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.

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.

Why Educational Institutions are Prone to Ransomware Attacks (and What They Can Do to Protect Themselves)

Ransomware is the most significant information security threat in the education sector, and K–12 schools and colleges and universities are both targets.

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.

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.

Drones as Competitive Flying Robots? How the REC Foundation is Expanding to Prepare Students for the Future Workforce

THEJournal.com editor and podcast host Kristal Kuykendall visits with REC Foundation CEO Dan Mantz, who explains the foundation’s recent adjustments to its mission and vision, the addition of curriculum and competitions for drones and automation, and all the ways that the REC Foundation programs are helping prepare the workforce of tomorrow.

How A Midwestern State Became a National Leader in K-12 Robotics Teams in 4 Years

One state leads the nation on the number of students participating in robotics competitions, and it’s probably not the state you’d guess. Indiana’s robotics initiative reaches about 20,000 students each year, with higher levels of diversity than STEM fields usually see — and all that on an annual budget of under $200K.

Report: Federal Broadband Funding, States, and Internet Providers Together Can Close the Digital Divide for the Greater Good

A new report examines how bringing internet connectivity to all results in broader benefits to society, using federal funds, with states and internet providers cooperating.

SchoolStatus Acquires Email Newsletter Company Smore and Expands K–12 Products

Education communications, analytics, and workflow platform company SchoolStatus has acquired email newsletter company Smore in its entirety. The acquisition will expand SchoolStatus’s offerings to K–12 institutions, with Smore’s email newsletter communications designed to integrate easily with SchoolStatus’s existing products, or be used separately.

$80 Million Available for School Improvements

Applications are now open for a program that will award $80 million in grants to schools for implementing improvements to schools in the areas of energy efficiency, clean air, and renewable energy.

Follett Acquires Library Management Provider Access-It

Follett School Solutions has acquired Access-It Software, which provides a library management system used in K–12 schools around the world.

Nearly Half of Public Schools Have Open Teaching Positions

Forty-five percent of public schools in the United States had at least one teaching vacancy as of October 2022, with 27% reporting multiple vacancies, according to information released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The shortages disproportionately affect schools in areas of high poverty (57% versus 41% in more affluent areas) and in schools with a student body composed of 75% or more minority students (60% versus 32% of schools with 25% or less minority population).

ReadSpeaker Adds Text-to-Speech Offerings to Total 245 Voices and 68 Languages

ReadSpeaker, an integrated text-to-speech (TTS) provider, has announced its audio library now features 245 voices and 68 languages, including some considered threatened and endangered, with new ones continually being developed by on-staff linguists and language experts. The audio library is available to both K–12 and higher education.

7 Questions with Edthena CEO Adam Geller: How AI Coach Helps Teachers While Providing Autonomy and Privacy

Learn how the AI Coach platform engages teachers in an evidence-based learning process focused on the actual teaching and learning within their classrooms — tactical and practical feedback tailored to each teacher’s needs, and teachers interact with the computerized coach when it’s convenient for their schedules.

Upcoming K–12 Grants