Administrative/Business Tools


Wishes and Worries for 2023: What Ed Tech Leaders Are Thinking About

During the final weeks of 2022, THE Journal asked scores of ed tech leaders about their wishes and worries for 2023. Cybersecurity and teacher resources were the most common topics addressed in the responses — many of which include specific ideas for new policies and practices for K–12 education in the United States.

Executive Appointments Announced at SESI, GoGuardian, Newsela, Matriculate, CAE, Cypher Learning, Territorium, EverDriven, The Nora Project

Executive leadership appointments recently announced in the K–12 ed tech sector include Dawn Thomas at Specialized Education Services; Michael Jonas at GoGuardian; Jason Ediger at Newsela; Craig Robinson at Matriculate; Michael Woods at Council for Aid to Education; Jennifer Geisler and Matt Kane at Cypher Learning; Jonell Sanchez, Keith Look, Rebecca Busacca, Julie Murphy, Joe Green, and Eric Stoller at Territorium; Todd Provino at EverDriven; and Jen Newton at The Nora Project.

A High School Class on the History of Poison and Murder As a Mini-Case Study for Competency-Based Education

Todd Ryckman of Cypher Learning joins THEJournal.com editor Kristal Kuykendall for a discussion about the competency-based education movement, what it looks like in school districts that have been implementing CBE over the past five years, and how Cypher Learning’s NEO LMS empowers educators and students, regardless of whether their school uses the traditional or “modern” instructional model or more of a CBE approach.

Rave Mobile Safety Acquired by Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions has acquired Rave Mobile Safety, a provider of mass notification and incident management that serves about 10,000 schools and universities, local government agencies, and healthcare facilities across the United States.

FCC Reconsidering Adding Firewalls, Cybersecurity Services to E-Rate; Seeks Stakeholder Input

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau announced Wednesday that it is considering expanding the E-Rate eligible services list to include “advanced or next-generation firewalls and services, as well as other network security services,” and is seeking public comment from stakeholders now through Feb. 13, 2023, with reply comments accepted through March 30, 2023.

Report: 96% of School Apps Send Kids’ Personal Data to Potentially Harmful Third Parties

In a new K–12 ed tech safety benchmark report, “School Mobile Apps Student Data Sharing Behavior,” Internet Safety Labs finds that 96% of all apps used in schools share children’s personal information with third parties without the knowledge or consent of the users or the schools.

ENA by Zayo Launches New Consulting Services, Managed IT Infrastructure Solutions for K-12 Schools

ENA by Zayo, a technology infrastructure provider previously known as as Education Networks of America until Zayo acquired it earlier this year, has launched a new suite of vendor-neutral IT consulting services for K–12 schools dubbed ENA Ally.

5 Common Ed Tech RFP Mistakes That Make It Less Effective

The request for proposal, or RFP, process can be daunting and can include dozens of pages of documents, as required by law. Two ed tech leaders who have received hundreds of RFPs share best practices and 5 common pitfalls in education RFPs to help K-12 schools and administrators streamline the process, save time, and in some cases, even save money.

Texas CIO Report Calls for New Law Requiring K–12 Schools to Report All Cyber Incidents

The Texas Department of Information Resources, in its newly released Biennial Performance Report, has asked the state legislature to require Texas school districts to report cybersecurity incidents to its office within a minimum reporting timeframe.

New Report from Global Google Research Project Considers the 'Future of Education'

Google for Education has released the first report from a massive, two-year study considering the role of education in a “radically different future,” and what that might look like, focusing on big-picture themes seen as most likely to impact education and the future workforce in the coming years and decades.