State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister today announced that 175 Oklahoma school districts have been awarded mobile internet access and devices through 50,000 Verizon Unlimited 4GE data plans and Jetpacks, following a competitive grant process. The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) grants leveraged a portion of the agency’s set-aside monies from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund created by the federal Coronavirus Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help ensure all students have connectivity to access online learning if community spread of COVID-19 requires districts to use distance or hybrid learning models.

“This pandemic has underscored the inequities of the digital divide that hinder opportunities for so many of our children,” said Hofmeister. “We know one-fourth of our students lack reliable home internet access. Many districts have used a portion of the funds allocated to them under the CARES Act to purchase a sufficient number of devices for every student to have access to technology, an effort we encouraged through incentive grants earlier this summer.

“But a device without connectivity is like a book in a pitch-dark room. We are grateful that this partnership with Verizon and OneNet will make a critical difference in ensuring many thousands of children and families will now have the opportunity for robust distance learning.”

OneNet, a division of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, provides broadband and internet services to public school districts, libraries and higher education institutions around the state. As a partner in the OSDE initiative, OneNet will provide, at no cost to districts, content filtering and technical support to facilitate the telecom connection between Verizon and the state telecom network. OneNet is assuming the $250,000 value of this support as a contribution to the OSDE initiative and the students in districts awarded the hotspots. [Read the full press release on OneNet | News]

HARRISBURG, Pa. (July 31, 2020) – The Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER) today announced Nathan Flood has been named president and CEO, after serving as interim CEO since November 2019.

“It was clear to the board of directors that the person KINBER needed at this time was already at the helm,” said KINBER board chair Kenneth Blackney. “Nathan’s vision and strategic thinking will provide KINBER with the leadership to connect more unserved and underserved communities and to expand access to advanced research and education network services across the commonwealth.”

Prior to being named interim CEO, Flood served as KINBER’s vice president overseeing daily operations and working closely with its board of directors and CEO. Before joining KINBER, Flood served as the deputy secretary for conservation and technical services within the Department of Conservation and Natural Resource, where he directed operations of the Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, and Conservation Landscape Program. [Read the full press release on KINBER | News]

I-Light, Merit, and OARnet team up to provide internet access and support online learning, research, and state and local government initiatives to aid communities amid pandemic

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Statewide research and education networks (RENs) in the Midwest, including I-Light, Merit, and OARnet, in conjunction with their private sector partners, are collaborating to provide internet connectivity, digital infrastructure, and broadband expertise to support higher education, research, K-12 schools, and state and local governments in coping with the COVID-19 health crisis.

This partnership recognizes that network availability is vital to living, learning, and working amid the coronavirus pandemic. The partnership has been facilitating the large-scale transition to online learning and remote working across Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio and supports rapidly formed, high-intensity, collaborative research at the states’ universities and other sites. [Read the full article on IU | IT News]