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Untethered Broadband, Enhanced Professional Development and Other Major Ed Tech Trends for 2021

EdTech Magazine

The coronavirus pandemic upended education in 2020, sending more students home to learn virtually and bringing new concepts such as hybrid learning to the mainstream. Experts say to expect more of the same this year and beyond as schools mull how to safely return students to the classroom and maximize technology — both in person and online.

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Schools and States Continue to Seek Connectivity Solutions for Students

EdTech Magazine

Although some districts were able to distribute mobile hotspots or direct families to low-cost residential broadband options, schools in rural locations faced an additional hurdle — a lack of available internet service that students could connect to.

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A Final Frontier of the Digital Divide: Getting Wi-Fi to the Most Remote Areas

EdTech Magazine

When leaders of Ector County Independent School District learned in March that 39 percent of their students lacked reliable broadband access at home, they went to work on finding a solution. It developed business partnerships to get low-income families in Odessa, a large city that’s the county seat, free broadband access through June 2021.

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Path to Digital Equity: Why We Need to Address the Digital Divide with Solutions Around Adoption

Digital Promise

Moreover, less than 25 percent of households eligible for the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit had enrolled as of December 2021, and a similar percentage of low- and middle-income households are even aware of free or discount internet offers. In other instances, families’ needs, such as language barriers, aren’t properly addressed.

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29 K-12 edtech predictions for 2021

eSchool News

We asked edtech executives, stakeholders, and experts to share some of their thoughts and predictions about where they think edtech is headed in 2021. We are hopeful that, when the pandemic lifts, we can welcome a return to hands-on, collaborative, creative technology education in 2021. Collin Earnst, CEO, LearnWell.

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EducationSuperHighway & Massachusetts connect residents to affordable broadband

Education Superhighway

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), part of the Infrastructure Law, provides eligible households with a $30 monthly subsidy for affordable broadband at home. To find out how you can plug into the Massachusetts digital equity coalition or launch a broadband adoption campaign in your state, contact us. Wins for Apartment Wi-Fi.

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Creating Conditions for Powerful Technology Use

Digital Promise

The key takeaways from this study are relevant beyond the context of Puerto Rico as well: Teachers need to have a stable environment–namely, broadband and device access–to use technology effectively in their classroom practice.