With the New Year practically upon us, MeriTalk SLG is taking a look back at the most popular education technology stories from the past year.

Following its December meeting, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it approved a proposal seeking comment on improving transparency and efficiency in the competitive bidding process for the E-Rate program. The FCC has now released the official Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, laying out the process and deadlines for submitting comment on the E-Rate bidding process.

State audit agencies reported unparalleled challenges faced by their workforces in providing pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits, according to a new report released Dec. 16 by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC).

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee voted Dec. 15 to approve the White House’s nomination of Alan Davidson to head the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA).

New research found that in the 18 months since nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns began, the top priority for teachers across the United States and United Kingdom is bridging the gap between decreasing children’s engagement levels and using tech effectively in the classroom.

The Better Cybercrime Metrics Act – legislation that aims to improve cybercrime data collection and give law enforcement more tools to stop online crime – was approved this week by the Senate via unanimous consent, and by the House Judiciary Committee via voice vote.

While healthcare disparities are not new, the COVID-19 pandemic did highlight the persistent and systemic inequities with healthcare in this country, especially for indigenous communities.

Today the Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to another five-year term.

The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) announced it is partnering with education software developer Instructure to help make digital learning environments more inclusive and equitable.

A recent market study from TeamDynamix found that 78 percent of organizations surveyed listed resource constraints as one of their top challenges. If you’re familiar with ITSM (IT service management), it’s no surprise that many organizations find self-service and Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS®) to be effective strategies to mitigate this challenge. And while both self-service and KCS are sound tools for ITSM, there are other strategies you should consider adding to build out a true 360 platform.