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.

BenQ Announces New Education Smart Board Models That Come Standard With State-of-the-Art Features

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Oct. 5, 2022 — BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions, is empowering K-12 and higher-ed educators and students with its new educational BenQ Board smart displays. Comprising the Premium RP Series, Mainstream RM Series, and Entry-Level RE Series, the interactive displays feature state-of-the-art yet intuitive tools to enhance learning comprehension, engagement, and collaboration for in-person, virtual, and hybrid classrooms. This includes germ-resistant screens with up to 40 touch points, license-free EZ Write interactive whiteboard and annotation software, InstaShare wireless screencasting, speakers, X-Sign Broadcast PA capabilities, and Cloud Classroom Management featuring single sign-on to Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and more.

“There’s no question about the benefits of interactive displays in the classroom, but not every display is created equal,” said Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development at BenQ America Corp. “Educators today need to be able to start their lessons from the classroom display as easily as they would any computer. Likewise, IT staff need to be able to configure and manage them seamlessly alongside other devices. That’s why we’re shaping the future of education with our broad lineup of BenQ Boards, which come standard with all the tools and resources schools need to jump-start their interactive experience at no extra charge. Nothing should stand in the way of learning.”

The 4K 20-point multi-touch BenQ Board Entry-Level RE Series opens the door to affordable smart whiteboard technology, boasting BenQ’s premium yet standard features — ClassroomCare, EyeCare, EZWrite, InstaShare, and more — and is available in 65”, 75”, 86”, and 98” sizes. The Master RM Series adds front-accessible USB Type C ports, a six-microphone array with noise cancellation and speech enhancement, remote with spotlight and digital pointer, germ-resistant stylus, and more. Unleashing the full potential of BenQ smart board technology, the next-generation Premium RP Series builds upon the innovation with an onboard subwoofer, Dolby Digital Plus surround sound for lesson clarity in class and online, an eight-microphone array with noise cancellation and speech enhancement, Tap and Teach NFC tag reader to instantly log into the network or cloud services and access personal settings, Duo Windows to run apps side by side, an air ionizer, and smart sensor technology for motion detection that enables BenQ’s advanced EyeSafe® screen settings to protect eyes and provide the best user experience and for BenQ’s ClassroomCare technology that monitors temperature, humidity, and air quality. The Master RM and Premium RP Series are available in 65”, 75”, and 86” sizes.…Read More

5 classroom management strategies to try this year

A rise in harassment and violence against teachers is taking a toll on already-exhausted educators. A recent survey from the American Psychological Association found that 6 in 10 teachers reported student violence or verbal aggression during the pandemic, with nearly half expressing a desire or plan to quit or transfer schools.

To create a teaching environment where educators feel safe, school leaders may want to consider adding evidence-based behavior management strategies to their back-to-school plan. The more preventative maintenance teachers can do through proactive strategies, the less likely they will encounter problem behavior.

Here are five classroom management strategies to help educators regain control of their classrooms: …Read More

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Linewize Acquires K-12 Web Filter and Firewall Provider Cipafilter

SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 11, 2022 – Linewize, a division of Family Zone (ASX: FZO), a rapidly growing education technology company, announced today the acquisition of Cipafilter, a web filter and firewall dedicated to educators nationwide. This marks the third acquisition in less than a year making Linewize one of the world’s largest K-12 digital safety providers, serving more than 10 million students globally and offering a suite of capabilities including compliance and filtering, classroom management, real-time monitoring and intervention, online safety education and more. Linewize’s parent company, Family Zone, acquired Cipafilter through the 100% acquisition of shares in Cipafilter’s holding company DerbyTech, Inc. Agreed consideration is $4.5 million in Family Zone shares at the 30-Day VWAP representing 13,116,316 Shares plus an estimated $3.0 million to be paid in cash. 

With an established reputation for quality and loyalty, Cipafilter provides schools with a web filter and firewall technology, in addition to valuable reporting and notification alerts. Having served the U.S. K-12 market for over two decades, the company supports more than 400,000 students. This acquisition perfectly aligns with Linewize’s growth strategy, further solidifying the company as a global EdTech leader. In addition to obtaining an increased client base, Linewize will now have access to more robust engineering and sales teams. 

“This acquisition is a testament to our continued growth. By merging our technology offerings and staff with that of Cipafilter, we are determined to further our mission to protect the digital journeys of students globally,” said Ross Young, executive vice president of Linewize. “Looking ahead, we remain committed to meeting the evolving needs of school districts and keeping students safe in the digital world.” …Read More

Could digital citizenship be the most important pandemic lesson?

When the pandemic prompted schools to quickly shift to distance learning last spring, educators became responsible for using online technologies to teach students. This was the first time that many educators had to grapple not only with virtual classroom management, but with helping their students learn the ins and outs of staying safe online. This included a crash course in learning and behaving online.

This set of “online manners” is referred to as digital citizenship, which is how we should behave when using digital tools, interacting with others online, and becoming better stewards of technology.

