While schools seem to have returned to normal there are still many students that will engage in remote learning for the foreseeable future. Having the right tools, such as, headsets is imperative for an optimal learning experience. Professional headsets specifically designed for students have features that reduce distractions and increase comfort which allows the student to focus on their studies.
…Read MorePodcast 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.
Alum Rock Union School District
Alum Rock Union School District (ARUSD) operates 22 elementary and middle schools in the greater San Jose, California region. With nearly 8,000 students and almost 500 teachers and faculty, demand for technical tools and resources was at an all-time high even before the COVID-19 pandemic leveled unprecedented pressure. A small but dedicated IT team was responsible for transforming ARUSD’s aging technical infrastructure into a modern network capable of meeting the future needs of students and staff—in the classroom, remotely, or in hybrid environments.
…Read MoreSolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability
Robust monitoring empowers schools to safeguard sensitive student data and uphold privacy standards. SolarWinds Observability streamlines IT management, bolstering operational efficiency and enabling educators to focus on teaching. By fostering a reliable and secure digital environment, SolarWinds elevates K-12 institutions, enriching both administrative and academic endeavors.
…Read More5 Hybrid Cloud Observability delivers an end-to-end view for Western Kentucky University
Though the pandemic kicked remote learning into a whole new dimension, as a mid-size university, WKU already supported on-campus and off-campus learning. Their end users, students, faculty, and staff expect to be able to access systems and apps at all times from anywhere, and they often need to be able to attend class or submit assignments online. As a result, the IT team views their network as borderless, requiring solutions to support WKU’s needs.
…Read MoreThe Once and Future ISTE
Sometimes the most insightful interactions at events don’t come from keynotes or session panels but from random conversations in a hotel lobby or airport gate. This seems to be the case whenever I bump into Kari Stubbs. In this conversation, which was reconstructed in a Zoom recording this week, we run the gamut—from post-pandemic hybrid event models to ramifications of the ISTE-ASCD merger, to AI noise, to new ways to better balance industry involvement with instructional inspiration. Click below to listen in and scroll through some of the edited highlights. You can read and see more about her ISTE experiences on LinkedIn.
Her ISTE highlight:
All of our teams need some elevated care right now—kind of the long tail of those emotions coming out of the pandemic. We have continued teacher resignations and ed leader resignations. And then for our business partners in the education space, we also have an elevated need for team care. Our panel looked at female leadership as a potential solution for making that happen. And it was a phenomenal conversation. I don’t know that I’ve ever been a part of a panel that struck a nerve quite as deeply as this one.…Read More
Virginia Chooses iteach as the Alternative Teacher Certification Provider for 24 Divisions of the Commonwealth
DENTON, Texas — In an effort to fill more than 3,500 teaching vacancies, the Virginia Department of Education has chosen iteach as the identified partner for alternative teachers certification in 24 divisions of the Commonwealth. Now, Virginians with bachelor’s degrees can use iteach’s innovative hybrid model to navigate the process of becoming certified K-12 educators.
“The program will help us build a larger applicant pool to include current teacher assistants and substitute teachers who possess a bachelor’s degree,” said Paige Tucker, director, talent acquisition and management-licensed staffing in the Department of Human Resources at Arlington Public Schools. “iteach can be utilized with our current provisional teachers as a more affordable and efficient alternative to obtaining their license. iteach will also help us recruit in our most high-need areas, which include special education and elementary.”
For aspiring teachers who have completed a bachelor’s degree, the iteach program offers a 1-year path to teacher certification, making it both faster and less expensive than certification through a university. Teachers complete iteach coursework online on a flexible schedule, and earn full pay while they complete their in-classroom teaching requirements. While they’re enrolled, they have free access to the Teaching Channel professional development platform and test prep from Passage Preparation. Once they’re hired, the district will assign each new teacher a Classroom Supervisor to help them navigate the challenges of their first year in the classroom. …Read More
ClassIn Launches its World-Class Teaching and Learning Platform in the United States
SAN DIEGO (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ClassIn, a world leader in hybrid, blended, and remote learning solutions, today announced the launch of its globally recognized platform in the United States. The ClassIn platform has been purpose-built for education and based on nearly a decade of research, development, and in-market experience. Through its software and hardware solutions, ClassIn provides the digital infrastructure for the hybrid future of education by building classrooms in both the virtual and physical worlds. ClassIn is the only end-to-end education platform with a full suite of innovative tools and features, all designed with hybrid-first pedagogy at its core. It supports active learning, student flexibility, and various teaching and learning methods.
