Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

New partnership expands video content management

Sterling Partners’ Education Opportunity Fund, a fund focused on partnering with purpose-driven companies and leaders who foster innovation within the education sector, announced today that it has invested in Panopto.

Panopto’s partnership with the Education Opportunity Fund will allow the company to build upon its position as a technology leader in video content management, recording, and live streaming, and will fuel Panopto’s plans for business expansion.

Founded in 2007, Panopto pioneered the categories of lecture capture and enterprise video content management. Today, the company offers a comprehensive video platform that enables a diverse set of organizations to capture and manage all of their video assets.…Read More

Study.com selected by Department of Education for EQUIP experiment

Study.com, in partnership with Thomas Edison State University and Quality Matters, has been selected to participate in the Department of Education’s Educational Quality through Innovative Partnerships (EQUIP). The program will allow low-income students access to financial aid for nontraditional education and training programs through partnerships with select colleges and universities.

The partnership between Thomas Edison State University and Study.com offers a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. At least half of the coursework in these programs will be completed by taking Study.com video courses.

“I am honored Study.com has been selected for the EQUIP pilot. Equal access to a bachelor’s degree is the key to upward mobility for low-income students, and the foundation for success in today’s knowledge economy,” said Adrian Ridner, CEO and Co-founder of Study.com. “The Thomas Edison State University and Study.com program will provide an accelerated and flexible path to a bachelor’s degree at a fraction of the cost.”…Read More

College Choice releases 2016 rankings for best business schools in the world

College Choice, which focuses on college and university rankings and resources, has published its 2016 rankings for the Best Business Schools in the World.

As the economy becomes a more global affair, business professionals are looking towards getting a graduate degree that specializes them in international business. So it’s no surprise that business schools around the world are heeding that call and have developed a degree that meets the needs of these business professionals.

“Enter the Global MBA, a relatively new development in the world of MBAs. Business schools in the U.S. have led the way in graduate business education for decades, and the two-year MBA has long been accepted as the standard. But a new breed of one-year MBAs at schools in both Europe and Asia is on the rise, and to say they’re holding their own in the world of management would be an understatement,” Christian Amondson, Managing Editor of College Choice, stated of the ranking’s publication.…Read More

Polycom enables Skype for Business with any video platform

New release lets users connect using Skype for Business when they are on different platforms

Polycom,  has removed the complexity of connecting multiple video systems from different vendors the Polycom RealConnect solution for Skype for Business. Now, participants using any video vendor, from Skype for Business, to Polycom and Cisco, and on any device, from voice to immersive telepresence suites, can join a unified meeting with one simple click.

Customers simply want communication technologies to work together seamlessly and cost effectively. Until the Polycom RealConnect solution, Skype for Business video conferencing users could not meet or share content with participants using other video platforms. The result was a frustrating and difficult process for end users.

Polycom RealConnect technology eliminates this barrier by making everything work together and provides each end user with the familiar communication experience they’ve grown accustomed to. There are no requirements to learn complex dialing codes or new platform behaviors, resulting in more time spent on getting business done and less on learning a new service.…Read More

eSchool Media, Casey Green to host interactive interviews from ASU GSV Innovation Summit

Shindig, a platform for large-scale video chat, to power the three-day event

eSchool Media and Campus Computing announced plans for interactive Thought Leader Interviews at the 2016 ASU GSV Innovation Summit on April 18, 19 and 20 in San Diego.

The interactive interviews are intended to connect educators in schools and on college campuses with the Summit presenters and participants. Shindig, a turnkey solution for video chat teaching and events, will power the three day event, allowing moderator Casey Green, founding director of Campus Computing, and the interview participants to engage directly with the online audience.

The annual ASU GSV Innovation Summit brings together educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, policymakers, philanthropists, and university and school district leaders to create partnerships, explore solutions, and to shape the future of learning.…Read More

Certiport announces CERTIFIED 2016 Educator Conference

Professional development conference helps educators bring the full promise and potential of technology certification to the classroom

Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, a test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, announced the CERTIFIED 2016 Educator Conference, a conference dedicated to helping educators bring the full promise and potential of technology certification to the classroom.

Educators are invited to attend CERTIFIED from June 28-30, 2016 in Orlando, Florida at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. Registration is open now at www.certiport.com/certified.

CERTIFIED 2016 is ideal for secondary education teachers, college faculty, and administrators who are working to empower their students by bringing certification opportunities into their school and classroom.…Read More

Should business education be free?

It’s hardly surprising that the appeal of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) continues to grow, Forbes reports. In the United States, the average college student graduates with almost $30,000 in debt, while federal and student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion. More free courses would certainly help lift that costly burden, and I’ve written about the pros and cons of MOOCs from the perspective of institutions of higher learning. But there’s an equally compelling argument for MOOCs from the perspective of the business world, for fast and efficient partner and customer education. This is particularly true in the technology industry where companies depend on a thriving ecosystem of partners to help develop and implement solutions. Just as important, these companies rely on close partnerships with customers to align development with market needs. Customers need a thorough understanding of new technologies and how to use them for greatest advantage…

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Silicon Valley magnate? There’s a STEM school for that

Ground-breaking STEM middle school teaches inner-city students how to become technology entrepreneurs

STEM-schoolToo often educators have heard stories of brilliant students like Mark Zuckerberg dropping out of school to get a head start in the technology industry, eager to become entrepreneurs in an economy that can’t get enough innovation. But one middle school is trying to change that by creating a school program that incubates future IT professionals.

The Howard Middle School of Mathematics and Science, a non-selective school run by Howard University in Washington, D.C., has launched a Startup Middle School program, which teaches inner-city students how to develop the technology of the future, as well as how to market it and develop financial savvy.

(Next page: What makes Howard Middle School unique?)…Read More

Should businesses run schools?

New guide on schools says businesses should oversee teacher evaluations, curriculum, school boards

business-schools-runIt’s a question that has come up recently thanks to a national movement towards school reform: “Should schools be run like a business?” According to a new guide released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF), it’s time for local businesses to do more than fund “backpacks and pencils”: It’s time to manage the school board.

The “School Governance Guide,” released as part of USCCF’s Education Reform Summit, urges businesses to “financially support school board candidates,” and “monitor board activity,” among other recommendations.

According to the guide, businesses can help in:…Read More