As a leader of a nonprofit where young kids connect and learn online, we prioritize teaching kids these important skills that will take them well into adulthood. …Read More

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classroom.cloud from NetSupport Releases New Classroom Management and Safety Features, Giving Teachers More Control in the Cloud

Thursday, November 4, 2021 — ATLANTA –  NetSupport, which develops network and cloud-based technology for K-12 schools, has released several new safety and control features for classroom.cloud, a cloud-based classroom management tool.  classroom.cloud was launched during the pandemic to help teachers keep students on task when learning online and it has proven equally valuable when students are in the classroom, too. Teachers use classroom.cloud to monitor the applications and internet use on each student’s computer regardless of where they are, either learning remotely or in the classroom.

In this update, teachers can control sound and USB drives, and they have additional safety monitoring features and time-saving keystroke shortcuts. Because the pandemic has altered how and where school takes place, teachers need these additional device controls so that they can keep students safe regardless of whether they are in a physical classroom or at an outside location in what is essentially a new paradigm in K-12 education.

The NetSupport CEO, Al Kingsley, is a published author, a podcast host, and a sought-after speaker on the topics of safe and secure technology use in education. Kingsley says that development of the new classroom.cloud features was accelerated by the pandemic. “For 30 years, NetSupport has been the teacher’s partner in classroom management tools and over that time period, their needs have constantly evolved,” said Kinglsey. “When COVID struck and teachers needed a cloud-based classroom management tool, we accelerated development of classroom.cloud and now we’ve added even more features to keep pace with their needs. classroom.cloud is a reliable and powerful classroom management platform giving teachers an improved ability to keep students safe and better engaged in the classrooms of today.”…Read More

NetSupport further enhances classroom.cloud’s online safety provision by including integration with Microsoft Teams

NetSupport today announced that its newest solution for classroom management and online safety, classroom.cloud, will now further enhance students’ online safety at all times – and, critically, in any location – by including integration with the widely-used communication and collaboration solution, Microsoft Teams.

With many students equipped with their own school learning devices to enable blended and individual learning to occur both inside and outside of school hours via platforms such as Teams, online safety no longer stops at the end of the school day or applies to only certain applications.

Schools can now widen their safeguarding provision by connecting their Microsoft 365 tenancy to classroom.cloud to allow keyword and phrase monitoring of  Teams channels and chats. Powered by more than 14,000 phrases across multiple languages, classroom.cloud’s keyword and phrase monitoring tool enables schools to monitor what topics their students are typing or searching for across diverse applications and learning environments – helping to identify, support and protect students engaged in any concerning activity. It also allows schools to share and exchange local terms with other schools and add any new ones to their database to further broaden their eSafety net.…Read More

Is digital citizenship the most important takeaway from distance learning?

When the pandemic prompted schools to quickly shift to distance learning last spring, educators became responsible for using online technologies to teach students. This was the first time that many educators had to grapple not only with virtual classroom management, but with helping their students learn the ins and outs of staying safe online. This included a crash course in learning and behaving online.

This set of “online manners” is referred to as digital citizenship, which is how we should behave when using digital tools, interacting with others online, and becoming better stewards of technology.

As a leader of a nonprofit where young kids connect and learn online, we prioritize teaching kids these important skills that will take them well into adulthood. …Read More

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New NetSupport Classroom Management Platform: classroom.cloud Keeps Students on Task, Whether in School or Remote

NetSupport today announced that its new solution for classroom management, classroom.cloud, is available to schools throughout the U.S. and Canada. This is the latest product from NetSupport, which has been supporting teachers with award-winning instructional and educational technology for over 30 years.

As teachers and administrators are once again thinking through major transitions in learning locations and models, classroom.cloud is now fully available domestically.

classroom.cloud provides unique flexibility, allowing teachers to monitor the applications and internet use on each student’s computer no matter where they are connected. With classroom.cloud, a teacher can launch a learning tool or open a website for every student in the class at the same time or bring individual students back on task when they have wandered away from the lesson whether they’re in the classroom or at home or somewhere in between.  …Read More

Lockstep Technology Group Partners with Impero Software to Support Students’ Tech

Managed solutions provider Lockstep Technology Group and student safety leader Impero have partnered to offer Impero’s solutions to Lockstep’s partner schools, including tools to support student safety, classroom management, network administration, and web filtering, and to better support students’ technology use.

The partnership expands Impero’s footprint in the south-eastern United States and helps Lockstep provide its school customers with innovative solutions to support hybrid learning. Lockstep was particularly drawn to Impero because of its focus on supporting student wellbeing and mental health – something that has become a priority in Lockstep’s work with K-12 schools. Lockstep was also attracted to Impero’s tools that help districts protect their networks from vulnerabilities such as ransomware attacks.

The partnership comes at a time when many school districts across the country continue to offer distance or hybrid learning during the coronavirus pandemic and need technology partners that can support them in all aspects of this work. Lockstep helps schools plan, develop and implement technology programs, including helping them shift to distance learning and expand 1:1 initiatives. Impero supports hybrid and remote learning by helping teachers and administrators manage student devices and track student safety concerns in a central record. Its web filter blocks inappropriate or malicious online content and IT teams can use Impero to manage and patch Chromebooks remotely – which is an especially attractive feature for many schools.…Read More