K-12

The E-rate filing window for funding year 2019 closed on March 27, with more than 21,000 schools, libraries, and consortiums from across the country submitting funding requests. “The more than 69,000 requests filed represent both Category One and Category Two, which account for nearly $2 billion and…

Learning can take place anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Learning is no longer confined to a physical time or location – it happens in spaces that transcend traditional, physical boundaries. These spaces support active learning and help students better engage. What is active learning? Active le…

Since it began in 1996, E-rate has helped more than 100,000 schools and libraries connect to the Internet. Nearly $4 billion is available in the program for Funding Year 2019, though the number of schools that apply for their share of E-rate funding is on the decline; applications have decreased by…

I’ve long believed that the ancient Romans had it wrong when they assigned January 1 as the start of a new year. While I admit that I enjoy the extended holiday that takes place for many at year-end; for me, the “new year” really begins right about now, in the waning days of a New England summer and…

This is the third post in our series about evolving student opportunity. You can read the first post on Access here, and the second post on Engagement here. Extending access is the necessary first step toward empowering students. Necessary, yet insufficient. The second post in this series explored h…

1:00 pm: Students trickle back into class after a well-deserved lunch break. Eager to get started with their next lesson, they grab their school-issued laptop out of their emptying backpack, log on, and start their next assignment while patiently waiting for the teacher to bring attention to the fro…

The theme of this year’s CoSN conference was Designing Learning in the 4th Industrial Revolution. (CoSN is the Consortium for School Networking, a professional association for K-12 school system technology leaders.) In the weeks since the event, I’ve thought a lot about the potential of this new ind…

Setting up a 1:1 iPad initiative for 20,000 students In a rural public school district in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, Scott Miller, Director of Technology, had a vision: to set up a 1:1 iPad initiative for his students, flip his district’s classrooms, and ensure that every child had the same access to…

A comprehensive funding strategy is one of the most important elements of implementing a successful digital learning plan. E-rate will only fund certain technologies, and, as a discount program, it requires that schools and libraries provide matching funds for projects. Successful schools and librar…