K-12 Technology News
Here you'll find the latest news from the education technology world, from the newest hardware and software releases to policy and funding updates to research reports to school and district tech initiatives. Looking for more in-depth coverage of important topics? Be sure to visit our Features page.
A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds public schools with more students in poverty are less likely to offer advanced course offerings that prepare students for college.
That's the take by the Thomas Fordham Institute, an education think tank. In a recent column, President Michael Petrilli took a recent analysis by the Alliance for Excellent Education to task for ignoring "basic math."
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/30/18
Preschool Development Grant applications due Nov. 6!
The Digital Promise Research team worked with school districts in its League of Innovative Schools to create an online tool that suggests resources for helping address common challenges found in education. The "Challenge Map" covers 36 different challenges, including supporting English language learners, assessing 21st century skills and addressing social-emotional learning.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/29/18
While 28 states have designated the reduction of "chronic absenteeism" among students as school quality indicators in their ESSA plans, Rhode Island is the only one that's included chronic absenteeism among K-12 teachers as well. The state has included it as a metric for schools in its Every Student Succeeds Act plan, alongside suspensions and high school and science proficiency.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/29/18
NEC Display Solutions has introduced a new collaboration tool that is intended to include everything needed to set up collaboration among multiple locations. Infinity Board includes hardware and software to "elevate" the interactive meeting experience.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/25/18
On Nov. 1, Microsoft will be releasing its newest Minecraft Hour of Code tutorial, which, according to a recent announcement, could be "possibly the most adventurous tutorial yet." The company has teamed up with Code.org for the release of "Voyage Aquatic," in which students "explore aquatic worlds and uncover hidden treasure" by writing code to instruct agents to execute commands.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/25/18
The Khan Academy has launched a new series of videos focused on civics for students in K-12 and higher education — and anybody else interested in learning how government works in the United States.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/25/18
Harmony Public Schools, a charter network in Texas, will be dedicating a new five-year, $7.9 million grant to expand a STEM project-based learning model from middle and high school into its elementary schools. "Launching Elementary Academic Foundations to STEM" or "LEAF to STEM," as the initiative is named, will reach 7,000 students in 16 elementary schools.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/25/18
YouTube, a Google company, has announced plans to invest $20 million in YouTube Learning, an initiative hinted at during the summer. The goal: "to support education-focused creators and expert organizations that create and curate high-quality learning content on the video site."
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 10/25/18