Learning is social. Remote teaching must have a virtual classroom platform that enables engaging content, student participation and collaboration, professional development, and parent communication to empower student success.
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.
Konica Minolta Joins ZeroNow Alliance to Foster Safer Schools
Ramsey, NJ (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. ( Konica Minolta) announced it has joined the ZeroNow Alliance for safer schools.
ZeroNow is a member-based nonprofit that facilitates collaboration between industry, association and education partners to foster new solutions to keep school campuses safe and secure. The organization was founded by technology partners Additional, Axis Communications, Johnson Controls and Omnilert, along with campus safety nonprofit partners the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), NASPA (the Association of Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education), Campus Safety Magazine and VTV Family Outreach Foundation.
“The last decade has shown the world just how essential school security has become,” said Stephanie Keer, National Practice Manager, Government/Education, Konica Minolta. “The next decade will bring historical changes, and Konica Minolta is anticipating and preparing to meet the challenges ahead by creating school security solutions that can and will save lives.”…Read More
Discovery Education and Social Impact Partners Present Engaging Resources Supporting STEM Day Observances
Charlotte, NC.— Discovery Education and select social impact partners are offering engaging, high-quality digital learning resources to students and teachers to support observances of National STEM Day. Held annually on November 8th, National STEM Day unites communities in celebrating the importance of teaching science, technology, engineering, and math to students in grades K-12. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.
Discovery Education offers educators, students, and families hundreds of no-cost resources tailored to STEM teaching and learning wherever it takes place. Among the resources created in collaboration with leading social impact partners now available to support observances of National STEM Day are:
Engaging Classroom Activities
Integrate STEM into instruction with activities from the STEM Careers Coalition™ – the first-of-its-kind national STEM initiative powered by corporate and non-profit leaders and anchored in schools by Discovery Education. These activities span a broad range of STEM topics and feature important skills, as well as step-by-step guides for implementing activities in your classroom. …Read More
Vivi and Headspace Partner to Bring Mindfulness to K-12 Classrooms
MELBOURNE – Vivi, the leading classroom communication and collaboration platform built exclusively for education, today announced an exciting new and unique partnership with Headspace, a global leader in mindfulness and meditation, with a goal of improving social-emotional health for all students. The partnership will give all Vivi users access to easy and effective mindfulness and meditation practices created by Headspace, designed for use in K-12 classrooms.
“We are excited to give teachers and students easy access to resources needed to build mindfulness skills, to help them focus, recharge, and get the most out of every lesson,” says Simon Holland, co-founder of Vivi.io and a key driver of the partnership. “By delivering access to mindfulness and meditation practices designed specifically for K-12, we hope we can play a role in reducing stress and anxiety in the classroom and further improving emotional health and wellness for all students and teachers.”
A study has shown 30 days of Headspace resulted in 32% decrease in stress, eight weeks of Headspace resulted in a 19% decrease in anxiety symptoms and Headspace has improved focus by 14%. Until now, it has been challenging for teachers to gather insights on students’ social and emotional needs and support them in the moment. By pairing Vivi’s emoji-based polling ability with Headspace’s mindfulness practices, teachers can administer a quick, confidential, whole-class check-in to get a temperature read on how students are feeling about the day or lesson, and then offer targeted support to those students in need.…Read More
NWEA Shares Progress on Using AI to Identify and Remove Barriers Within Mathematics for Students with Visual Impairment
Portland, OR – NWEA, a not-for-profit, research and educational services organization serving K-12 students, today announced progress it has made toward creating an accessible and equitable math assessment for middle school students with visual impairments.
Last October, NWEA was awarded an AI for Accessibility grant from Microsoft. The project, led by research manager, Dr. Elizabeth Barker, in collaboration with Perkins Access Digital Accessibility Consulting, the Governor Morehead School, and two key local experts: Sonja Steinbach, a math educator who works with students with visual impairments, and Neil Soiffer, an accessibility mathematics developer, aimed to create accessible assessment formats. NWEA has chosen to tackle this important challenge, wanting to ensure students with visual impairments benefit from accessible math and have equal opportunities in their studies.
