Digital Divide
Education news, analysis, and opinion about the inequities in students’ access to technology and their effect
Equity & Diversity
Trump Signs Orders on Rural Broadband Access
President Trump signed orders aiming to make it easier to locate broadband infrastructure on federal land in rural America, but the impact of the orders will likely not be significant.
Ed-Tech Policy
FCC Dismantles 'Net Neutrality' Policy, and K-12 Schools Await Impact
Critics fear the new policy will allow internet service providers to create fast and slow lanes in a way that restricts online options for consumers, including schools.
IT Infrastructure & Management
FCC Delays, Denials Foil Rural Schools' Broadband Plans
Hundreds of state and local efforts to connect rural schools to fiber-optic networks have run into roadblocks over the past two years.
Curriculum
Google Announces Job-Training Program, Grants Aimed at Future of Work
The online-services giant will give $1 billion to nonprofits working in education and job training, as well as offer technical training and certificates.
Equity & Diversity
'Without a Net' Documentary Explores Digital Divide in U.S. Schools
The lack of consistent, reliable internet access in high-poverty schools is the focus of a new, Verizon-backed film that will air on the National Geographic Channel this week.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Schools Making 'Extraordinary Progress' With High-Speed Internet Access, Analysis Finds
Ninety-four percent of school districts in the nation are meeting targets for web connectivity, three years after federal officials overhauled the E-Rate program.
Ed-Tech Policy
Comcast Expands Broadband Program for Low-Income Families
Comcast will offer faster internet speeds and on-the-go Wi-Fi access to customers in a broadband program for low-income households.
Professional Development
Poor Students Face Digital Divide in How Teachers Learn to Use Tech
America's most innovative schools constantly help teachers learn to use technology. But in many high-poverty schools, the barriers to good teacher training can seem insurmountable.
Special Report
Classroom Tech
This report examines how schools are tackling tech training for teachers, "passive" vs. "active" use of digital tools, and online learning needs.
Equity & Diversity
Under New Leadership, FCC Quashes Report on E-rate Program's Success
The FCC rescinded a report showing its own program has helped spur falling bandwidth prices and new access to high-speed broadband for schools and libraries.
Classroom Technology
Ed-Tech Research That Mattered in 2016
From the maker movement to online testing to the digital divide, 2016 was a big year for high-quality research on the promise and peril of educational technology.
Equity & Diversity
FCC Chair to Step Down; Championed E-Rate Reform, Net Neutrality
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who led a reform of the E-rate program and promoted "net neutrality," will step down on Jan. 20.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Calif. Community Builds Homegrown Internet Network for Schools
The network was built with the help of an FCC program called the Educational Broadband Service, which needs to be opened up to more schools, critics say.
IT Infrastructure & Management
Education Groups Call for FCC Action on Huge Tech Resource
Possibly billions of dollars worth of a public educational telecommunications resource has languished unused and unlicensed within the federal government, estimates show.