Education

State and federal funding for higher education has many administrators in a spending mood, but sometimes the most important conversations to have are the hard ones. Now is the time to plan for worst-case scenarios.

Moses Lake School District in Washington is buying 14 FrontRow Juno amplification systems, whereby teachers wear portable Bluetooth microphones connected to speakers that elevate their voice above classroom noise.

A state law passed in June will require schools to use mobile or Bluetooth-enabled alert systems for staff to report an active shooter, medical issue or other threat to first responders in real time.

With students returning to college campuses after a record-breaking year of cyber crimes against schools, the Better Business Bureau has recommendations for minimizing the risk of identity theft.

With nearly $15 million in state and local funding, Kentucky has established a new technical training center in Irvine to train students for work in computer science, IT, mechanics and other tech-integrated careers.

Hoping to make Bay County a hub for underwater systems, AMIkids Panama City Marine Institute in Florida offers students hands-on experience with manning remotely operated vehicles and reading the software that runs them.

A new 23,400-square-foot Automotive Technology Building hosts a two-year program to give college students and dual-enrolled high schoolers entry-level skills for the automotive service and repair industry.

The annual camp highlights the growing industry of esports, or competitive video gaming, which led the university to start its own master's program in esports management and other schools to devise their own programming.

Hernando County School District is using Nintex software to speed up the permitting process for capital projects. Officials say the platform cut the time it took to get projects approved by more than half.

Signed in June by Gov. Jared Polis, a new law aims to fight disinformation by requiring the state department of education to maintain an online bank of materials about media literacy, should schools want to use it.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School are working on an app for teens that would engage them with texts from peers who quit using e-cigarettes and reward them with points, similar to a game.

The Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation is working to secure grant funding, apportioned by the state Legislature for career and technical education, to build facilities for Grand Forks Public Schools.

Spurred in part by a retirement incentive program, the loss of almost a dozen IT leaders leaves New Mexico State University searching for a permanent CIO and reevaluating its plans and cybersecurity posture.

Higher education institutions from Washington, Idaho and Montana are collaborating through a $1.5 million Department of Defense grant to create the Northwest Virtual Institute for Cybersecurity Education and Research.

A cyber attack on Emma Willard School last week resulted in the theft of employee social security numbers and financial information. The school is now providing free credit and identity theft-monitoring services.

Thanks to a four-year grant from the American Indian College Fund, the public tribal land-grant university in New Mexico will start planning and recruiting for the bachelor’s program with an aim to start in 2022.

Qwasar and Cañada College at Menlo Park are offering a nine-month training program for software developers, with help from grant funding to achieve a low enough price point to draw applicants from low-income communities.

High demand for experienced engineers has created fierce competition in higher education and the private sector. University professors and industry leaders weigh in on how long the trend will last.