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Breaking Down the FCC’s Latest Broadband Brouhaha

Edsurge

It provoked an outcry among education groups, who argued that the decision would be reduce home internet access for students in rural areas—thereby widening the homework gap. Broadband policy is dense, and many of the articles and statements on the subject are frankly hard to follow. radio, TV, mobile data, broadband.

Broadband 112
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OPINION: Equity in online learning is about much more than technology access

The Hechinger Report

Debate about the fairness of online learning tends to revolve around technology access. And there are indeed sharp disparities in home access to computers and reliable broadband service. My company, StraighterLine , exists to help get students halfway through college by quickly and affordably completing their prerequisites.

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The Past Decade Forecasts a New Wave of Economic Opportunity in Education

Edsurge

But computing power, device adoption, pervasive broadband and exponentially networked collaboration platforms of the past decade have already moved us to a world of information abundance. From 2008 to 2019 we have witnessed a 4,000-plus percent expansion in the number of funded edtech startups, and the best startups can become unicorns.

Udemy 125
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Low Tech? No Problem. Here are 3 Alternative Ways to Help Distance Learning Happen.

Edsurge

One big barrier to sustaining education via remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic has been students’ unequal access to advanced technology tools. According to a 2019 Pew Research Center report, 96 percent of adults own a cell phone and 81 percent own a smartphone. But cell service is pretty reliable in most places.

Laptops 198
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SIIA, a Pioneering Convenor for the Edtech Industry, Scraps Its Conferences

Edsurge

Its early work focused on lobbying on behalf of its members, which also included companies across the banking, financial and trade publishing sectors. SIIA also created an “incubator” program in 2006 to support early-stage education companies, long before the idea became popular in the edtech industry. billion in U.S. billion in U.S.

Industry 151
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Predictions of Print Textbooks’ Death Remain Greatly Exaggerated

Edsurge

The newest voices in that choir come from Bill and Melinda Gates, who declared that “ textbooks are becoming obsolete ” in their 2019 annual letter. higher education courseware in 2015, down from 50 percent the year before, according to a 2018 report from Macquarie, an investment bank and financial services company. It’s a coexistence.

Chegg 157
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Closing the Communication Chasm for Schools and Families

Edsurge

But a staggering number of families lack access to the digital tools required for learning at home. To date, much of the discussion around the digital divide has focused on the lack of devices and internet access: Only 56 percent of U.S. households with less than $30,000 in income have broadband at home.