Michigan’s Ferris State University is using a $669,216 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fund a new virtual reality (VR) initiative.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $72 million in distance learning and telemedicine infrastructure in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into the fall, schools are relying on remote and hybrid learning to stem the spread of the virus. This has forced teachers to radically overhaul their lesson plans and teaching styles, nevermind requiring them to become IT experts in the process.

State of California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced that the California Department of Education (CDE) will provide more than 500,000 additional computing devices to California students in need.

The Dothan City, Ala., School District announced the creation of a virtual help desk to provide technical support for devices provided by Dothan City Schools (DCS).

Before most of the nation’s K-12 schools closed their doors in March, sending students to learn from home while the COVID-19 pandemic raged, school leaders confronted a job that no one imagined when the school year began. They had to facilitate remote work for hundreds or thousands of professional staff and remote learning for exponentially larger numbers of students – none of whom were used to working outside of the traditional school environment.

While technology in the K-12 classroom is nothing new, COVID-19 has heightened the role it plays in education. New research from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) found the vast majority of parents support the use of education technology, but also have serious concerns.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools to shift towards remote and hybrid learning, which has shined a bright light on the digital divide in education.

The Mooresville School District, in Indiana, has launched what is being dubbed “the classroom of the future” just in time for the 2020-2021 school year.

Up to 1.7 million K-12 students in Oregon and Washington are getting access to Verizon’s Distance Learning Program. Today Verizon announced that it has signed an agreement with the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to provide reliable and affordable Internet access for up to 1.7 million students across Oregon and Washington.