Share Your Views for National Research Study on Digital Learning

Dear Education Leader: 

I am inviting you today to share your insights and views for a national research study conducted by Project Tomorrow, the education nonprofit organization that facilitates the annual Speak Up Research Project on digital learning.  The focus of this new study to understand how K-12 school districts are paying for digital learning devices (tablets, laptops, Chromebooks) for their students, teachers and staff.  With the sudden shift to remote learning caused by COVID-19, school district funding of 1:1 devices for their students jumped 77%.  That tremendous increase has resulted in a significant new focus on district investment strategies for both the long and short term.  And new discussions, both locally and nationally, about how to sustain those investments so that all K-12 stakeholders have the best technology in their hands to support teaching and learning. 

To share your ideas and views on this topic, please complete this short, 12-14 minute survey here http://bit.ly/K-12DigitalDIStrategiesSurvey  so that we can better understand how education leaders such as yourself are thinking about this critical and timely topic.  In recognition of the effort, we will be selecting 20 education leaders nationwide to receive a $50 Amazon gift card from Project Tomorrow.  If you would like to be eligible to be selected for that gift card, please share with us your email address in the last question of the survey.  If not, you can simply skip that last question.  Your email address will only be used for this selection process and will not be shared with anyone or any organization outside of Project Tomorrow.  Your survey responses are totally protected. We will be reviewing only the aggregated national data.

The aggregated national data will be used to inform a new report that we hope to release this spring.  It is our goal that this report will inform policies and programs to support K-12 education funding, and bring greater attention to the need to develop more sustainable models for funding digital learning devices in K-12.  Thank you for your contributions to this new national research study.  Your input is important here.    

In case you are not familiar with Project Tomorrow, we are a nationally recognized, 501.c.3 education nonprofit organization with a 25-year legacy of supporting innovation in K-12 education through school programs and research.  Each year, Project Tomorrow facilitates the annual Speak Up Research Project to collect and report on the authentic feedback of K-12 students, parents and educators on trends in digital learning.  In addition to the Speak Up Project, we also each year design and implement research studies on other key topics in education.  Many of our study reports are here.  Please feel free to access these reports to inform your own work as well.       

If you have any questions about this research study or the survey, please contact me directly.  My contact information is below.

Thank you for your leadership during this challenging time in our country and in K-12 education.  And thank you for sharing your ideas and views with us for this new research study.   

Julie A. Evans, Ed.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Project Tomorrow
949-609-4661
jevans@tomorrow.org
@JulieEvans_PT

Public Comment sought on Refresh of Digital Literacy Standards (Ed 306.42)

Last year, a committee worked on drafting possible language for an update of our current ICT Literacy Standards, which were last adopted in 2005. These program standards are in need of refresh for several reasons.

1. They are old, last updated in 2005, and need new a refreshed focus which parallel the ISTE Standards for Students.
2. The legislature changed the name of ICT Literacy to Digital Literacy when they also added Computer Science as a content area in 193-E:2-a (j).
3. Some of the stuff in the old standards really now should belong in the computer science program standards, Ed 306.44, which are also currently under development. This updated draft removes overlapped material and adds previously lacking, but more relevant, language around information evaluation, cybersecurity, and digital citizenship.

You can see the updated version of the standards, in markup for comparison to the 2005 version here, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jdS7htCPTV7Y6Losqec57Yxvo0VRyJ5ueNE3XW3ckD8/view.

Please use this form to provide your public comment on this draft version of Ed 306.42: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5ho0J9_N89_EPBsMqJbBx5LHzg1creRd1rwH4e3dnshK9JQ/viewform.

Once the public has had time to comment. The committee will use the comments to make any final changes to the draft. The final draft will be submitted to the Professional Standards Board for consideration. The Professional Standards Board would then have the opportunity to make any changes before recommending them to the State Board of Education for adoption.

Digital Learning Day is Coming on February 25th

Digital Learning Day Turns 10 this year!

With less than a month before the big national celebration on February 25, help us spread the word and plan some activities within your schools to highlight the teachers and principals who are doing amazing things in this unprecedented time! New Hampshire educators, please add your voice, expertise, and passion to DLDay 2021 – Participation is EASY and FREE.

1. Join the network by creating a profile for yourself and/or organization. This should take less than 3 minutes and you will be provided with relevant, ongoing opportunities to share and learn from this innovative group of passionate educators.
2. Add your favorite resources to our digital learning notebook. These can be instructional tools, new approaches, lesson plans or tips and tricks that you’ve learned along the way.
3. Plan an in person or virtual activity to celebrate DLDay with your students, or other teachers, on February 25, 2021, and share in the digital network.
4. Help spread the word about the network! We have an ambitious goal of recruiting 5,000 educators to join the FRS DLDay network. We know we can accomplish this with your help!

After a decade, these messages are more poignant than ever before as teachers across this country are persevering and heroically meeting the diverse mental, physical and learning needs of their students on and off campus.

