Washington (CNN) If parents weren't familiar with Canvas or Schoology before the pandemic, they likely are now. School districts nationwide licensed the platforms so that their students could log in to virtual classes, communicate with their teachers and submit schoolwork from home. It says its website has been one of the top 20 most visited websites in the United States in recent months. The rapid adoption was fueled in part by the billions of dollars in federal stimulus money approved by Congress to help school districts continue operating during the pandemic. Over the past year, three different federal aid packages sent a total of $192 billion of taxpayer money to schools that could be used for a variety of things including masks, cleaning supplies, improvements made to ventilation systems, summer school programs and virtual learning platforms.

Source: CNN July 18, 2021 21:00 UTC