While schools have worked to embrace technology for decades, innovation has been slow and fragmented, and most new technologies have been designed to solve a singular problem. Today, the average US teacher uses 148 different EdTech products and the average US school district uses over 1,400 EdTech solutions. The pandemic exacerbated this issue, as most schools implemented “emergency remote teaching” instead of pedagogically aligned instruction, cobbling together many disparate technologies that were not built or designed for education.
“Remote and hybrid teaching brought long-touted but previously out-of-reach, student-centric instruction to life, making room for self-guided learning, flexible schedules, and additional time to explore volunteer, hobby, and work opportunities,” said Sara Gu, Co-Founder, and COO at ClassIn. “We’re at an inflection point. The classroom of the future will be networked, digitized, and intelligent, which means our learning solutions must be built on a solid foundation: based on hybrid-first pedagogy and backed by learning science. With over 50 million students using our solution in 160+ countries, our hardware and software solutions reduce districts’ need for the patchwork of over 1,400 different technologies by combining many of those capabilities seamlessly.”…Read More
Flexible, hybrid learning is key to student success
Key points:
- Virtual learning expanded access to student mental health support
- Hybrid learning offers improved satisfaction during IEP meetings
In the business world, we’ve seen a sea change in the way people work. While some have returned to the office full time, some are still working remotely, and others are opting for a hybrid approach of being in-person just a few days a week. If the pandemic showed us anything, it is that flexibility is in the best interest of the employee and the company in a competitive marketplace.
The same lessons are true in schools. Forced to go online, in some cases for a year or more, schools quickly turned to video conferencing and online tools to facilitate the development of Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs) and even deliver mental health services to help students cope with the changes resulting from the pandemic. These new approaches offered ways to reduce many of the traditional barriers to services and support. Plus, they provided flexibility to create individualized plans that best meet the needs of students and their families. …Read More
A 5-point plan for post-pandemic education
It seems hard to believe, but the pandemic in the U.S. started three years ago. With all the changes COVID-19 brought to schools, perhaps the one that most people forget is how the virus altered the delivery of education.
While everyone is happy remote learning and hybrid models are pretty much over, it isn’t accurate to say education has returned to what was “normal,” pre-pandemic instruction.
The main reason school looks different is that districts bought a heap of specialized technology just to keep instruction alive during those three years. A 2022 survey by the Consortium for School Networking shows that more than 80 percent of U.S. schools now have a device for each K-12 student. That’s way up from pre-pandemic numbers, where about two of three high schools and middle schools were one-to-one and less than half of elementary schools had a device for each student. And that’s only counting student devices–not the needed network improvements, teacher training, or the other myriad purchases required to create a robust network both in schools and at students’ homes.…Read More
New Epson PowerLite and BrightLink Lamp-Free Laser Displays Now Available
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Providing technology that seamlessly merges with today’s “always-on” classrooms and hybrid workplaces is imperative in today’s display market. Epson, the number-one selling projector brand worldwide,1 today announced 10 of its new PowerLite® and BrightLink® lamp-free laser displays are now available. Powered by Epson’s proprietary 3-chip 3LCD technology, the new models offer 4,000 to 4,600 lumens of equal color and white brightness2 to deliver big, bright images. The new lamp-free laser displays also come equipped with built-in enterprise level wireless connectivity, convenient collaboration tools, value-added software, and ultra-wide options to ensure all participants can see, interact and be seen.
“As display technology continues to develop rapidly across different environments, Epson remains devoted to advancing its technology to align with the growing industry trends,” said Remi Del Mar, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc. “Aiming to provide smaller and more user-friendly, lamp-free laser display technology, Epson continues to focus on flexibility, compatibility and large, impactful images. The current lineup integrates new tools for seamless collaboration, simpler one-on-one student device connectivity, easier setup, and moreover enable wall-size images from a single display that is conducive to student engagement.”
Transform ordinary walls into giant interactive tablets with almost 85 percent more display area than a 75-inch flat panel. Epson’s new BrightLink 760Wi and BrightLink 770Fi ultra-short throw interactive lamp-free laser displays deliver big, bright, colorful images for dynamic digital collaboration. Designed for ease-of-use in collaborative learning environments, educators can easily access interactive whiteboard tools with flexible installation options or use BrightLink’s built-in pen-based interactivity and optional touch functionality. Wireless connectivity with casting capabilities from PCs, Mac® computers, Chromebooks, and Android™ and iOS® devices,3 making it even easier for teachers and students to wirelessly display up to four screens simultaneously. The new BrightLink interactive displays are also compatible with frequently used software applications, including Office 365® and Google Workspace™, and are equipped with split screen support4 and whiteboard sharing to make collaboration easier. Additionally, educators regain access to their whiteboard when the projectors are not in use with the ability to display on a common whiteboard.…Read More