Catch up on the most compelling K-12 news stories you may have missed this week
Every Friday, I’ll recap some of the most interesting and thought-provoking news developments that occurred over the week.
I can’t fit all of this week’s news stories here, though, so feel free to visit eSchoolNews.com [1] and read up on other news you may have missed.
This week, the digital divide is back in focus yet again. Many small towns struggle to close the gap, leaving students at a disadvantage. But there are some Google Fiber programs that might be well-positioned to tackle the digital divide.
Read on for more:
3 Google Fiber programs that could help ease the digital divide [2]
The latest Digital Equity report from the Consortium of School Networking paints a rosy picture of an educational environment where students have generally good access to high-speed wi-fi while in school. But the number of pupils with fast connectivity starts to dwindle as they move away from their K-12 hubs—and the divide deepens even further when issues like socioeconomic status, income, and race are taken into account.
Digital divide hits small towns hard [3]
While 96 percent of Americans in urban areas have access to fixed broadband, only 70 percent of New Mexicans have broadband access at home. In rural communities, the problem is even worse — only one in three can access the internet at home.
Few teachers give schools an ‘A’ for classroom technology [4]
Only 16 percent of teachers in a recent survey give their schools an ‘A’ for incorporating technology into their classroom, and 48 percent of all surveyed teachers consider the technology they do have to be outdated.