Seventy-five percent of students who are blind or low vision are at least one grade behind their peers. This is due to many access barriers that contribute to the lack of accessible math education. Classroom materials are not always adapted to formats such as braille, large print, materials suitable for a screen reader, auditory input, or a combination of these designs. Creating accessible formats for students with visual impairments is important for their learning and success, which is why NWEA is committed to addressing such barriers through the work of this grant.…Read More
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
MIND Research Institute Debuts InsightMath, a Neuroscience-Based Elementary Curriculum
IRVINE, Calif. — MIND Research Institute, a neuroscience and education social impact organization dedicated to ensuring that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems, today announced InsightMath, a core elementary curriculum that transforms student learning by teaching math the way the brain learns will launch in Spring 2024.
Building on 25 years of math learning research and proven results with the PreK-8 visual instructional program ST Math, InsightMath was co-designed in collaboration with neuroscientists, researchers, educators, students, and families to give meaning to math for all students. These collaborators helped MIND’s team design a culturally relevant math curriculum that connects with all students.
“For 25 years, ST Math has brought visual models, spatial reasoning, and the perception-action cycle into the learning process,” said Nigel Nisbet, vice president of content creation at MIND Research Institute. “InsightMath expands this time-tested approach into a full-classroom curriculum experience that helps students—and teachers—become math-loving problem-solvers.”…Read More
Minnesota’s South Washington County Schools Selects the Discovery Education’s Suite of Digital Services to Support Science Instruction in Grades K-8
Charlotte, NC —Minnesota’s South Washington County (SoWashCo) Schools today announced a new partnership with Discovery Education supporting science education in K-8 classrooms across the district. Through this multi-year collaboration, educators and students in the district’s elementary and middle schools will return to the classroom this fall with access to award-winning digital resources supporting science instruction. These new resources will drive the development of students’ critical thinking skills and create opportunities for the study of scientific mysteries and the development of design solutions. Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.
SoWashCo Schools is a suburban district located southeast of St. Paul and serves students across 16 elementary schools, 4 middle schools and three traditional high schools. The district spans 84 square miles and is located near 3M Global Headquarters, a long-time partner of Discovery Education.
Seeking a digital solution that would meet both the district’s goals for K-8 science education and align to the new Minnesota Science and Native American standards, SoWashCo Schools reviewed several viable options. Following careful review, SoWashCo Schools selected the following Discovery Education services for use across its elementary and middle schools:…Read More
New Report: Equity, Cybersecurity Top List of State Education Technology Priorities
As students return to another school-year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report sheds light on how state education agencies and policy-makers are adapting to an increasingly digital, post-pandemic world.
The 2022 State EdTech Trends Report, released by the State Educational Technology Directors Association in collaboration with Whiteboard Advisors, draws on the results of SETDA’s flagship annual State EdTech Trends Survey of edtech directors, state superintendents, chiefs of staff, and other senior state officials from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Activity (DoDEA), and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The report supplements the survey findings with interviews of leaders in a number of states to spotlight their efforts to support digital learning. “Our job at the state is to advocate for what districts need and to promote our mentality that we are all in this together to help our students achieve,” stated Rob Dietrich, Senior Director of Teaching and Learning at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.…Read More
Optoma Unveils “Create. Connect. Inspire.” Teacher-Led Technology Campaign with Creative Touch 5-Series Interactive Flat Panel Displays
FREMONT, CA. – Optoma, a world-leading manufacturer of large display solutions and the #1 4K UHD brand and the #1 DLP® brand worldwide and in the Americas,* today launched its new Creative Touch Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPDs) for education and corporate environments. Offering intuitive and easy to use software, the new 5-Series Interactive Flat Panel Displays feature Creative Board, an enhanced whiteboard with a floating toolbar and several annotation tools, bringing collaborative thinking and idea-sharing to life. With new tools and added functionality, Optoma’s IFPDs are the perfect cornerstones for educators and professionals to create and connect their way, enhancing learning and remote collaboration in classrooms, lecture halls, boardrooms and other professional environments.
Optoma’s range of Creative Touch IFPDs are perfectly suited to accommodate the ever-changing needs of educational environments. Designed to support distance learning, the IFPDs allow students to work together in real time from home, in the classroom, or anywhere, maximizing engagement in remote and hybrid learning environments. With the ability to connect to webcams along with Optoma’s unique software, the Creative Touch 5-Series IFPDs provide the ultimate collaboration solution.
Customization is front and center with the new IFPDs, which feature several intuitive tools that allow users to modify and tailor the display to their specific needs. The quick-launch pen features a dual-tip, enabling teachers to switch between note taking and highlighting in nearly any color – ensuring lessons flow with ease. Simply take the pen from the holder, and the Creative Board app or annotation mode will launch automatically. …Read More