Every school technology team knows that testing season rarely fails because of one big problem. More often, it is the small things that create the most stress. A Chromebook works, but the headphone jack is damaged. An iPad is fully charged, but the headset connector does not match. A student can hear the audio, but the microphone is not recognized. A testing room has enough devices, but not enough working headphones. Headphones may seem like a small accessory, but during online testing they...

Screen time has become one of the biggest conversations in K-12 technology planning. During and after the pandemic, schools invested heavily in student devices, learning platforms, and digital classroom tools. The Washington Post reported that U.S. schools spent an estimated $15 billion to $35 billion in federal pandemic relief funds on educational technology from 2020 to 2024, and nearly 90% of public school students now have access to school-issued laptops or tablets. At the same time, more...

For years, many schools tried the soft approach to student phones: remind students to put them away, ask teachers to enforce classroom rules, and hope students would use good judgment. But most educators already know the truth. A verbal reminder is not a phone policy.A “phones should be away” rule is not an implementation plan.And expecting students to ignore social media, group chats, games, notifications, and cameras all day by self-control alone is not realistic. That is why more states...