Public Comment- Title IV, Part A 2020-2021 Waivers

This New Hampshire Department of Education (NHDOE) announcement serves as notice to the public, school districts, and the Federal Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Title IV-A Program for an opportunity to comment on the NHDOE’s plan to pursue a waiver request from the USED with regard to flexible use of Title IV-A funds. Acceptance of a waiver application would permit Title IV-A funded programs to waive the following requirements:

• Section 4106(d) of Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, related to LEA needs assessments for the 2020-2021 school year.
• Section 4106(e)(2)(C), (D), and (E) of Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, with respect to content-area spending requirements for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2020 Title IV, Part A funds.
• Section 4109(b) of Title IV, Part A of the ESEA, with respect to the fifteen percent spending limitation for technology infrastructure for FY 2020 Title IV, Part A funds.

All other requirements for the Title IV-A program will continue to apply.

Please use the links below to access further detailed information and submit any comments. Comments are due by 4:00 PM on Friday, January 8, 2021.

    2020-2021 Title IV, Part A Waiver Public Comment Form (Google form)

    Title IV-A Waiver Invitation Letter (pdf) 

    Title IV-A Waiver Request Template (pdf) 

Announcement posted on the Office of ESEA Title Programs on the NHDOE website at:

https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner-support/bureau-of-instructional-support/integrated-programs

COVID-19 School Dashboard Released by DHHS

The Department of Health and Human Services released a newly updated COVID-19 School Dashboard on Thursday, December 3, 2020.

The new dashboard includes a number of new features that incorporates survey data provided by schools as well as more dynamic data visualizations of the impact of COVID in the schools. These include instructional models, active cases, recovered cases, clusters and outbreaks.

School leaders are encouraged to supply data and updates to the Department of Health and Human Services. The data are refreshed daily. Schools needing additional assistance on providing DHHS updates should reach out to Deputy Commissioner of Education, Christine Brennan (Christine.M.Brennan@doe.nh.gov).

You can access the dashboard at https://www.nh.gov/covid19/dashboard/schools.htm#dash.

Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide from the US Office of Educational Technology

Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide cover from USDOE OET

Parental involvement in their children’s education can lead to better learning results and outcomes. The US Office of Educational Technology developed this “Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide” to inform parents or caregivers, on best practices to monitor their children’s progress as they accesses and use technology for learning.

This guide aims to help all parents and caregivers, including those who have limited experience with digital tools, those who are expert with these tools, and anywhere in between. Each section starts with foundational pieces and builds from there.

Download the Guide from USED Office of Educational Technology at https://tech.ed.gov/files/2020/10/Parent-and-Family-Digital-Learning-Guide.pdf.

New Portal Available to Support Teaching Mastery of Effective Online Practices

This personalized professional learning portal is available to educators via nsq.2gno.me.

Today, Quality Matters (QM), Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA), and 2gnoMe, formally announce the launch of the NSQ Online Teaching Professional Learning Portal powered by 2gnoMe for teachers and education leaders. This powerful new portal is built around the NSQ Online Teaching standards — a framework for schools, districts and state agencies to support online instruction. This professional learning portal “unpacks” the standards for educators and uses a teacher’s own reflections to match high-quality and aligned learning resources to individual needs and strengths. This approach puts teachers on a path towards improving their practice as instructors, both in blended and online formats.

As Rich Copeland, Supervisor of Teacher Quality for Georgia Virtual, explained, “This professional learning portal provides teachers with the professional development they need when they need it, especially now in the midst of this pandemic.” 

The National Standards for Quality Online Teaching were developed by experts from the online learning community — headed by QM and the VLLA — and supported by research and best practice. The standards have been downloaded more than 10,000 times. By combining expertise and technology, QM, the VLLA and 2gnoMe aim to scale access to personalized and high-quality professional learning resources for teachers aligned to the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching. This approach puts teachers in the middle of their professional learning, using reflection to enhance self-awareness (‘to know me’), and then applies data to tether all relevant professional development resources to provide teachers with ongoing competency-based learning experiences. 

Bob Currie, Executive Director for Montana Digital Academy and VLLA President, commented, “This partnership puts into practice the amazing work and commitment of the VLLA, QM and the community of contributors who updated the online teaching standards by putting high-quality professional learning opportunities at teachers’ fingertips so they can rise to the challenge of online instruction.” 

The 2gnoMe technology makes it easy to offer a level of professional learning to teachers at scale that is more tailored to their needs and offered when they need it. Further, the portal enables system leaders to customize all elements of their teachers’ professional learning experience (e.g., mentoring, professional learning communities, and other supports) around each teacher.

Ken Dirkin, Executive Director of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVLRI), stated, “This portal facilitates a coordinated system of support for our teachers. It will allow education leaders to crowd-source high-quality professional development around standards of effective online instruction. No longer will teachers or education leaders have to scramble to find good professional development aligned to their needs and priorities.”  

