Was Nextdoor’s impact on the world exemplified by a crucial funding referendum for the Christina School District of Newark, Delaware? Medium’s tech site OneZero reports: As the 2019 referendum approached, I saw Nextdoor posts claiming that the district was squandering money, that its administrators were corrupt, and that it already spent more money per student than certain other districts with higher…
Tag: school district
Hacker Publishes Info On Las Vegas-Area Students After Demanding Ransom
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Business Insider: Last month, Las Vegas’ largest public school district announced that a hacker compromised some of its files using ransomware and was holding the files hostage while demanding a ransom payment. Now, a hacker has published files containing students’ grades and personal information after school district officials refused to pay the ransom. Brett…
T-Mobile’s Project 10Million Aims To End the Homework Gap
As schools start around the US, many face a problem with getting all their students connected for virtual classes. To help with that crisis, T-Mobile has launched its grant program that aims to eliminate the so-called homework gap. From a report: Unveiled a year ago, Project 10Million will provide hotspots and free connectivity for millions of students around the country. Now…
University of Michigan Study Advocates Ban of Facial Recognition in Schools
University of Michigan researchers recently published a study showing facial recognition technology in schools has limited efficacy and presents a number of serious problems. From a report: The research was led by Shobita Parthasarathy, director of the university’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program, and finds the technology isn’t just ill-suited to security purposes, it can actively promote racial discrimination,…
New York Bans Use of Facial Recognition In Schools Statewide
The New York legislature today passed a moratorium banning the use of facial recognition and other forms of biometric identification in schools until 2022. VentureBeat reports: The bill, which has yet to be signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, appears to be the first in the nation to explicitly regulate the use of the technologies in schools and comes in response to…
Tesla Acquires $5 Million Worth of Land Outside Austin To Build ‘Cybertruck Gigafactory’
Tesla is acquiring $5 million worth of land outside of Austin, Texas to build its new factory. CEO Elon Musk refers to it as “Cybertruck Gigafactory” because it will be where Tesla produces its new electric pickup truck. Electrek reports: Last month, Electrek exclusively reported that Tesla’s next factory is going to be in Austin. After our report, Tesla leaked that…
America’s Switch To Remote Learning For 50 Million Students Called ‘A Failure’
“This spring, America took an involuntary crash course in remote learning,” writes the Wall Street Journal, noting it affected 50 million students from kindergarten through 12th grade. “With the school year now winding down, the grades from students, teachers, parents and administrators is already in: It was a failure…”
The problems began piling up almost immediately… Soon many districts weren’t requiring students…
Will Schools Turn to Surveillance Tech to Prevent Covid-19 Spread?
An anonymous reader quotes Wired:
When students return to school in New Albany, Ohio, in August, they’ll be carefully watched as they wander through red-brick buildings and across well-kept lawns — and not only by teachers. The school district, with five schools and 4,800 students, plans to test a system that would require each student to wear an electronic beacon to track…
School District Deploys Over 100 School Buses Equipped With Wi-Fi For Students Without Internet Access
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNN: As schools across the country shut their doors indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, millions of students are now adjusting to online learning. But for low income families who may not have access to WiFi, this transition is a problem. That’s why the Austin Independent School District (ISD) has deployed 110 school buses…
Facebook Will Donate 720,000 Masks and 1.5 Million Gloves to Healthcare Workers
The San Francisco Chronicle reports: Facebook plans to donate 720,000 masks — a combination of the coveted N95 respirators and more basic surgical masks — and 1.5 million pairs of gloves to health care workers around the world. Facebook officials said they bought the masks for their offices’ emergency disaster kits following wildfires in California. Facebook has already donated 375,000 masks…