TRENDING  //  The Payoff of Going Paperless in K-12 Schools  //  Eliminate barriers to reading with government relief funding

divide

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

Kajeet Appoints Industry Veteran Chris Felix as Vice President of Education Sales

MCLEAN, VA. — Jan. 8, 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 appointment of Chris Felix to the newly created role of vice president of sales within its education business. In this role, Felix will spearhead business development and account management for Kajeet’s global education customers, further bolstering its mission of closing the digital divide in education and beyond.

“While significant progress has been made to eradicate digital inequities, over a billion school-age students worldwide are still without adequate internet access at home. We at Kajeet feel that this is unacceptable,” said Daniel J.W. Neal, Chairman, CEO and founder of Kajeet. “The addition of Chris to our mission-focused team will support our strategic growth in the global education market and reinforce our position as a leading provider of safe, reliable and secure IoT connectivity solutions for students and educators alike.”

Felix is a seasoned and strategic leader who brings more than 30 years of telecommunications experience to his new role. Before joining Kajeet, he served four years as vice president and general manager of government solutions at Sprint, where he successfully revitalized its federal government sector and aligned two sales organizations into a single, unified team on the heels of its merger with T-Mobile. Felix started his career in telecommunications at Verizon Wireless, where he quickly worked his way into management roles. Throughout his 27-year tenure at Verizon, Felix held several executive-level leadership positions, including a three-year stint as regional president of Verizon’s Upstate New York region and three years as vice president of federal government sales.…Read More

Defeat the Digital Divide Helps Bring Reliable Internet Connections to Schools Nationwide

COVINGTON, KY: October 21, 2021 – A new website launched by a collaboration of leading technology experts, STEP CG and Cradlepoint, is providing information and educational resources to help K-12 schools ensure their students have access to the technology they need to succeed. Defeat the Digital Divide ( https://defeatthedigitaldivide.com) offers school districts engaging learning tools to build solutions that will enable them to close the gap between those who have access to reliable internet service and those who don’t. 

Several helpful tools within the site are designed to help districts gain knowledge and make decisions about implementing their own network, including: 

  • Digital Divide Readiness Assessment 
  • Defeat the Digital Divide Checklist 
  • Success stories from other school districts 

The internet has become an integral tool in education that enables students to access school online while opening up new worlds of learning. But with 42 million Americans unable to purchase internet access no matter their incomes, roughly 16 million K-12 students lack reliable digital connections to their schools. This Digital Divide affects school districts in all types of communities, from rural to urban, and encompasses all income levels.  …Read More

Building your emergency back-to-school kit with reliable connectivity

A simmering demand for reliable connectivity in education turned to a boil during the pandemic when the digital divide–something that many under-connected communities were already facing–exploded. This was felt drastically as the pivot to remote learning exposed a widening gap between students who have access to high-speed internet compared to those who do not.

While there are hopeful signs that the pandemic is waning, schools will continue to rely on solutions that support flexible learning moving forward. From extreme weather knocking districts offline to students trying to stay in the loop when they are stuck at home sick, consistent connectivity is a staple for today’s modernized “pencil box.” It ensures students have access to the resources they need–no matter the circumstances.

With a new school year approaching, and the education sector forever changed in the shadow of the pandemic, there is a growing expectation among students, parents, and government institutions to be better prepared for the future. But preparing for the unexpected is easier said than done. So just how can school districts ready themselves to ensure consistent and reliable connectivity no matter what?

The key to making it happen is to understand the value of emerging technologies and approaches that support enhanced connectivity, such as Private Cellular Networks (PCNs), and leverage the right relief programs that can support investments in these types of solutions to close the digital divide. Only then can schools begin to lay the foundation of reliable connections that students need to combat this growing divide in the face of any unforeseen challenge.…Read More

1 2

imagiLabs brings coding to teenage girls’ phones with imagiCharm wearable accessory

imagiLabs is the all-female founded Stockholm-based startup that aims to bridge the gender divide in coding with its imagiCharm: a device which can be visually customised by coding into an accompanying mobile app.

The imagiCharm’s 8×8 matrix of LEDs can be customised to display tens of thousands of different designs, such as flowers, rising suns, animals etc., based upon the Python code written by the user into the imagiLabs iOS or Android apps, which connect to the device via Bluetooth.

By using Python to change the appearance of the accessory, girls are shown the real-world applications and possibilities of programming and what physical manifestations of code can look like. …Read More

Savvas Learning Company Teams Up with EveryoneOn to Provide Free WiFi to 100 Families to Support Digital Learning at Home

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Savvas enables teachers to better connect with students by helping to close the digital divide

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — May 5, 2021 — To celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, has partnered with EveryoneOn.org to honor teachers by helping close the digital divide for students from low-income families. 

