How Newport-Mesa Unified School District became closer by being apart

Jenith Mishne is a relentlessly positive person. Not even a global pandemic can dampen her enthusiasm when talking about her job as Director of Education Technology in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District (CA), where she serves 22,500 students at twenty-two elementary schools, two intermediate schools, four high schools, one alternative education center, and one adult education center.

In this conversation with eSchool News, Mishne finds the silver linings in the world’s largest beta test for remote learning—from device management to compassionate teacher professional development and better community communication. She also shares some of her thoughts about how education can grow from this tragedy.

Related content: How this district made the remote transition…Read More

Keep the school to home connection strong

Bloomz is opening their premium version for free through the semester to all schools. The Bloomz communication platform enables schools to communicate updates in real-time to parents and students; share lessons, student work and feedback; and keep the school-to-home connection strong so students learning at home don’t fall through the cracks.

Tools and resources that help improve communication

ENA is committed to helping education and healthcare communities by empowering them with tools and resources that help improve communication, facilitate virtual learning and telehealth programs and track student engagement.

ENA offers solutions that can be an essential part of your emergency response plan, including the following:

  • CatchOn an expansive data analytics tool that enables school districts to see the apps and online tools students are using in and out of the classroom. CatchOn is available through June 30 at no cost.
  • Video Collaboration Powered by Zoom is the premier hosted video and web conferencing solution.
  • Kajeet SmartSpot a filtered mobile hotspot device, providing students with a safe, simple wireless connection to the Internet.
  • ENA SmartVoice a highly resilient, cloud-based communications service that can keep your staff and faculty connected anytime and anywhere, especially during a crisis or emergency.

For more information visit the ENA COVID-19 Resources and Updates page.…Read More

All-in-one e-learning solution

Eko is offering its solution for FREE to support learning during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Eko’s virtual classroom experience ensures teachers, students, parents and school staff all stay connected ensuring a sense of school community and spirit, minimizing the disruption to learning and student progress.

The platform includes the following features:…Read More

Helping educators digitize their curriculum

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of educators have turned to Screencastify to digitize their curriculum and communication in preparation for (or in response to) school closures. In response, we have created a number of free e-learning resources to help both new and experienced Screencastify users get more comfortable using video for this purpose.

To make the transition to distance learning a little easier, we are granting all impacted educators free access to our suite of products through at least April 30. This includes:

  • Recorder. Unlimited access, no restrictions.
  • Video Editor. Full access. Edit, merge, and polish all videos, not just Screencastify recordings.
  • Submit (phased release). We have accelerated the development and launch of Submit, a new product specifically designed for distance learning. With Submit, teachers can easily collect recordings from their students, no extension required.

We will be monitoring the situation closely, and will extend access beyond April 30 if necessary.…Read More

LogMeIn extends free phone and unified communication services

LogMeIn, Inc. has expanded its Emergency Remote Work Kit offerings to include GoToConnect, the company’s cloud phone and Unified Communications & Collaboration (UCC) platform, to help K-12 schools make the shift to remote learning. Aimed at both customers and critical service providers like schools, hospitals and health care companies, municipalities and non-profit organizations, LogMeIn launched the complimentary Emergency Remote Work Kit program earlier in March, including software for video conferencing, running virtual events, remote access to PCs and servers, as well as remote IT support.

Under the expanded offering, K-12 schools will be eligible for free cloud phone and UCC services through the end of the school year via LogMeIn’s GoToConnect platform. The new offering is designed for schools to keep students, teachers, parents, administrators and staff connected with free soft phones, voice and video calling, and messaging that can be used on PCs, Macs, Chromebooks and mobile phones (iOS and Android). And unlike traditional phone systems, no hardware, networking or number porting is required.

