Digital Transformation

Looking back on a disruptive year of learning from home, high school seniors in Pennsylvania recall lessons in organization, work ethics and the challenges of interacting through video conferencing technology.

New York school districts are waiting for clarification on whether the state will require or merely allow them to have all students return to in-person classes this fall, and what that will mean for remote learners.

Math teachers at Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District in Texas are seeing student grades improve through the use of My Math Academy, a game-based educational platform that tracks real-time progress.

The Albuquerque Journal has noticed New Mexico schools are benefiting from MidSchoolMath, a startup in Taos whose interactive program teaches algebra through virtual games that help students remember core concepts.

A virtual event last week hosted the superintendent, the local chamber president and others to discuss how schooling has changed, lessons from the past year and the need to invest in internships and summer programs.

Maryland state officials and educators are planning to resume in-person classes five days a week this fall, with limited hybrid learning options for flexibility. But low vaccination rates have some parents concerned.

The pandemic has significantly increased the number of students who don’t attend class. Solutions aren’t easy, but school districts can recover the chronically absent by digging deeper into data.

Milwaukee Public Schools has partnered with The Art of Education University to provide digital curriculum and professional development tools for visual arts teachers throughout the district.

Instead of setting uniform class schedules under the assumption that all students will learn at the same pace and in the same way, schools might serve kids better by making time the variable and learning the constant.

As schools and government agencies navigate their way out of lockdown orders and into a new normal of remote or hybrid work, there are eight core strategies they might keep in mind to sustain a productive IT environment.

Between January and March at Eau Claire Area School District in Wisconsin, less than 20 percent of middle school students took all-virtual classes instead of hybrid, but they accounted for 39 percent of F letter grades.

After a lawsuit alleged the state of New Mexico failed to provide necessary devices and connectivity for students to participate in remote learning, a judge has ordered the state to assess the cost and get it done.

Though it already had enough devices for each student prior to the pandemic, the East Baton Rouge Parish school district now has 60,000 computers for 40,000 students as newer technologies are integrated into lessons.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed an appropriations bill that will provide $206 million for K-12 and $76 million for colleges and universities for the coming year, including for classroom technology and deferred maintenance.

Officials in Lubbock Independent School District already had a system in place to provide devices to all of its students last year when COVID-19 school closures kicked the program into overdrive.

Few unbiased evaluations have been available for schools purchasing tech-based tools and curricula. That may change, but the challenge remains in getting these resources used effectively in classrooms.

For years, the Dougherty County School System has been staffing classrooms virtually with teachers from other locations through Elevate K-12. Nationwide teacher shortages bode well for the longevity of the program.

The Federal Communications Commission has announced rules for its new Emergency Connectivity Fund, which will distribute $7.17 billion announced earlier this year for school broadband and devices.