As part of its #SavvasThanks campaign for Teacher Appreciation Week 2021, Savvas is making a donation to EveryoneOn.org that will provide free high-speed Internet service to 100 families with school-aged students who are in need of reliable WiFi in their homes for digital learning. EveryoneOn.org is a nonprofit that works to connect low-income families to affordable Internet service, computers, and other digital resources.…Read More

Kajeet Announces Global Expansion, Enters U.K. Market

Leading wireless connectivity provider launches London office, extending award-winning solutions to the U.K.

McLean, Va. – April 21, 2021 – Kajeet®, a leading provider of mobile IoT connectivity, software and hardware solutions that deliver safe, reliable and controlled internet connectivity to students, enterprises, state and local governments and IoT solution providers, announced today its global expansion into the U.K. market. The announcement comes on the heels of significant growth for Kajeet, having more than doubled its customer base and adding new notable hires to its leadership team over the last year.

“Kajeet is mission-focused on closing the digital divide, not just in the U.S., but worldwide,” said chairman, CEO and founder Daniel J. W. Neal. “We are excited to bring our secure, reliable and controlled wireless connectivity solutions to the European market to enable equitable internet access, especially for students. This is but the next step on a path of further geographic expansion driven by our desire to deliver thoughtful and equitable internet access and mobility solutions wherever Kajeet can build upon our successes to date.”…Read More

The U.S. needs billions to close the digital divide

As Americans close out one year of pandemic-related school disruption and head into a second, the digital divide remains a daunting challenge for K-12 public school systems in most states.

Although progress to bridge the divide has been significant, as many as 12 million K-12 students remained digitally underserved just before 2021, according to a report by Common Sense, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and the Southern Education Foundation.

The report, titled Looking Back, Looking Forward: What It Will Take to Permanently Close the K-12 Digital Divide, provides a granular understanding of the digital divide’s impact on students, and offers a set of recommendations at the federal, state, and local levels to permanently close the digital divide.…Read More

1 2

5 tips to help districts bridge the equity divide

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed historic equity gaps that have long plagued our schools and society. Schools have always served as a hub of support and aid to children, their families, and communities. At our district, the majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch And while Broward County Public Schools (BCPS), like districts nationwide, has focused on COVID emergency responses to ensure that students get the social, emotional, and academic supports that they need, we recognize that as our students return to the classrooms, they are returning to a different world.

In the wake of this unrest and the political tensions, our teachers must be prepared to have some difficult conversations. A key piece to these discussions and, ultimately, closing the inequity gaps is to look at the long-term, root causes of inequities and provide all adults who work with students the opportunities to learn how to address, discuss and examine implicit bias as a community.

Related content: How COVID put a spotlight on equity…Read More

1 2

Verizon launches free trainings and tools to help educators navigate digital instruction

What you need to know:

  • As the nation faces a surge in Covid-19 cases, and schools continue to grapple with uncertainty and closures, Verizon is providing additional support and remote learning resources for educators, students and parents
  • Teacher Training Pathways offers educators a free platform for professional development
  • Expansion of Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program to include additional student connectivity and teacher professional development for Title I schools

As the ongoing pandemic continues to exacerbate the digital divide in America and increase barriers to digital learning, Verizon is increasing its investment in support of remote learning with the launch of new programs to benefit technology-integrated instruction: Teacher Training Pathways and a new offering within the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program. Developed under the Verizon Innovative Learning program, Verizon’s education initiative focused on addressing barriers to digital inclusion, these programs will bring valuable training and tools to educators and students in support of digital learning and help bring connectivity to  students in under-resourced schools. These efforts are part of Verizon’s continued commitment to Digital Inclusion, a key pillar under Citizen Verizon, the company’s responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, and are vital in helping Verizon reach its goal to provide 10 million young people with the digital skills training necessary for them to thrive in a modern economy.

Educators across the nation can now access Teacher Training Pathways, a free platform offering courses aligned to micro-credentials on remote and hybrid learning, instructional technology coaching and more. Created in partnership with the education non-profit Digital Promise, Teacher Training Pathways will help teachers become more efficient and effective in delivering technology-integrated instruction. The platform will feature an evolving library of courses to further develop educators’ digital literacy. Registration is now available for courses designed to help educators address learning challenges in remote instruction, explore education technology tools and develop both synchronous and asynchronous instruction for learners.…Read More