Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
Even if the old spoon under the pillow trick hasn’t worked for the students in your district yet, it doesn’t mean it won’t be your turn next!
No matter how well prepared you are, weather cancellations can be cause for confusion. It’s worth taking a few extra precautions so your families know exactly what the story is.
Here are a few simple tips districts can follow to make sure weather communication messages are reaching home without causing confusion:…Read More
Cybersecurity is at the forefront of IT issues to be addressed over the next year. Nearly every list of major IT or educational technology issues for 2023 includes the need to further harden educational systems and infrastructure.
More than 20 educational organizations–including AASA, the American Association of School Administrators (the primary superintendents’ association)–have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand E-rate to cover advanced firewall technology to support protection from denial of service (DOS), improve virtual private network (VLN) access, and similar upgrades. The FCC is currently soliciting public input on the potential change here until February 13, 2023.
It is easy to understand the need for increased cybersecurity safeguards. In the first half of 2022, at least 34 major cyberattacks were made against schools. Cybercrime cost more than $6.9 billion in 2021. The evening news commonly reports on cyberattacks against pipelines, government systems, and other vital services. Due diligence in considering ways to harden cyber targets and protect student and institutional data is essential and to not do so in today’s environment would probably be willfully negligent. However, there is a need for balancing security with usability.…Read More
In this episode of Innovations in Education, sponsored by Promethean and Merlyn Mind, and hosted by Kevin Hogan:
With 22 schools and 8,000 students—nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch—we have to cover a lot of area in our district. We’d been using a number of applications to maintain open lines of communications with our parents and guardians. We knew that some were working, and others weren’t, and we wanted to create a more unified school-home communications approach.
In 2020, our new superintendent brought a robust communications platform with him when he joined our district. As soon as we saw the platform’s various functionalities and how it eliminated the need for all of those disconnected communications strategies, we were hooked.
Here are four reasons why we decided to consolidate all of our district communications on a single platform:…Read More
Santa Barbara, CA — ParentSquare, provider of the premier leading unified school-home communications platform for K-12 education, announced their selection as a winner in the inaugural Excellence in Equity Awards program presented by the American Consortium for Equity in Education. The award was presented in the Special Contributions to Equity category.
This competitive awards program honoring schools, educators, and industry received more than 160 total nominations from across the U.S., plus a number of submissions from abroad. Last week, 64 finalists were announced in the 16 industry categories, with 30 winners selected. There were also 21 winners selected in 10 categories dedicated to educators and schools.
ParentSquare is the only fully unified product that engages every family with school communications and communications-based services—all the way from the district office to the classroom teacher, and all in one place. Schools know who’s not being reached and have the reports and tools to improve contactability and communications equity while maintaining privacy and security.…Read More
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
The federal E-rate program continues to provide expanded access to technology, including edtech tools, digital learning resources, and high-speed internet access, to schools, according to an annual report that takes stock of the program’s progress.
The findings come from E-rate compliance services firm Funds For Learning‘s 12th annual E-rate Trends Report. The report is designed to understand how the program can best serve schools and libraries. Stakeholder input is compiled and delivered directly to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to inform program administration.
Key findings from the 2022 report include:…Read More
Educational institutions across the United States are investing in digital technologies that, aside from transforming the learning experience, promise to improve campus operations, security and communications, and open the door to new e-services for students and staff. To realize the promise of digital transformation, schools at all levels (K-20) need solutions that can extend secure and reliable broadband connectivity campus wide.
Schools and higher educational institutions typically rely on Wi-Fi and Ethernet for connectivity. So, it’s no surprise that that many are upgrading or extending their Wi-Fi networks to prepare for digitalization. But Wi-Fi has limitations in important areas such as multi-user capacity, coverage, reliability, security, and mobility. It’s also prone to disruptions caused by interference and obstacles. These limitations could keep institutions from reaping the full benefits of broadband and digitalization.
Fortunately, there’s a better alternative. Private wireless networks (4.9G/LTE and 5G) enable institutions to use standardized cellular technologies and new spectrum options – including unlicensed spectrum in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band – to meet the stringent demands of digital applications. By complementing their existing Ethernet and Wi-Fi infrastructure with dedicated cellular connectivity, institutions can provide broadband connectivity for everyone and everything, and support a new generation of campus services.…Read More
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. SEPT. 22, 2022 — ParentSquare, continuing its momentum in partnering with Texas schools, announces over a dozen additional independent school districts (ISD) have adopted the platform to streamline communications and empower administrators and teachers to engage every student’s family. To further support Texas districts, ParentSquare is now a platinum corporate partner in the Texas Fast Growth School Coalition.
Recent ISDs to adopt the ParentSquare school-home engagement platform for K-12 include:
These districts join a long list of over 60 districts in the state that have already been utilizing the benefits of ParentSquare. Through these partnerships, over a quarter million Texas families are being positively impacted by the platform features in some of the fastest growing areas in the country.…Read More
Americans overwhelmingly believe that high-speed internet access is a basic necessity, according to a new survey from Kajeet. Additionally, this need for connectivity is not new, as nearly 75 percent of respondents believed high-speed internet was important even before the pandemic began more than two years ago. The survey also finds that 64 percent of U.S. adults are worried about their ability to pay for a high-speed internet connection at home, drawing attention to the opportunity gap and homework gap many students face.
The digital divide–the gap between people who have access to modern information and communications technology and those who do not – is a major issue. Access to the internet has become a necessity in almost all aspects of life today, including education, healthcare, remote work, etc. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), however, an estimated 14.5 million Americans lack home broadband access. For these 14.5 million people, not having access to the internet is a disadvantage.
High-Speed Internet is a Necessity, Not a Luxury…Read More