SETDA

The latest annual report by the State Educational Technology Directors Association highlights AI’s growth alongside gaps in funding, teacher support and cybersecurity.

State and local entities had already begun to receive grant awards to teach digital skills and provide connectivity and devices for underserved people, including K-12 students, when the program was canceled last week.

Education leaders said the order creates important momentum, but they expressed concerns about sustainable funding and whether ed-tech leaders will have a seat at the table to help shape the directive’s initiatives.

At the ASU+GSV AI Show earlier this month, education leaders shared how districts looking for the right tools are moving beyond sales pitches toward outcomes, transparency and long-term partnerships.

In lieu of federal leadership on ed-tech issues from the digital divide to cybersecurity to AI governance, state education technology offices will have to step up with investments, training, advocacy and partnerships.

ED laid off nearly half of its employees this week. Sources say the cuts have dismantled the Office of Educational Technology, which produced the National Education Technology Plan, among other resources.

A conservative-leaning FCC, coupled with legal and congressional challenges, have created uncertainty around the E-rate program that funds school broadband. Experts say districts will need local funding and community partnerships to fill the gap.

With ed-tech resources removed from the U.S. Department of Education website, experts said state and district leaders may have to rely more on each other and national education groups for future guidance.

As COVID-19 pandemic relief funds expire, a new State Educational Technology Directors Association report outlines a path toward permanent funding for K-12 universal connectivity and related digital access measures.

A resource is in the works to help schools understand how to use Title II-A funds for professional development and training teachers to design lesson plans that include technology.

The nonprofit group’s weighted framework of 14 controls seeks to simplify school cybersecurity in an effort to make the most critical protections more approachable and, in turn, more widespread.

Several ed-tech organizations have come out with their own set of artificial intelligence guidelines in recent months as groups try to tackle what's considered best practices for developing AI in education.

The third annual report on education technology trends from the State Educational Technology Directors Association shows funding worries on the rise and few states planning for the fair, sustainable use of ed-tech tools.

Seven major education organizations have joined forces to establish quality indicators for ed-tech tools in the EdTech Index, achieved by validation through a variety of third-party certification processes.

The Consortium for School Networking at its annual conference last week announced two free assessment tools for K-12 districts: a questionnaire to assess an ed-tech vendor’s data risks, and a rubric on AI readiness.

SETDA, CoSN and 10 other nonprofits or professional associations applaud the Federal Communications Commission’s initiative but ask the federal agency to protect sensitive data during the pilot.

According to SETDA, 32 states have statewide digital learning plans, a dozen require local districts to come up with their own plans, and some have provisions other than mandates to encourage classroom technology use.

The second annual report on education technology trends by the State Educational Technology Directors Association notes that the emergence of ChatGPT has given state education leaders new problems to worry about.