“These last few weeks have meant a monumental change for everyone, and while some organizations had experience empowering a remote workforce, others like schools, health care providers and local municipalities are dealing with a remote work reality that they never planned for and were ill equipped to enable,” said Bill Wagner, CEO of LogMeIn. “For some organizations, it’s about access to audio and video conferencing and virtual events to stay connected. While for others, it’s as basic as giving people remote access that allows them to connect to their work computers or giving the tools to IT teams to support their people during this rapid shift towards remote working. We’re seeing these needs play out across the organizations we rely on in our communities, and it’s something we believe our people and our technology are uniquely positioned to help with during this uncertain time.”…Read More

Free communication, billing and payment tools for schools

Curacubby, an end-to-end commerce, billing and integrated payments platform built for the education market and modernizing the business of schools, announced that it is making several of its tools free until at least July 1, 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak. Schools have been heavily impacted by this time of economic uncertainty, and Curacubby’s communication, billing and payment tools are helping their businesses run remotely. Using Curacubby, schools can issue tuition statements, receivables and other revenue items online and via mobile, ensuring they are receiving on-time payments to improve cash flow and keep their businesses operating without interruption. Curacubby keeps parents connected with schools and gives them the ability to make payments online or via mobile instead of in-person so families can continue practicing self-isolation while students are switching to online and remote learning.

Curacubby’s free tools include:

  • Reach Out Text (SMS) & Email Communications: In the current uncertain climate, Reach Out enables schools to instantly send important text and email communications to individuals and groups remotely. Schools can group communications any way that they prefer, including by class, grade, team and more. Reach Out can notify families of school closures, remind them of upcoming bills or tuition dues, or alert them to potential emergencies quickly, efficiently and effectively. Reach Out includes unlimited usage and no toll charges.
  • Financial Records Automation: Curacubby automates the creation of financial statements and tracking of school receivables in real-time online, ensuring that schools and education programs, as well as families, have a single and accurate source of truth for their financial records in times of crisis.

“We are in California, and when our school was mandated closed until at least April 7, we faced a major crisis. We had only the weekend to get all of our students set up to do their studies remotely for weeks and had no idea how to communicate effectively with every student in such a short amount of time,” said Susanne Ryan, Vice Principal at DP Christian School. “We turned to Curacubby for help, and they set us up over the weekend with Reach Out, which enabled our school to send important communications to families in real-time and set all students up with their home studies quickly and efficiently. It was critical in allowing our school to keep running so our children could continue learning despite this pandemic.”…Read More

Free Family Engagement Tool For Impacted Schools and Districts

PowerMyLearning, a national nonprofit,  is committed to helping school and district leaders who are mobilizing to implement remote learning plans in response to COVID-19. We know how critical it is for you to support students’ learning while also keeping families connected. PowerMyLearning Family Playlists® can help make that transition smoother.

  • Unlike other online initiatives, Family Playlists use families’ phones, so families can fully participate without having a laptop or computer at home.
  • Family Playlists can be delivered in over 100 languages, ensuring seamless two-way communication between families and teachers.
  • Family Playlists are easy to integrate with Google Classroom and Clever.

 

PowerMyLearning is offering our Family Playlists program completely free of charge to all schools and districts impacted by COVID-19 from now through the end of the school year.…Read More

Solution to Support Remote Learning in Schools

ClassTag today announced the launch of Schoolwide, a solution for parent communication and expanded remote learning capabilities amid the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. The company has accelerated the launch in order to help teachers and school administrations better prepare for unexpected school closures as well as help streamline parent-teacher communication.

With its leading technology already used by 25,000 schools and two million parents, the ClassTag platform is adding the Schoolwide suite to its award-winning communication solution to support urgent school needs in a time when communication is critical.

“As the number of school closures grows each day, our number one priority as a company is to make sure that schools and parents are prepared, as best they can be, for schools to be shut down for prolonged periods of time,” shared Vlada Lotkina, co-founder and CEO of ClassTag. “It’s an uncertain time and we need to go above and beyond to support effective communication for our schools and provide a platform for remote learning.”…Read More

Free tool to better communicate with parents

The Smore Template Center is comprised of pre-made newsletters that aim to address the variety of communication needs that you might be experiencing. They have templates for remote teaching, parent communication, and updates to stakeholders in your community. It is designed to save time and help you get your message out with customizable templates to suit your needs.

Smore newsletters can be shared on social media, sent via email, exported to mass notification systems, and embedded in your school website. You can also update them after they are shared, so the information is always current.

All templates in the COVID-19 Center have their Pro features enabled. This means you will have access to automatic language translation, WCAG 2.0 AA compliance, custom backgrounds, file attachments, and enhanced analytics — regardless of whether or not you are a Pro user.…Read More