The 2021 ArcGIS Online New Hampshire State School Map Competition is Open

Are you looking for a hands on project for your students, that can really get them engaged while remote learning or in class? Enter your school in the ArcGIS Online New Hampshire State School Map Competition!

Students in grades 4th -12th across the State are challenged to create and share maps and storymaps of their State for a chance at a $100 prize! NHEdGIS and NHSTE are partnering again this year to bring this competition to you. The winners of the State competition will be submitted to the 2021 National ArcGIS Online U.S. School Competition! Winners of the national competition will receive a paid trip to Esri’s Education GIS Conference in San Diego, CA (if appropriate), to present their maps in the conference’s main Map Gallery. All teachers who submit student maps will also be entered into a $100 raffle!

Learn more at our new NHEdGIS Map Competition Hub site.

To Enter

1. Register your school by Friday, April 2, 2021 to receive a competition updates and the potential for early map review from one of our judges.
2. School map entries need to be submitted by 5pm on Friday, May 7, 2021.

Are you new to GIS or need a refresher? Visit Mapping Hour and Teach with GIS for a lesson library and tools to get you started! Don’t hesitate to contact NHEdGIS for help!

SETDA Announces New E-Rate Training Series: Ask the State Experts

Sessions for education leaders to help implement the federal E-Rate program

Washington, DC (October 6, 2020) – The federal E-Rate program includes a multilayered application and implementation process. In order to serve education leaders, SETDA is launching an E-Rate Training Series: Ask the State Experts. SETDA, the non-profit membership association that supports U.S. state and territorial leaders in advancing education through effective digital learning policy and practice, has designed the training series to share the expertise of its membership with a broader audience. These trainings are designed to support the applications and implementation of the E-Rate program for school, district, and library leaders, and will further support the processes, rules, and strategies for applicants to be successful in maximizing the available reimbursements for Funding Year 2021.

“The power of SETDA is in its collective action,” stated Interim Executive Director, Christine Fox. “Our E-rate Collaborative members saw a need and rallied to coordinate and help launch this new initiative. We are looking forward to providing these services for E-Rate leaders across the country and believe this will be the first of many topics for SETDA trainings,” Fox continued.

The format of the trainings will be 90-minute online, interactive sessions launching October 22 and running monthly through April, 2021. These trainings will be conducted by leaders from SETDA’s E-Rate Collaborative, a subset of the SETDA membership, who are subject matter experts on the topic of E-Rate and include state E-rate Coordinators and their staff. Registration and additional details are available online via this link. Participants will have access to both the live sessions and the event archives and documentation.

“This year has imposed unprecedented challenges for educators with more hurdles to come to work through new educating models for their students. In an effort to save time and provide convenience for educators, these virtual trainings will provide valuable content while ensuring the safety and health of all,” Todd Lawrence, E-Rate Coordinator, Idaho Department of Education.

“These trainings are being developed to complement state specific trainings so that leaders from across the country can learn from one another but also follow-up with their states’ E-Rate Coordinator to ensure state laws policies and practices are implemented correctly,” stated Mindy Fiscus, Digital Access Coordinator, Learning Technology Center of Illinois.

For more information about the E-Rate Training Series: Ask the State Experts, use this link.

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About SETDA
Founded in 2001, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is the principal non-profit membership association representing U.S. state and territorial educational technology leaders. Our mission is to build and increase the capacity of state and national leaders to improve education through technology policy and practice. For more information, please visit: setda.org.

Rural Broadband Providers Work with FCC to Meet Internet Needs of Students in Low-Income Families

Federal Communications Commission Press Release

Hundreds of Rate-of-Return Carriers Will Provide Discounts and Service Upgrades to Help Families Obtain Needed Broadband Services-

WASHINGTON, October 1, 2020-The Federal Communications Commission this week enabled hundreds of rural broadband providers to offer discounts and service upgrades to families with children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches through the National School Lunch Program. To help connect low-income students to remote learning, the National Exchange Carrier Association worked with the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau staff on tariff revisions that will provide eligible new customers of rural carriers a 25% discount on certain broadband services and offer existing eligible customers faster connections at no cost.

“I applaud the hundreds of NECA members that are committed to helping low-income students in their service areas connect and stay connected to the Internet,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “With the continued reliance upon remote learning in many parts of the country, students need connectivity to learn from and communicate with their teachers and classmates. I’m pleased the Commission worked with these rural carriers to enable more low-income students in their communities to benefit from cheaper, faster broadband service.”

Tariffs contain the rates, terms and conditions of certain services provided by telecommunications carriers. The tariff revisions go into effect today, and the promotional offerings will be in effect through the end of June 2021. Each participating carrier will decide how to reach out to its community and to verify customer eligibility. For more information on the FCC’s efforts to keep Americans connected during the pandemic, visit:www.fcc.gov/coronavirus.

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-367268A1.pdf