With the end of summer comes the beginning of another school year. As we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, technology is essential for both students and educators. In this week’s Tech At Work, learn how tech is helping close the digital divide, creating new educational opportunities for students and teachers of all backgrounds, and making learning safer and more convenient.
Apple is Expanding Mobile Student IDs
This school year, tens of thousands of students will be able to use their student ID on an Apple iPhone and Apple Watch. Students can access their mobile student ID through the Apple Wallet app to complete any action that would have previously required a plastic ID card. Mobile student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch also offer students and schools an extra level of security and privacy, as students do not need to worry about misplacing their plastic card.
Verizon is Launching a New Education Portal to Provide Next-Gen Learning for Students
Verizon is launching a new next-gen online education portal, Verizon Innovative Learning HQ. The free portal will provide access to immersive technology experiences across subject areas, leveraging augmented and virtual reality to educators. Teachers will be able to take advantage of immersive technology and utilize its benefits by tapping into next-generation tech in their lesson plans. The new portal is part of Verizon’s investment to help vulnerable communities, which is expected to exceed $3 billion between 2020 and 2025.
Live2Coursera App for Zoom is Helping Educators Bridge the Digital Divide
Coursera has launched its Live2Coursera App on Zoom. The free app enables online educators to upload lectures from Zoom to Coursera with a single click. Students can then view the recorded lecture on Coursera through multiple download and viewing options. These features bridge the digital divide by providing greater access to learning opportunities for students and teachers of all backgrounds.
Google for Education is Making Learning Safer
Google for Education is making its products more safe, secure, and private while giving individual schools added flexibility to meet their needs. The updated security features are keeping schools’ data safe through built-in security measures that provide automated protection and control. SafeSearch and SafeSites will also be on by default and Guest Mode and Incognito Mode will be turned off by default for school districts to ensure a safer web browsing experience for K-12 institutions.
Cisco is Helping Schools Blend In-Class and Virtual Learning
Cisco’s Webex is helping schools maintain continuity during the pandemic by blending in-person and virtual learning. Cisco’s goal is to make the virtual classroom superior to in-person learning. Webex offers visual smartboards, breakout rooms, instant messaging, AI-powered meeting transcripts, and real-time translations, helping students from all backgrounds and regions learn from one another. Webex is also connecting with other apps and services to enable new ways to learn.
Nasdaq Offers Tips on How to Make College More Affordable
Amazon’s Prime Student Introduces Exclusive Offers for College Life
Intuit Awards 20 Latino Students a College Scholarship
What’s New in Tech
DoubleDash from DoorDash Allows Users to Buy From Multiple Stores in One Order
DoorDash has introduced DoubleDash — a new innovation that lets users shop across multiple stores and categories in a single order. Both orders will arrive together, with the same Dasher, with no additional delivery fee or order minimum. Read more here.
What We’re Saying
TechNet Applauds the Bipartisan Passage of an Infrastructure Bill in the U.S. Senate
Before You Start Your Weekend
Scott, also known as Otto, is a punk rocker-turned-baker with a passion for cheesecake. For more than 30 years, he’s baked over 350 flavors of cheesecake at his one-man shop, OttoCake, in Honolulu. When the pandemic hit, Otto’s business came to a full stop. He was about to close his doors until an Instagram post rallied his community and saved his business.
