The Federal Communications Commission announced updates last week to its E-rate program, but some education leaders warn the changes don't go far enough. "What they haven't done is look forward to address new problems that are developing, like cybersecurity," said Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking.

Joe Sanfelippo of Fall Creek School District in Wisconsin, named Superintendent of the Year by Education Dive, embraced social media to celebrate students and staff and has spoken about his approach at national events. He says effective social media use not only builds morale but also creates a sense of community outside of school.

Efforts are underway to explore the potential use of blockchain in K-12 education. The nonprofit National Student Clearinghouse will test potential use cases, and IBM is working to develop a "learning credential blockchain."

Students at Montour Elementary School in Pennsylvania are seeing first-hand how artificially intelligent autonomous robots work though the school district's Artificial Intelligence K-12 program. The robot performs delivery tasks and is the first of its kind to be deployed at a school.

Fewer than 15% of households have broadband subscriptions in the rural Alpaugh Unified School District in California, which makes it difficult for teachers to assign daily homework as well as give assignments over breaks. This analysis looks at home internet rates among all California counties and the implications of lack of access for students in rural areas.

The recent release of international PISA scores has caused the usual questions about the direction of education in the US. However, Andreas Schelicher, director of education and skills at the OECD -- the organization behind PISA -- urged officials not to look to the results as evidence for a "quick solution, to say, 'Oh, that seems to be working. Let's just copy and paste it.' "

There are six ways that educators and others can encourage talented math students from underresourced schools to pursue careers in STEM, writes Jacob Castaneda, executive director of programs in Los Angeles for the nonprofit Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics. His suggestions include involving parents, partnering with outside organizations and enlisting area universities.

The Federal Trade Commission should look into how digital media companies target advertisements to children, as well as their child online data collection and storage practices, a letter sent by a group of consumer associations stated. The letter did not mention specific companies, but organizations, such as Amazon and Disney, likely would be included in the review, said Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

Some parents in a district in California are urging officials to impose stronger limits on the use of smartphones by middle-schoolers. The parents say the current policy -- which leaves the issue to "the discretion and supervision of each classroom teacher" -- puts the burden on teachers when they say it should be dictated by a wider policy that also addresses phone use during lunch, free periods and breaks.

The US Department of Education will begin testing a chatbot -- named Aidan and represented by a little owl -- on its website to answer more than 800 frequently asked questions. Officials say the effort seeks to make information more accessible to students and their families.