It is no secret that I have been quite skeptical of Title IV A (SSAEG)’s potential impact on technology-enabled innovation and school improvement. As such, contested funding levels for the program are unlikely to have much impact on the larger trends driving technology’s use in education.
An update to the official U.S. Department of Education organizational chart suggests changes underway at the Office of Educational Technology.
Does a shift in the U.S. Department of Education organizational chart presage a coming shift in the role for and priority of educational technology under Secretary DeVos?
The Obama administration championed Future Ready, #GoOpen, and ConnectED (among other edtech-related campaigns). Who will set the agenda for edtech leadership for the foreseeable future? With more cuts in the federal education budget potentially looming in the fall, and the Trump administration clearly signaling its general preference for market-based solutions, it could be that private-sector technology companies will seize the opportunity to step into the vacuum.
Since 2016, multiple news reports document that K-12 students are being charged with and convicted of crimes for hacking their schools. In other cases, these incidents have led to students being expelled. Are schools and the police over-reacting to student hacking of schools? Are our current laws and school policies appropriate? It may be time for a hard look at these questions.
There are a range of potential cybersecurity threats facing K-12 schools. Thanks to my invited participation in a National Governors Association cybersecurity summit, I’ve documented my current thinking on the cybersecurity in K-12 education, why it is an important issue, and what should be done about it. Ultimately, if we can’t generate the political will to address these issues head on, states and the federal government have no business pursuing school reform and improvement strategies dependent on technology.
While it’s common for a federal agency to switch policy directions after a change in leadership, FCC Chairmain Pai’s decision to rescind a data-based public report on E-rate modernization is a highly unusual decision that – at the very least – looks awful. Indeed, to expunge the public record is clearly a political move.
In the public interest, an archived copy of the January 2017 E-rate progress report, “E‐rate Modernization: Progress and the Road Ahead,” rescinded by the FCC two weeks after is was issued.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler announced today that he will step down next month and leave the Commission. From the perspective of K-12 schools, the importance of his contributions to E-rate modernization are hard to overstate. Indeed (and with all due respect to friends and colleagues at the U.S. Department of Education), the adoption of revisions and enhancements to the E-rate under Chairman Wheeler’s tenure may very well be the lasting legacy of the Obama Administration with respect to education. With Wheeler’s departure and based on what we can surmise, the E-rate under a Republican FCC shaped by PEOTUS Trump will likely face a new set of challenges.
Federal support for the effective use of technology for teaching, learning, and improved school operations – driven primarily by executive actions at the White House and via politically-appointed leadership at the U.S. Department of Education – could get halted, shifted or eliminated on the first day of a Trump administration.
