We’ve Changed
With less than a semester to go, many US schools shuttered their doors in March of this year. In an effort to quell the growing COVID-19 outbreak, our schools shifted towards an online learning model. No one imagined that students wouldn’t be back for the end of the year. Yet, as a result of the surge in cases, schools stayed closed through the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
But as the infection rate, and death toll, of COVID-19 grew, it was apparent that school was truly out for the summer. As the season progressed, administrators grappled with the decisions they’d need to make for the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
Plans to return vary vastly from coast to coast. PC Matic wanted to know what the return to school would look like for many American families. A survey was conducted asking parents of K-12 kids what their plans were for this year’s instruction.
The Results
The full results of the survey can be found here.
While most parents are split on what their education plans are for this school year, distance learning came out clearly in the lead at 38%. 27% of parents said they would do a combination of in person and distance learning. Only 22% said they would be sending their students back full time. Finally, 13% of parents would be instituting a home school curriculum.
With the majority of students participating in some form of distance learning, PC Matic questioned parents regarding cyber security. While 43% said they weren’t concerned, a combination of 55% of parents were. Furthermore, 60% of parents expressed additional concern for their child’s data privacy.
Finally, PC Matic asked about the types of devices students will be using. It was reported that 45% of students would be using personal devices. There’s an added security risk with devices that access additional information. Ideally, schools would provide students with devices for learning, but that isn’t possible in all cases.
The Full Report
PC Matic has assembled all the survey data in a handy pager. You can view it in its entirety here. What are your thoughts on cybersecurity for this school year?