A Broadband Initiative from the Iowa Communications Network
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The State of Iowa is making available $50,000,000 from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund (“CARES Act Funds”) to address the increased need for internet connectivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Education
State offers high-quality online opportunity for all districts in Iowa For K-12 schools that want to participate, there will be no cost for the upcoming school year using federal CARES Act dollars. Source: Iowa Department of Education
Hybrid Learning Goes Mainstream amid Response to COVID-19 Many school districts are planning to reopen using a hybrid learning model, but with specifics varying so wildly, let's examine what that will mean for students and teachers. Source: Center for Digital Education
Governor Reynolds announces $1 million career academy competitive grant awarded to North Iowa Area Community College The proposal will expand access to career academy programs in some of the region’s most in-demand fields. Source: Iowa Department of Education
Digital Divide
Microsoft CEO: Broadband internet access is a 'fundamental right' A new initiative aims to bring broadband and other services, such as free WiFi and digital skills training to rural communities in the 19 states where Land O'Lakes has farms. Source: Northwest Indiana Times
The Bay Area seniors who are left behind by a telehealth tech divide Seniors are most affected by COVID-19 and through a program by Community Tech Network they are assisted with training, internet connection and a tablet. Source: Mercury News
Healthcare
Patients want to keep using virtual care after COVID-19 pandemic ends, survey finds “Many patients said they felt care was more personal, more convenient, and timelier." Source: Fierce Healthcare
Prioritizing access to care: Keeping telehealth options for all Americans "As Congress considers additional coronavirus relief legislation, we must include measures to support a responsible, permanent expansion of telehealth." Source: The Hill
Telehealth got a huge boost from COVID-19. Now what? Telehealth had already been seeing growing demand; if there's a silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that it significantly accelerated that trend. Source: Engadget
Wellmark: Virtual mental health visits up 3,000% since pandemic began 3 in 4 Americans with behavioral health conditions are continuing therapy services during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to virtual visits & other digital health services. Source: Business Record
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity competition: CompTIA seeking high school and college students for hacker and security games The company will host prep sessions for the National Cyber League's cybersecurity competitions for individuals and teams. Source: TechRepublic
Cyberattacks Increasingly Threaten Schools — Here’s What to Know 61% of nearly 7.7 million enterprise malware encounters reported in the past month came from those in the education sector, making it the most affected industry. Source: Ed Tech K12
Alabama County Offices Work to Reopen After Cyberattack Officials say that they hope to reopen a pair of governmental office services during the week to come after a nearly two-week closure that was caused by a ransomware attack. Source: Government Technology
Government
U.S. House Committee Approves Massive Tech Spending Bills Tech spending was approved by the House Appropriations Committee. Twelve bills focus on boosting homeland security, election security, rural broadband and other issues. Source: Government Technology
Public Safety
FirstNet Begins Path to 5G The board has authorized $200 million to go toward “initial upgrades to set FirstNet on the path to 5G” and “to expand the dedicated fleet of deployable assets." Source: Telecompetitor
Maryland Becomes Part of Larger Sex Offender Registry Network Maryland has contracted with OffenderWatch, an IT firm that has developed a vast network of sex offender registries across 21 states. Source: Government Technology
Stark County, Ohio, Moves Toward Text-to-911 Services With the new system, if any part of the network goes down, 911 calls would be routed through another location. Source: Government Technology
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