This post includes articles regarding the development of Zoom add-ons tailored to education, a Department of Defense cybersecurity initiative targeted at black and minority institutions, and the transformation of a physical library into a digital one.
With our "Interesting Policy Reads" blog posts, the EDUCAUSE Policy Office highlights recent articles on federal policy issues and developments that are directly relevant to members or provide insights on higher education policy in general.
- Innovators Seek Zoom University 2.0, Inside Higher Ed, September 29, 2020. (ClassEDU is developing Class for Zoom, which will eventually be a Zoom add-on that is tailored to virtual instruction on the platform.)
- Hackers Smell Blood as Schools Grapple with Virtual Instruction, The Wall Street Journal, October 19, 2020. (Cyber malfeasance continues to plague school systems across the country amid the uptick in virtual learning during the pandemic.)
- Why Education Technology Can't Save Remote Learning, Axios, October 19, 2020. (While the digital divide exacerbates inequities in virtual learning, other variables, such as the ability of existing technology to address classroom needs and IT department needs, are complicating learning during COVID-19.)
- A New Home Online for Closed College Libraries? Inside Higher Ed, October 21, 2020. (When Marygrove College ceased operations due to financial constraints, the institution opted to donate a large portion of its library contents to the nonprofit Internet Archive, which uses controlled digital lending to loan print books digitally.)
- Pentagon's Initiative for Black Cyber Students Met with Cautious Optimism, Cyberscoop, October 26, 2020. (The goal of the Department of Defense's Cybersecurity Education Diversity Initiative is to share resources and advice on curriculum development to Black and minority universities, but some are skeptical about the efficacy of the program given its underlying structure.)
- Colleges Slash Budgets in the Pandemic, with 'Nothing Off-Limits,' New York Times, October 26, 2020. (The persistent economic toll the pandemic is taking on colleges and universities continues to impact financial choices at institutions across the country as leadership strives to ward off budget crises.)
For more information about policy issues impacting higher education IT, please visit the EDUCAUSE Review Policy Spotlight blog as well as the EDUCAUSE Policy page.
Kathryn Branson is a Senior Associate at Ullman Public Policy.
© 2020 Kathryn Branson. The text of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International License.