Education technology

Inequities in local school systems because of a lack of funding, technology or parental involvement will be exacerbated by schools’ remote learning and hybrid plans in response to the rapidly spreading coronavirus. School districts that can afford it are trying to help. Some are giving or loaning laptops to students who don’t have them. Others are giving out Wi-Fi hotspots so that children can get online. Elsewhere, some teachers are calling students individually to help with assignments, or even dropping off textbooks and paper homework.

As students throughout Kentucky prepare for a new school year and more remote learning amid a pandemic, the state should view internet access as a public good similar to electricity and school buses, several education and workforce leaders said. The issue of the Bluegrass State's "digital divide" was the focus of a briefing featuring former Kentucky education commissioner Wayne Lewis, State Sen.

As part of a citywide goal to prevent students from falling behind with virtual learning this school year, San Jose has partnered with AT&T to provide 11,000 hotspots to students and residents who have no internet access at home. Of the 11,000 hotspots, 8,000 will be donated to the Santa Clara County Office of Education, which is working with school districts to identify students who need access to the internet before the new school year starts this month.

At least 18 school systems across Alabama are waiting on more than 33,000 new laptops, currently languishing in customs. Ryan Hollingsworth is director of the School Superintendents of Alabama, the organization representing the superintendents of all of Alabama’s 138 school districts. He said the laptops are being held as part of a human rights dispute. It is unclear what specific human rights dispute is holding up the equipment. The US Commerce Department has taken action over the last few months chiefly against imports made with suspected forced labor.

Alabama Gov.

Millions of American students won't be heading back to the classroom this fall, at least not full time. From Los Angeles to New York, remote learning will continue into the fall. That leaves a staggering number of students at risk of falling behind or dropping out. Up to 30% of schoolchildren — as many as 16 million American kids — lack internet access or laptops for online learning. The digital divide has been with us for decades, and we're not going to solve it by August.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced more than $180 million in new grant funding will be awarded to 11 states rethinking education to better serve students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant will support states’ efforts to create new, innovative ways for students to continue learning in ways that meet their needs. Awardees include Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a near-total shutdown of the U.S. school system, forcing more than 55 million students to transition to home-based remote learning practically overnight. In most cases, that meant logging in to online classes and accessing lessons and assignments through a home internet connection. Sadly, that was not an option for children in one out of three Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native households.

Every K-12 school must have a 21st-century remote access plan to complement the CDC guidance and  Congress must direct the necessary funding for bringing broadband access to all public schools in the next coronavirus stimulus bill.

Lack of access to the internet means lack of access to education – an effect that has been made even more urgent as school has moved online in response to COVID-19. Already districts up and down the state that serve 1.4 million students have announced that they will begin the 2020 school year with students learning from home, and we can be sure that more announcements are coming.