Analysts Say Online Initiative Not the Answer to STEM Gaps in California

A proposed budget by California's governor would allocate $10 million to set up a new online "intersegmental" higher education initiative. The project would fund competitive grants for intersegmental teams of faculty to create new and redesign existing STEM courses — both online and hybrid — in a program titled the "California Education Learning Lab." While the Legislative Analyst's Office found Governor Brown's goal of improving student outcomes "laudable," this approach isn't the answer, the office wrote in an analysis of the proposal. First, the analysis noted, the proposal doesn't address "the root causes of STEM disparities among student groups"; and second, it overlaps with other online initiatives already underway.

Cost to Connect Rural America: $19 Billion or Less

The report comes on the heels of a Trump administration infrastructure plan that includes $50 billion set aside for rural projects, distributed to states in the form of block grants, and another $20 billion for unspecified "transformative projects"; both reference the possibility of increasing broadband facilities alongside road, bridge, rail, port and water initiatives.

Report: Four in 10 Top Websites Are Dangerous

Four in 10 of the top websites pose dangers to their visitors. According to cybersecurity vendor Menlo Security, out of the top 100,000 websites as ranked by Alexa, 42 percent are "risky." A risky website is any site where either the homepage or an associated background site is running vulnerable software; the site is known to distribute malware or launch attacks; or the site has already suffered a security breach in the past 12 months.

How Rural Teachers Can Use Technology to Upgrade Their Classrooms

When it comes to rural schools, there are many challenges that educators face. Some of them — lower salaries, high turnover, and lack of resources — have no easy answer. However, new technology is making it easier than ever for teachers to combat one of the most prevalent challenges of teaching in a rural environment: the multitude of roles and responsibilities educators need to juggle.

Chemistry Programs Need to Increase Real-World Problem-Solving

Science isn't immune to the education-work skills gap that employers complain about in other fields. A recent survey found that most people in the chemistry field consider current curricula inadequate for helping STEM students prepare for future careers. The survey was undertaken by Elsevier's Reaxys division, which produces a chemistry research platform. The survey queried 186 chemistry professionals, researchers, students and educators.

Students Use STEAM to Tackle UN Sustainability Goals

A new initiative brought together high schoolers from five countries to the United Nations to find solutions for sustainable development issues using their STEAM skills.

When Do States Share Assessment Data?

Even after moving high-stakes tests online, states for the most part aren't sharing student assessment data with teachers in time for them to make use it.

Mississippi Sets 2024 Goal for CS Education

The Mississippi Department of Education has committed to implementing a computer science curriculum in all schools by 2024.

Schoology Launches Digital Citizenship Challenge

The challenge, running Feb. 14 to March 14, asks teachers to submit a resource they believe will help to improve digital citizenship among students.

TI Targets Engineering Students with Robotic System Learning Kit

Texas Instruments this week took the wraps off a new robotics system and curriculum aimed at university-level engineering students.

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