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Kajeet Announces Launch of 2022 Homework Gap Grant Program for K-12 Schools and Districts, Colleges and Universities, and Public Libraries

MCLEAN, VA. (PRWEB) JANUARY 13, 2022 — Kajeet®, a leading provider of IoT connectivity, software and hardware solutions that deliver safe, reliable and controlled internet connectivity to nearly 3,000 customers, today announced the launch of its 2022 Homework Gap Grant Program. This funding opportunity will allow K-12 schools and districts, colleges and universities, and public libraries to connect students to safe, reliable internet outside of the classroom.

“At Kajeet, we believe internet access is a basic human right and are fully committed to efforts aimed at closing the digital divide,” said Daniel J. W. Neal, chairman, CEO and founder of Kajeet. “Providing a more equitable future for students everywhere is a top priority at Kajeet and we are thrilled to once again offer a grant opportunity that will help schools and libraries provide critical resources.”

An estimated 12 million students in the U.S. and Canada lack home broadband access, putting a staggering number of school-aged children at a serious learning disadvantage. The 2022 Homework Gap Grant Program is part of Kajeet’s mission to provide students opportunities to access online educational resources anytime, anywhere.…Read More

Federal funding can help you install air purification systems in your school

Prior to the pandemic, many schools, colleges, and universities had indoor air quality challenges, but the past 18 months has brought a heightened awareness to a growing problem. Forty percent of the nation’s school systems need to replace at least half of their HVAC systems, according to a 2020 study by the Government Accountability Office.

Proper ventilation is a key prevention strategy for mitigating pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2, as well as reducing dust, allergens, and VOCs to improve health and well-being.

Many school, district, and higher education leaders are working to improve indoor air quality for their facilities and the government has offered funding to supplement those costs.…Read More

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The role of no-code in back-to-school safety

The next challenge for educators as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic is safely returning to in-person learning. After over a year of forced shutdowns and adoption of an online workforce and remote learning, the logistics of safely returning to in-person learning are overwhelming. The challenge is even greater with the Delta variant of COVID-19 becoming more prolific, and K-12 districts, colleges, and universities are racing against the clock to figure out what their approach will be this coming fall.

Whether schools opt for a phased approach, stay with hybrid learning or proceed with fully in-person classes, the goal is the same: to safely, quickly and efficiently return to school. Further, higher education institutions have to be cognizant of their impact on the larger community. Colleges and universities are a hub–with thousands traveling to and from campus each year, mingling, cohabitating and more, what happens within an academic institution may reach far beyond the campus.

So what can be done to help leaders navigate these challenges? Enter no-code. The past year has highlighted the need for agility and the ability to adapt when change and disruption happens – which, as we know, is a constant. The adoption of no-code processes is vital to empowering organizations to adapt with change.…Read More

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The future is all about durable skills

The price of a college degree continues to creep higher across the country. But has the value of that degree kept pace? Students expect their investment in college to pay off in the form of meaningful employment. However, according to new data, both recent grads and HR managers believe that the absence of durable skills–including people skills–training in higher education offers an opportunity for colleges and universities to partner with students and employers in closing a critical skills gap. 

A new report from Mursion, From Skill to Instinct: How Higher Education Can Bridge the Gap Between Classroom and Career, found that while the hard, technical skills ingrained throughout traditional academia are critical to career success, these skills may not be enough to stand out in a highly competitive job market.

In fact, the data revealed that 44 percent of HR professionals would hire an applicant with strong durable skills, such as superior people skills, over an applicant with superior hard skills.…Read More

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Exceptional Black Students from Colorado Receive $2.44 Million in Sachs Foundation Scholarships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June23, 2021 — The Sachs Foundation, an organization that has provided college scholarships to Black Coloradans since 1931, announced today that it has awarded $2.44 million in scholarships to talented Black students from the Centennial State over the past year. With funding from the Foundation, Black Coloradans are pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees from prestigious institutions nationwide, including Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale, with about 20% attending prominent historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Howard University.  

Founded during the Great Depression by Pikes Peak resident Henry Sachs, the Sachs Foundation has provided scholarships to thousands of Black Coloradans. Mr. Sachs was inspired to create the foundation when he witnessed firsthand how economic and educational discrimination affected Black citizens, including his friends the Stroud family, whose son Dolphus Stroud received the first Sachs Foundation scholarship. In the years since, the Foundation has funded top Black scholars who’ve gone on to distinguished careers in medicine, science, engineering, public service, the arts and other fields. …Read More

Education needs to go back to school for cybersecurity

The education sector has not been immune to the digital revolution transforming businesses and organizations across the world. The year before the pandemic saw sky-high growth and adoption in education technology, with global edtech investments reaching €15.87 billion in 2019.

