Education

Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools will have the first microgrid and largest solar power system at any K-12 public school in Virginia, with operating costs covered by energy savings and revenues from storage.

As it transitions to a focus on career and technical education, Willoughby-Eastlake City School District will offer cybersecurity courses and training in other fields through partnerships with local companies and unions.

Engineers and veterinarians at the University of California, Davis converted a metal barn into a research facility, where rows of infrared cameras record birds of prey in motion to help inform drone designs.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Computational & Information Systems Lab, which operates NCAR Wyoming, provides computing resources, services and support to more than 500 universities.

University of Wisconsin-Parkside is establishing an AI fluency task force and working with companies like Microsoft and Ordify AI to train students, faculty and staff on the technology.

A Chicago-area elementary school technology director recently spoke about the most vulnerable spots in school districts, the rising use of deepfakes, and the growing sophistication of email phishing attempts.

K-12 teachers and higher education faculty across all grade levels and subject areas will have free access to AI literacy training modules designed by Google and aligning with ISTE+ASCD standards.

To help meet growing state interest in broadband infrastructure, a public community college in Texas will put a $2.2 million workforce grant toward developing new curricula for training fiber technicians.

Under state law, New Jersey public school students must be in classrooms for the day to be counted, with exceptions for when schools are closed more than three consecutive days due to a declared state of emergency.

Artificial intelligence is complicating an already difficult calculation for schools, empowering hackers at the same time federal government cuts to cybersecurity are pushing IT leaders to adapt and share services.

Speaking to the challenges of ed-tech procurement, Lisa Berghoff of Highland Park High School said school districts should overlook hype and focus instead on whether a new tool is accessible and backed by sound research.

The technology director of Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District in Texas says AI will make phishing campaigns and deepfake videos more sophisticated, requiring more vigilance on the part of network users.

A new degree program within the College of Engineering at the University of North Texas will train students to design, build and deploy AI software and systems, as well as assess their social and ethical implications.

Some school district IT teams have been experimenting with using generative AI tools for cybersecurity, for example to analyze data logs on help desk tickets to improve incident response plans, or to troubleshoot code.

State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) Executive Director Julia Fallon says Congress may need to identify legislative means outside of E-rate to solve the home connectivity issue for students.

If enacted, a bill that cleared its final Senate committee hurdle this week includes provisions for parent notifications and consent regarding instructional AI tools, as well as responsibilities for ed-tech vendors.

A faux-phishing email crafted by students at Eminence High School in Kentucky snagged 14 staffers at the district. Another in late January, created with help from generative AI, persuaded 29 staffers to click the link.

UNCG will be the first university in the state to have a SparkHub, where students complete modules in AI, cybersecurity, software development, UX/UI design, data analytics, game design and esports.