E-rate discounts requested have dropped from $3 billion in 2017 to $2.8 billion in 2018. That's just half of what it was in 2012, when funding reached $5.2 billion.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 05/07/18
According to a recent report from cybersecurity training provider Wombat Security, end users in the education sector are more knowledgeable about building safe passwords than people in other industries. The 2018 Beyond the Phish Report analyzed user responses to nearly 85 million questions related to phishing and data security. Respondents came from 16 industries, including education, government, technology and manufacturing.
American teachers tend to see student use of digital devices as being slightly more positive than negative. However, they also believe smartphones, tablets and computers are having a bad influence on the physical and mental health of students too.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 04/24/18
One in five attacks on educational institution were motivated by espionage, often targeting sensitive research, and 11 percent of attacks are "just for fun," according to the report.
Students who did extra computer science activities in transdisciplinary modules scored higher on reading comprehension exams, as well as Florida standardized tests in science and English and language arts (ELA), according to preliminary results from a new study.
University of Michigan researchers saw a pick-up in math scores and no measurable impact in other academic areas. More tellingly, the potential benefits for charters on boosting student progress reaches beyond what has previously been suggested in research.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 04/17/18
A joint research project at several universities found that the "persistent presence" of smartphones comes at a "cognitive cost." Researchers in the schools of management at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, San Diego as well as the Department of Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon ran two experiments to attempt to measure how well people finish tasks when their smartphones are nearby — even if the phones aren't in use.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 04/09/18
Adequate funding is the top concern for a majority of principals, according to a new survey from MCH Strategic Data. More than half of those surveyed, 52 percent, cited adequate funding as a major concern, 14 points more than the second-most commonly cited concern, teacher morale.
Spending on security, including hardware, software and services, will reach $91.4 billion this year, according to a new forecast from International Data Corp, marking a 10.2 percent increase over 2017 spending. That growth rate will remain relatively steady throughout the forecast period, according to the company, holding a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent from 2016 to 2021, when the forecast calls for $120.7 billion in spending.
Spending on security for the internet of things will reach $1.5 billion, up 28 percent over 2017's $1.2 billion, according to a new forecast from market research firm Gartner. Professional services will account for the bulk of the spending throughout the forecast, at $946 million this year and growing to $2.07 billion by the end of the forecast in 2021.