MobileMind Launches MobileMind Sync, a Full-Service Scheduling Solution

ATLANTA (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 03, 2021 — MobileMind, the modern professional learning hub for schools, has launched MobileMind Sync, the first full-service PD scheduling solution. MobileMind Sync allows districts to seamlessly manage all asynchronous and synchronous PD efforts within the same platform.

“MobileMind Sync has been a transformative tool for our district in the fact that it enables us to connect and carry out effective, informative PD from any location. Having a central hub for all our PD needs has made my job as an Instructional Technology Director easier,” explained Adriane Ellis, Director of Instructional Technology and Media Services for Murray County Schools in Georgia.

MobileMind Sync allows districts to create and schedule synchronous training events, invite participants, track attendance, assign asynchronous prerequisite courses, and much more. The full-service scheduler eliminates manual work for facilitators. For example, tasks like taking attendance, awarding credit hours, and releasing micro-credentials are all automated as learners use join codes to enter virtual synchronous PD events. Districts can create single-session events like workshops, as well as conference-style PD days that consist of multiple days and/or sessions. MobileMind Sync also provides an excellent resource for department/grade-specific training and meetings (e.g. PLC, Data, or Team meetings).…Read More

How peer feedback can improve student writing skills

The art of writing, invented roughly 5,000 years ago, represents a blip in human history. It’s younger than agriculture, music, and construction. And as recently as the Revolutionary War, a majority of Americans couldn’t put pen to paper. In short: Writing remains a new feat of technology. We’re still figuring it out. 

Despite its relative youth, writing has evolved into a vital skill. Today, we broadly recognize that citizenship requires the ability to read and write. As Orwell put it: “If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.”

Perhaps as importantly, writing is a key skill for professional success. Hiring managers, for example, are more likely to cite writing skills as “very important” for new hires, compared to technological and quantitative reasoning skills. If students leave campus without refined writing skills, we’ve done them a great disservice. …Read More

How schools can take cybersecurity to the next level

In early March, 15 schools in the United Kingdom reported they were made incapable of delivering online learning for students after a cyberattack forced the education trust to shut down all systems to investigate whether the cybercriminals accessed the central network infrastructure. The increased reliance on e-learning has made schools around the world an even bigger target of opportunity than before. If the technology is taken down, education can come to a complete halt. Add to this the wide prevalence of bring your own device programs for e-learning and the access from insecure home networks, and you have a perfect storm for the sector and a huge target for criminals.

The problem has become so severe that the NCSC recently issued an alert to the UK Education sector after seeing a spike in targeting the sector, underlining the fact that threat actors are going after the education industry specifically, as well as it being the target of opportunity.

Schools already have challenges giving enough resources to cyber security in both funding and staff. The NCSC guidance underlines the importance of doing the basics, but that further recommends a defense in depth strategy. This obviously comes with a financial cost. It really is unacceptable that threat actors are targeting children’s education, and that funds must be diverted from front line-learning activities into preventing criminal elements from plying their trade.…Read More

How 3D tech can help overcome learning hurdles

Over the past year, virtual learning proved to be a mixed bag of success. Some students adapted; but for others, learn-from-home was a gargantuan hurdle. Many school systems, in fact, were forced to alter their student performance standards simply due to the number of failing grades students were receiving.

A recent McKinsey study showed that present forms of virtual learning, especially those built around videoconferencing, actually widen learning gaps. But don’t make the mistake in thinking that technology itself is to blame for these educational struggles.

If anything, new solutions are sorely needed. Students need the ability to learn effectively both inside and outside the classroom. There needs to be a seamless connection between modes of learning, with immersion at the core. The right technology can make this happen.…Read More

The right tech tools make for a safer classroom return

As schools all over the nation reopen their doors this fall, technology departments are looking at how best to accommodate not a newer normal, but a healthier, more collaborative long-term normal.

Unlike last year where temporary measures were put in place to help combat the spread of COVID-19 while trying to sustain learning, this year is markedly different, because the reality is: There’s no going back to the old way of doing things. Schools now must be ready to accommodate fluctuating health concerns without disruption to learning. A safe return to the classroom goes beyond social distancing, masks, and cleaning policies and leverages the latest classroom solutions to further support health measures–as well as new levels of immersive learning.

