Education Week

Hundreds of state and local efforts to connect rural and remote schools to fiber-optic networks have been delayed or rejected by federal officials during the past two years, jeopardizing the push to bring high-speed internet to the country's hardest-to-connect classrooms. Broadband proponents say the problems stem from confusing barriers erected by the Federal Communications Commission and the Universal Service Administrative Company, which oversee and administer the E-rate, a $3.9 billion program to help schools and libraries pay for internet access and other telecommunications services.

While the word "literacy" alone generally refers to reading and writing skills, when you tack on the word "digital" before it, the term encompasses much, much more. Sure, reading and writing are still very much at the heart of digital literacy. But given the new and ever-changing ways we use technology to receive and communicate information, digital literacy also encompasses a broader range of skills—everything from reading on a Kindle to gauging the validity of a website or creating and sharing YouTube videos.

The term is so broad that some experts even stay away from it, preferring to speak more specifically about particular skills at the intersection of technology and literacy. The American Library Association's digital-literacy task force offers this definition: "Digital literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills." More simply, Hiller Spires, a professor of literacy and technology at North Carolina State University, views digital literacy as having three buckets: 1) finding and consuming digital content; 2) creating digital content; and 3) communicating or sharing it.

Possibly billions of dollars’ worth of a public educational telecommunications resource has languished unused and unlicensed within the federal government for decades, some estimates show. If it were managed more effectively, experts say, the resource could be used to essentially eliminate the "homework gap," the divide that exists between students who have access to high-quality learning technologies in school and at home and those who don't.

Eleven education groups—including the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National Education Association, the Consortium for School Networking, and the International Society for Technology in Education—jointly filed documents eight years ago petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to give educators access to the unlicensed remnants of the Educational Broadband Service, or EBS. Although the FCC has been formally deliberating over what to do with the unlicensed spectrum since at least 2008, the agency has yet to issue a ruling, and the proceeding remains open—indefinitely.

Even in the Internet age, the lowly telephone remains an indispensable tool in the day-to-day operations of nearly every school. But thanks to the double whammy of declining state aid and disappearing federal subsidies for such "legacy" technology services, districts nationwide are scrambling to fill a roughly $359 million hole in their collective budgets, according to a new analysis by the Edmond (OK)-based consulting firm Funds for Learning. The problem will likely get worse before it gets better, said John Harrington, the group's CEO. "Schools are nowhere near being in a position to just cut their phone lines," Harrington said. "If they need to get a hold of a parent, they're not going to message them on Facebook."

The challenge stems from a 2014 decision by the Federal Communications Commission to modernize the federal E-rate program, which helps schools and libraries cover the cost of telecommunications services. Like other "universal service" programs, the E-rate has transitioned to focus on support for high-speed internet connections and internal wireless networks. The changes have been a boon for many districts making digital upgrades, especially because the FCC raised the E-rate's annual spending cap more than 60 percent, to $3.9 billion. But the added support for broadband has come with a cost: diminishing support for older telecommunications technologies upon which the K-12 sector still relies heavily.

Teachers who are most confident about educational technology tend to work in low-poverty and suburban schools, bringing their students a wide range of experiences and potential benefits that other young people may lack, concludes a survey released today by the Education Week Research Center. For example: These teachers are far more likely than their less-confident counterparts to report daily use of digital curricula, learning management systems, and parent communication tools. As a result, they report that their students spend roughly twice as much class time using digital tools than the students of teachers with less confidence around ed tech. These highly confident teachers also believe that their students are significantly better prepared to use technology for everything from independent research to collaboration on schoolwork via social media.

The findings come from an exclusive, not-statistically-representative survey of roughly 700 teachers. The finding that teachers who are least confident in educational technology tend to work in high-poverty and urban schools offers yet another reason to worry about the evolving "digital divide" in K-12. From access to high-speed Internet and devices to the ways technology is used and now to teachers' perceptions and practices around ed tech, researchers have consistently found urban and poor students to be at a disadvantage.

The Federal Communications Commission’s recent makeover of the E-rate program is billed as a step toward transforming the fund from one focused on supporting 1990s-era telecommunication tools to one that accommodates 21st-century technologies.

Now, school officials are trying to gauge what the new policies will mean for teachers, students, and their districts’ bottom lines. If the order works as planned, the application process for funding will become smoother, and the prices schools and libraries pay for services will become more transparent.

like the 16,000-student Red Clay Consolidated School District, in Delaware, are sifting through the order and evaluating where their E-rate funding will rise and fall as a result of FCC’s change of policy.

As some of its competitors have been battered over their policies for protecting student data, Microsoft has sought to make sure that the issue -- and what it regards as its strong record on privacy -- remain firmly in the public eye.

But as the company moves aggressively to position itself as a protector of student-data privacy, some say it also runs the risk of a backlash if it doesn't back up its talk with the kind of vigilance the technology giant promises to deliver.

The hot-button issue of student data privacy reached the halls of Congress, with US House subcommittees focused on education and homeland security issues holding a joint hearing that yielded more thoughtful questions than major news.

Education Week, which has covered issues of data privacy and educational data use extensively, was part of the social media coverage and discussion surrounding the hearing, which featured faces and arguments largely familiar to those who have been following the issue.

Public charter schools are requesting 79 percent more per building from the federal E-rate program than traditional public schools are, according to an Education Week-requested analysis from Funds for Learning.

The Oklahoma-based company, which consults schools on the E-rate, conducted a review of all requests for funding submitted by schools and districts in 2014 -- about 21,000 applications in all.

The analysis shows that smaller applicants generally have to pay more for their services, "likely due to their inability to tap into the economies of scale that bigger applicants benefit from," said John Harrington, CEO of Funds for Learning.

[Commentary] Every teacher faces moments when it seems difficult (if not impossible) to engage students. Here are a few considerations that teachers should keep in mind as they think about ways to integrate technology into the classroom.

Increasing Access to Technology

• BYOD (Bring Your Own Device): BYOD provides an opportunity for students to use their own devices in class. This is a great option because students are already familiar with the device, and districts don’t have to foot the bill.
• Leasing programs: Leasing programs are enticing. They require a certain level of infrastructure while providing students with an opportunity to “lease” a device from the school at a lower cost.
• Computer labs: Most schools have computer labs. So how can teachers utilize these resources better?

Building a Technology Environment

• Teachers who find themselves speaking a different technology language than their students need support to take advantage of the power that technology can have on students’ growth and success. The process involves a few key steps:
• A positive attitude. Be open to technology and the potential it holds.
• Professional development.
• Allowing students (the digital natives) to lead technology use in the classroom.

[Harvey has taught Social Studies at Lafayette High School in Lexington (KY)]