EdTech Magazine

Rising college costs and projected skills shortages in occupations that don’t require a bachelor’s degree are helping to drive enrollment in K–12 career and technical education programs — which increased 10% between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, according to U.S. Department of Education data. Some districts have added CTE-dedicated facilities that provide a multitude of tech-centric educational amenities, ranging from flight simulators to robotic arms. In Alabama — where the Association

As K–12 districts navigate a growing ecosystem of artificial intelligence tools and solutions, research suggests that the parent perspective can’t be overlooked — especially when it comes to building understanding and trust around how AI is used. A statewide poll of more than 1,300 Massachusetts parents released in January 2026 by EdTrust  revealed that parents are divided over AI’s role in the classroom. “Only a third feel positively, a third feel negatively and another third are unsure,” says

When parents call Clovis Unified School District’s transportation department with questions about a school bus issue or incident, they expect answers. But under the California district’s old camera system, getting those answers could take hours. Staff had to wait for buses to return to the yard to retrieve the drive from an onboard digital video recorder and transfer the video to an office computer. If a bus was out all day and then transported students for after-school sports, it might not retu

Throw out any ideas that school security rests solely on the back of one department. Keeping students, staff and visitors safe is a collaborative effort, and developing a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan requires planning, consistency and technology.  Michele Gay, executive director of Safe and Sound Schools, a nonprofit organization, encourages schools to find ways to practice and discuss emergency preparedness in trauma-informed, low-stakes environments.  “There are plenty of examples

Summer break is a busy time of year for K–12 school IT departments. It’s typically when districts replace aging hardware, roll out new cybersecurity tools and tackle major upgrades while students and the majority of teaching staff are out of the building. But those high‑stakes summer technology projects can’t happen unless the planning starts months earlier. Before purchase orders can be issued, IT leaders have a lot of decisions to make. This includes figuring out what to retire now versus what

As augmented reality, virtual reality and other extended reality technologies become more widely adopted in K–12 classrooms, districts are exploring their potential to increase engagement and support experiential learning in a variety of subject areas, including social studies, science, and career and technical education. How can schools that are looking to get started with AR and VR ensure that the technology has the best chance of being adopted as a meaningful instructional tool? EdTech talked

Artificial intelligence in a K–12 setting? At the Jewish Leadership Academy in Florida, they’ve never known it any other way. Built from the ground up and opened in 2023, JLA was designed for hybrid learning, with Zoom classrooms equipped with interactive flat panels, ceiling-mounted microphones and auto-tracking cameras. Just before each class, the teacher logs in to the school’s learning management system. Using a tool called Panopto — a video-hosting platform integrated with Zoom — they simpl

Esports is no longer a fringe activity in K–12; it’s one of the fastest-growing school programs in the country, with some 55% of school district leaders prioritizing a gaming initiative in the past two years. It’s no wonder that TCEA 2026’s esports sessions were packed with attendees curious about how to get started. Educators aren’t just asking if esports belongs in schools; they’re ready to build those programs right now. The sticking point? Equipment. Understanding what schools need — and how

At Epic Charter Schools, Oklahoma’s largest public virtual charter school, esports is, well, epic. With about 30,000 students in Pre-K–12, the school boasts between 300 and 500 active participants in its video gaming program. “We have students who want to compete at a high level and those who aren’t competitive at it, who just want to play the game for fun,” says esports coach Steve Briggs. “We want to get as many students involved as we can.” Epic’s ability to make that happen is quite an accom

In the classroom and in district offices, K–12 schools are increasingly implementing artificial intelligence. According to a report from Cambium Learning Group, 61% of administrators are using AI to interpret or analyze student data, and 56% are using it to manage student records. In order for districts to use AI to its highest potential, a cohesive data strategy must be in place. Rex Washburn, chief architect and head of engineering for data at CDW, outlines six data trends that are shaping the

In one-to-one K–12 districts, device management can be a major challenge. Just think of all of those verbs: IT teams need to configure, deploy, connect, secure, track, decommission and repeat for potentially thousands or tens of thousands of devices. To stay ahead without draining their limited resources, they need scalable, automation-friendly approaches that allow them to provision, refresh, wipe, redistribute and troubleshoot without hiring additional staff. Click the banner below to discover

When Ergotron introduced its new pre-wired charging cart at ISTELive in June 2025, the company emphasized efficiency, flexibility and speed in a compact design. The YES Adjusta cart, available in 24- and 36-device models, delivers on those promises. I tested the larger YES36 model to see how it performed in a busy middle school classroom. As a middle school technology electives teacher, I’ve used many charging carts over the years. They are essential for device storage and charging, but most are

A K–12 district content management program needs to be fully secure, protecting data at rest and in transit, with varying security levels for content being held and managed by the platform.  For districtwide content management, data must be standardized so that multiple platforms are not required. Users need to be trained on a single content management platform, whether they work in the front office, administration, facilities management or the classroom.  The cloud-based Box Intelligent Content

In February 2025, officials say, more than 38% of students in New York’s Dunkirk City School District were chronically absent, meaning they had missed more than 10% of school days. Just one year later, after implementing an artificial intelligence solution for tracking attendance and contacting parents, that figure has dropped to 20%, resulting in improved educational outcomes. “We had to try something different,” says Dunkirk Superintendent Brian Swatland. “Our attendance teams were broken, and

When educators, IT professionals and other K–12 specialists convened in San Antonio at TCEA 2026 to discuss practical uses of artificial intelligence, there was one tool that came up in several sessions: Gemini Gems. Gemini Gems enables users of Gemini, Google’s generative artificial intelligence tool, to create customizable, specialized versions of the AI assistant. The tool was launched in August 2024, and was added to Google Workspace for Education accounts in March 2025. “There are a lot of

The network is the backbone of the digital learning ecosystem: Its integrity ensures that teachers can teach and students will learn. That makes network security nonnegotiable in the K–12 environment. IT leaders must keep their networks strong in the face of escalating ransomware threats and other cyber perils. They need to ensure data privacy and deliver reliable access to the tools of digital learning. To meet all these goals, they must ensure their networks are locked down tight. But K–12 net

For more than two decades, schools have wrestled with a question that has no easy answer: How do you keep students safe without turning campuses into something they’re not meant to be? “How do you balance a safe environment with having a welcoming environment?,” says Bryan Krause, senior national school safety strategist for CDW Education. “Do we need to put up razor wire, install metal detectors at all doors and hire armed security guards, versus do we want to be a place where parents feel good

Federal dollars account for between 8% and 13% of school budgets , with the majority flowing through state and local channels. That may not seem like much, but in practice it can mean the difference between being able to execute certain initiatives and not. But grant funding is not straightforward, especially at the federal level. Knowing when and how to pursue grant funding opportunities can give a leg up to districts looking to upgrade infrastructure, strengthen campus safety or expand digital

Students learn best when they feel safe, supported and inspired by their surroundings. Classroom design can profoundly influence how students experience and interact with the world. Here are four tips to design classroom environments that support student well-being, enhance learning outcomes and promote sustainability. Click the banner below to learn how technology supports modern learning environments.