Digital Education
The Digital Education blog covered personalized learning, artificial intelligence, adaptive testing, digital curricula, data privacy, future of work, and all things technology. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: classroom technology, personalized learning, future of work, and digital learning.
Assessment
Scores Were Lower When Mass. Students Took PARCC Exams on Computers, Study Finds
Unfamiliarity with technology contributed to lower scores for online test-takers in 2015, but the effects diminished over time, researchers found.
School & District Management
Philly Teacher's Union Releases App for Reporting School Facilities Problems
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers' Healthy Schools Tracker will allow educators, parents, and others to use their smartphones to report mold, asbestos, and other environmental hazards in schools.
Privacy & Security
States Earn Low Grades on Student-Data Privacy Protections From New Report Card
A recent report that analyzes the thoroughness and quality of student-data privacy laws passed in the U.S. may be more misleading than it is illuminating.
Equity & Diversity
Automation, Jobs, and Education: 7 Key Takeaways From New Brookings Analysis
Young workers are poised to be hit especially hard by automation, the Brookings Institution found, but schools can help by focusing on students' digital skills, creativity, and emotional intelligence.
Privacy & Security
Educators and Artificial Intelligence: "Err on the Side of Caution," Says RAND Researcher
AI-powered tools may augment teachers, a new RAND report argues--but only if big concerns around bias and transparency are first addressed.
Teaching Profession
Q&A
Can Text Messages Home Help Build Vocabulary? Q&A With Temple University Researchers
A new effort shows promising signs that carefully crafted text messages to family members can help young children learn new vocabulary words they are seeing in the classroom.
Curriculum
Q&A
Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom: Q&A With Michelle Zimmerman
A new book from the International Society for Technology in Education offers guidance for teachers hoping to prepare students for a rapidly changing society and labor market.
IT Infrastructure & Management
School Connectivity, Access to Devices Continue to Rise, Survey Finds
Districts are increasingly confident in their networks' ability to support one or even two digital devices for every student, according to a new survey of school technology leaders.
Classroom Technology
Elon Musk Makes Donation to Flint, Mich., District for Laptops
Entrepreneur and business founder Elon Musk will donate $423,000 for laptops in the Michigan district, a few months after making a gift focused on improving water quality in the school system.
Curriculum
Education Week's Biggest K-12 Technology Stories of 2018
From cybersecurity to school safety, privacy to personalized learning, and social media to media literacy, here are 10 of the biggest stories on the ed-tech beat in 2018.
Classroom Technology
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Names Sandra Liu Huang as Head of Education
Sandra Liu Huang was previously CZI's head of product and technology, a role in which she oversaw the ed-tech team's partnership with the Summit Learning Program.
Federal
Trump School Safety Commission: Time to Update FERPA
Schools should share more student information with law enforcement in order to protect students during emergencies, according to a federal school safety commission.
States
Parkland Commission: Police Should Get Real-Time Access to School Security Cameras
Live, real-time access to school camera systems could improve police response to tragedies. But law-enforcement surveillance in public schools could also have negative consequences.
School & District Management
Too Much Screen Time May Affect Children's Brain Development, Early Findings Show
Children who use smartphones, tablets, and video games more than seven hours a day are more likely to experience premature thinning of the cortex, the outermost layer of the brain that processes thought and action, according to a new study released by the NIH.