2017 Will See 8.4 Billion Connected 'Things'

According to a new Gartner forecast, 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide this year — an increase of 31 percent from 2016.

3M and Discovery Education Launch First Young Scientist Global Virtual Field Trip for K-8

Discovery Education and 3M have launched the first Young Scientist Global Virtual Field Trip for kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms with exclusive access to 3M Headquarters’ “World of Innovation” in St. Paul, MN. The event will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST Feb. 23.

Artificial Intelligence is Not the Silver Bullet for K–12

Due to a number of high profile successes (e.g., beating the world Go champion) recently, Artificial Intelligence technologies have been receiving a great deal of attention by companies and by the press. K–12 doesn’t want to be left out! But, in this week’s blog post we argue that, for good reason, K–12 shouldn’t be looking to AI to solve its problems.

Acer Launches Extreme Classroom Tech Makeover Program for K–12

Acer America has begun accepting entries for its Acer Extreme Classroom Tech Makeover program that gives educators at K–12 schools in the United States the opportunity to transform their classroom with technology. Acer will be awarding one classroom a set of Acer Switch Alpha 12 two-in-one notebooks, valued at $20,000.

Denton ISD Intros Custom Mobile Device Charging Stations

At this year's TCEA convention, Denton Independent School District in Texas unveiled its custom-made charging cabinet that can store, charge and deploy up to 20,000 devices in the school district.

ED Secretary DeVos Tells States to Maintain ESSA Timelines

Betsy DeVos, the new secretary of the United States Department of Education (ED), wants to maintain the timeline set by the Obama administration for reviewing state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), even though accountability regulations appear as though they will be eliminated by Congress.

CTL Teams with PortableCloud to Offer Web Content and Apps Over WiFi Without Internet Connection

CTL (Compute, Teach, Learn) is partnering with PortableCloud to offer the PortableCloud platform and Cube servers, which allow users to access curated files, web content and web apps over WiFi in any device with a browser, regardless of internet connectivity.

ClassTag Releases Automated Newsletter Functionality to Augment Communications

ClassTag, a free parent engagement app for teachers and schools, has released a fully customizable and automated newsletter functionality to augment its communications and scheduling capabilities. The announcement was made during the TCEA conference in Austin, TX this week.

FCC Blocks 9 Companies From Providing Low-Income Internet Access

FCC regulators are telling nine companies that they won’t be allowed to participate in a federal program intended to help them provide affordable internet access to low-income consumers — weeks after those companies were approved to do so.

DeVos Meets With Staff as GOP Proposes Terminating ED

On the heels of Betsy DeVos' confirmation as the new head of the United States Department of Education, several Republican representatives have introduced a bill to eliminate the department altogether.

Vernier Releases Sensors with Wireless, USB Connectivity Capabilities

Vernier Software & Technology today launched its Go Direct family of sensors, which includes 16 new sensors that enable scientific data collection wirelessly or via a USB connection. Vernier is exhibiting at TCEA 2017 in booth 1539.

Hobsons Acquires High School Counselor-College Admissions App

Ed tech company Hobsons recently acquired RepVisits, an application for connecting high school advisors with college admissions offices to arrange high school visits.

Urban Teacher Residency Program Expands Use of Video Coaching

The Urban Teacher Residency Partnership Program at the University of South Florida has adopted a video-based classroom observation platform to help student teachers share videos with mentor coaches.

Betsy DeVos Wins Historic, Tie-Breaking Senate Vote to Become Education Secretary

Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos won a historically close Senate vote Tuesday to become secretary of the United States Department of Education (ED), despite opposition from teachers’ unions, Democrats civil rights groups and parents. At approximately 12:40 p.m. ET, Vice President Mike Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote, making the vote 51-50 and confirming President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for the cabinet post.

Grants & Upcoming Events (Week of Feb. 13, 2017)

Upcoming K–12 Grants

Call for Papers & Proposals

Upcoming Events