Many education institutions have their own bring your own device (BYOD) policies, while downloads of educational apps have risen by 130 percent over the past year.

Everything from laptops and mobile devices to interactive touchscreens and even virtual reality are becoming commonplace in schools districts, colleges, and universities.…Read More

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How will the edtech boom transform the existing education system?

For centuries, education has been confined to the walls of schools, colleges, and institutions. Enter the education technology (edtech) boom since 2020 and the very ideology around teaching and learning has been revolutionized. Edtech has completely redefined how knowledge is imparted and how skills are acquired. Highlighted by the coronavirus shutdowns, edtech has emerged as a viable–arguably superior–alternative to traditional education systems. At the very least, the technology has well and truly earned its seat at the table of valuable education methods. The question is, what does the future of edtech look like, and how will this boom fit into our existing education system?

The edtech boom accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic is just the beginning of a paradigm shift in the ways we view education and work. In fact, the need for a genuinely 21st century education system that reflects the needs of the economy is long overdue. Edtech companies are offering solutions to many of the issues–such as skills gaps, inequality, and unemployment–that have troubled economies globally for the past decade or more.

In the USA, the curriculum followed by education establishments centers around subject study, with students gradually honing down interests and passions to follow a set career path. But is this process adequately equipping our young people with the skills they need for today’s job market, much less tomorrow’s? What if ultimately, students are ill-prepared to meet their full potential and offer meaningful value to the working world?…Read More

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4 ways private LTE supports learning today–and tomorrow

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to the disruption of a range of uniquely vital vertical sectors. This is especially true for K-12 and higher education as schools, colleges, and universities have been forced to close in order to slow the spread of the virus and find alternative, but technologically accessible, ways to reach students–literally.

With students, teachers and lecturers confined to their offices, homes, and dorm rooms to study and teach, many colleges and universities have come to realise that existing connectivity infrastructure just isn’t up to par. They may not understand why, but they know what they need. Question mark is: where to find it, and what to ask for?

Until 2019, really, the traditional means of acquiring connectivity via public or private Wi-Fi has demonstrated limitations, including an inability to efficiently cover large campuses and wide areas, and the dearth of offering security assurances schools and universities need from their networks. All this costs money. Meanwhile, costing even more money, public cellular networks are often a drain to run and, like Wi-Fi, cannot guarantee coverage, capacity, and security requirements, nor provide adequate control of network usage patterns. …Read More

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vFairs Offers Immersive Virtual Graduations to Schools and Colleges

Graduation season is rapidly approaching, and continued restrictions against social gatherings to combat the coronavirus are still in effect in much of the country. vFairs, the leading platform for hybrid and virtual events, is offering immersive, customizable virtual graduation ceremonies to schools, colleges and universities, including features such as creating a virtual campus setting and 3D modeling to make the experience truly memorable.

According to a March 2020 poll by Educause Review, 49% of colleges and universities elected to postpone their 2020 commencement ceremonies, 14% opted to cancel commencement altogether and 14% planned a virtual ceremony. Rather than hosting a live webinar or virtual conference call, vFairs makes it possible for schools to create a virtual graduation ceremony in a virtual world.

vFairs can create customized three-dimensional models of a campus, stadium or auditorium modeled after the school. For example, the vFairs platform can create virtual environments replicating your community college campus to hosting a ceremony on the National Mall in Washington D.C. The platform also can create virtual avatars of graduating students dressed in caps and gowns. The result is an immersive virtual experience that students, parents and faculty will remember.…Read More

Technology Firm ‘Crocus’ Launches to Grow Social Impact in Education

Crocus, a technology firm guiding social impact in education, today announced its formation as a result of UPD Consulting spinning off its Tech Group. Crocus works with state departments of education, K-12 school districts, colleges, universities, and educator preparation programs, as well as nonprofit organizations, to build resilience and capacity for change in how they use data to improve equitable outcomes.

As a Latina-owned technology firm, they prioritize making employment and subcontracting opportunities available to women and minorities. They remain committed to equity and social justice as leaders in the Ed-Fi, IMS Global and CEDS data standards communities and across the education interoperability movement.

“We’re the same group of professionals continuing work with our existing clients. We are centered on data use for social impact in education. We leverage our deep expertise in data, data use and technical solutions that build resilience into our clients’ ability to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions for teaching and learning,” said Ana Quintana, President & CEO of Crocus. “Crocus is a flower that embodies resilience—it blossoms in every season and it’s the first to emerge, regardless of circumstances. In this way, Crocus prepares our clients to persist and to flourish in whatever season lies ahead.”…Read More