Digital Transformation

SRI Education, Columbia University and the nonprofit Achieving the Dream are partnering on a research center to help students learn study skills necessary for success in online learning environments.

Arizona school districts made use of an API system offered by education research nonprofit Ed-Fi Alliance to identify and assist more than 550,000 students in need of free meals during school closures.

Though many students struggled with remote learning, success stories proved it can be a viable model for some. Now K-12 schools have an opportunity to axe the one-size-fits-all approach and build more flexible options.

The IT staff at Colorado’s Boulder Valley School District conducts annual summer inspections of computers, projectors, phones, audio and other classroom technology to make sure it’s ready when kids return in the fall.

The Georgia district approved $53,717 in 21st Century Community Learning Center grant funds to support after-school programs at three of its elementary schools, as well as summer programming.

As the adaptive necessity of telework became a norm for major IT organizations, some found it actually helped productivity. Colleges and universities might take cues from the private sector in how to make the most of it.

In an effort to close the digital divide, the scope of which was revealed when classes moved online during COVID-19, the university is making all new freshman and transfer students eligible for free tablets.

The state is trying to recoup more than $150 million from Indiana Virtual School, Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy and related institutions for allegedly inflating their enrollment numbers and other fraud.

The nonprofit EveryoneOn has helped more than 800,000 Americans find low-cost Internet service and digital resources, and its outreach has only become more important for K-12 students with the advent of remote education.

Recent legislation that intends to close the digital divide still comes with gaps, as Republicans and telecommunications companies oppose municipal broadband as well as regulations to ensure everyone can afford it.

The growing popularity of electronic transactions has led schools to invest in tools like BlueSnap, a digital payment platform that expedites billing for expenses such as meal costs in K-12 and tuition at universities.

Video cameras, Zoom licenses and other purchases that came in handy for snow days became essential during COVID lockdowns, and now schools such as Lincoln Lutheran intend to keep them for conferences and other purposes.

In purchasing the technology adoption vendor EesySoft, the company behind the learning management system Canvas aims to build in-app messaging and dashboards to help educators learn to use and assess new tech tools.

As IT careers become increasingly competitive and essential, colleges and universities must work to retain IT staff with flexibility, healthy environments and meaningful work, or risk losing them to the private sector.

After a year of alternating between online and in-person learning, thousands of students at St. Vrain Valley, Boulder Valley and other districts are taking a four-week summer program to prepare for school in the fall.

Twinsburg City Schools will offer virtual classes through Ohio Online Learning, sponsored by the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio, to students whose grades and attendance meet certain criteria.

A global pandemic that upended the way school is taught should reinforce the need to create lifelong learners. Education today means teaching students to think about the future in new ways.

Staff surveys indicated that implementation of academic standards dipped at least in part due to distance learning, as teachers were figuring out how to engage students and use Canvas' online courses.