltimore.

Construction is expected to begin this year on a project that will allow multiple Internet service providers to operate on the same infrastructure. The project will be financed through general obligation bonds.

The $418 million allocation includes contracts with Zearn, Ignite Reading and Lexia to help boost reading and math test scores. Elementary and middle school students statewide will have access to the added technology.

The university has put a new Digital Accessibility Policy in place to make digital resources more accessible to students with visual, auditory, cognitive and motor-control disabilities.

Plus, the federal government is strengthening its digital accessibility rules, the California Public Utilities Commission is investing in digital literacy, and more.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's Office of Economic Development has awarded the final round of ConnectSD broadband grants. The awards will make high-speed Internet available to underserved households across the state.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development announced on Friday it was awarding more than $7.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to 14 projects to improve cellular coverage across the state.

More integrations, low-connectivity tools, small language models, an avalanche of resumes: This is not a Christmas wish list but a set of predictions for what generative AI will bring to education in the months ahead.

Plus, a new dashboard compiles state-level rules on digital transformation, the American Library Association launches a new digital inclusion working group for library staffers, and more.

The district used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) COVID-19 relief funds to buy Avantis Education ClassVR tools for 17 schools. The technology will be available to students this academic year.

The Texas Broadband Development Office is asking for input from the public on a new plan to expand access to the Internet. Roughly 3 million households in the state lack access to high-speed Internet.

City staff are close to proposing a deal with an Internet service provider that would build a citywide fiber-optic network. An official said they are negotiating with a potential vendor.

Most U.S. schools reported having Wi-Fi access in every classroom in the 2020-21 school year, according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Education released last month. The figure was 96 percent in New York.

An initiative by the digital equity nonprofit Digitunity sent devices to over 41,000 students since 2021, but the success of the program hinges on tech support, device refurbishment and digital literacy training.