The best technology for doing this isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, tech managers and IT staff must balance budget, infrastructure, and capabilities requirements. An affordable starting point for almost every classroom is a wireless presentation system (WPS). These systems improve upon the traditional HDMI video matrix systems, which require an expensive infrastructure upgrade and cables that must be shared and cleaned.…Read More

Backed by ECMC Group, Dell Foundation and Others, New Apprenticeship Closes $2.5M Seed Funding to Solve Entry Level Tech and Diversity Hiring Gaps

San Antonio, Texas (Sept. 14, 2021)New Apprenticeship (NEW), the federally recognized digital apprenticeship solution that is bridging the tech skills and opportunity gap, announced today the close of a $2.5M seed funding round. The financing was led by Minneapolis-based ECMC Group’s Education Impact Fund, with participation from the Dell Foundation, Michelson 20MM Foundation, Learnstart, and others. This funding will allow the company to build out its management team while also making significant investments in sales operations and technology to efficiently scale and serve the growing number of tech employers and their surrounding communities.

“We believe apprenticeship equips employers to become the engines of digital talent production. Forward-thinking companies partner with us to build sustainable talent pipelines, fueling their short and long-term talent needs. Modern degree apprenticeships represent the greatest breakthrough in workforce innovation because they create accessible pathways for students to high-value careers without requiring access to costly 4-year universities.” said Brad Voeller, CEO, New Apprenticeship.

NEW partners with leading employers to fundamentally change the way tech talent is recruited and developed. This maximizes return on talent investments through ownership and control of talent pipelines, ensuring faster onboarding, improved performance, higher retention, and overall lower cost of talent. The company was founded to support diverse communities of students, veterans and the underemployed with an innovative “earn-and-learn” pathway that combines on-the-job experience with expert training. A NEW apprenticeship leads to a Department of Labor (DOL) Apprenticeship Certification, including up to 30-hours of credit towards a bachelor’s degree from accredited partner colleges. In collaboration with education and workforce partners, NEW offers learners a direct on-ramp to tech careers where they previously did not exist. And employers get direct access to a diverse rich, tech talent ready pipeline yielding substantial ROI savings in both hiring and retention gains.…Read More

WeVideo Partners with KQED Youth Media Challenges for 2021-2022 School Year

Mountain View, Calif. (September 16, 2021) –  WeVideo, a leading cloud-based, collaborative multimedia creation platform, has joined forces with KQED as an official technology partner of the  KQED Youth Media Challenges, an initiative to help educators across the nation facilitate student civic engagement and media making. The partnership provides 2021-2022 school year Challenge participants with a complimentary six-month  WeVideo for Schools license for use on their submissions through June 2022. WeVideo’s production-proven multimedia platform is trusted by more than 38 million users worldwide, and through the collaboration, KQED Youth Media Challenges participants will be equipped with user-friendly media creation tools, empowering students from all backgrounds and ability levels to share their unique perspectives and stories across a range of topics with their peers and the public.

“WeVideo is committed to providing easy and accessible multimedia creation tools for use across education, business and personal projects. Our partnership with KQED brings our tools to all schools that want to participate in the Challenges, removing technology barriers for traditionally under-resourced schools and leveling the playing field so that students can share their voice and learn essential skills through exploring the creative process,” states Krishna Menon, CEO, WeVideo.

KQED Youth Media Challenges prompt critical thinking and foster civic engagement and are open to middle and high school students across the U.S. With 7 Challenges to choose from, students can explore a range of STEM, humanities and arts topics, and educators can access the supporting curriculum for free. KQED Youth Media Challenges welcome video, audio and graphic arts submissions, transforming traditional classrooms into spaces where students are active creators and producers. With these Challenges, students can build valuable media literacy skills and share their authentic voices beyond their classrooms. All Challenge submissions are published on the online showcase, and select pieces are broadcast to public media audiences on KQED shows and through partners.…Read More