5 things changing today’s CTO role

During ISTE 2016, a panel of CTOs and educators examined how changes in today’s schools and technologies are impacting the role of the traditional CTO

Chief technology officers (CTOs) in school districts juggle any number of demands relating to IT support, technology integration into classroom instruction, and future district technology plans. But as technology changes, and as the needs of students and teachers change, so does the role of the CTO.

A panel of CTOs, ed-tech specialists, and educators at ISTE 2016 in Denver, moderated by Jeremy Shorr, the director of innovation and education technology in Ohio’s Mentor Public Schools, explored some of the challenges that come along with those changes and shared their best practices for ensuring that technology continues to meet the needs of teaching and learning throughout those changes.

Blended learning…Read More

Flexcat collaboration system gets big upgrade for ISTE

The classroom audio system now has expanded coverage, Whisper Coaching, and a new iOS app, making it a powerful tool for teachers and their mentors

At ISTE 2016, classroom audio provider Lightspeed Technologies will introduce three new features of its Flexcat system. The only classroom audio system designed for small-group learning, Flexcat consists of a wearable microphone for the teacher, a speaker for whole-group instruction, and a set of two-way audio pods that allow teachers to listen and speak to small groups from anywhere in the classroom so they can reinforce, respond, and challenge students in their moment of need.

Lightspeed’s new mobile app, launching in July, turns teachers’ iOS device into a Flexcat remote control. This allows them to switch among the two-way audio pods directly from their device, making the Flexcat an even simpler and more seamless tool for gathering critical learning insights. The new app unlocks some additional new features of the system.

With the app, the new Flexcat includes expanded coverage for up to 12 audio pods, making it a powerful tool for large classrooms, small-group instruction, team teaching, and professional development events.…Read More

Boxlight to debut standard, interactive laser and bulb projectors at ISTE

New P12 line of projectors offers models for every classroom budget and need, including laser projectors, touch projectors, and combinations of both

Boxlight will be unveiling its new line of P12 projectors at the 2016 ISTE Conference & Expo in Denver, Colorado. Attendees will be able to see live demos of the touch projectors by visiting the Boxlight booth (#3311).

Scheduled to start shipping in late June, the product line offers educators four easy ways to bring stunning visuals to classroom instruction. In addition to a standard projector, the line includes laser, laser HD, and laser ultra-wide projectors. A full list of all 12 P12 interactive touch projectors, as well as stylus-only and non-interactive models, is available at http://www.boxlight.com/P12-Series.

Stevan Vigneaux, Director of Product Management for Boxlight, drew special attention to three models: the P12L ultra-short-throw laser projector, the P12LU laser ultra-wide projector and the P12B ultra-short-throw projector.…Read More

Impero Software’s keyword library addresses online safety concerns

New terms will help schools flag potential instances of bullying, abuse, self-harm or radicalization

It makes the headlines often: A young man or woman in the U.S. ends his or her own life due to bullying or becomes radicalized and attempts to join ISIS or other hate groups. In both instances, adults in these youth’s lives are often left wondering what they could have done to intervene.

In an effort to protect students in this always-on and connected world, Impero Software, a remote monitoring and management software provider, has updated its keyword libraries to include a more comprehensive list of U.S. specific terms related to bullying, self-harm, radicalization and more, in order to alert educators so they can help students before a tragedy occurs. Impero will showcase the updated library in their booth #708 during the 2016 ISTE conference June 26-29, 2016 in Denver.

The updated library, combined with Impero Education Pro software, gives educators an edge on internet safety by helping them monitor and analyze student activity on school devices. The software alerts educators when a student uses words or phrases that match a term in the keyword library.…Read More

Vernier releases free back-to-school resources

Professional learning and support tools include in-person workshops, webinars, video tutorials, grant opportunities and more

To support science and STEM teachers in delivering quality instruction to their students at the start of, and throughout, the school year, Vernier Software & Technology is offering an abundance of free professional learning resources, support tools, grant opportunities and more. This comprehensive collection of offerings provides teachers with the skills and resources needed to effectively use data-collection technology in their classrooms.

“Helping both educators and students succeed in today’s science classrooms is our top priority,” said John Wheeler, CEO of Vernier Software & Technology. “To support this, we are committed to providing stellar service, teacher-based tech support, and useful professional development year round to meet the needs of our customers.”

Free resources from Vernier include:
● Award and grant opportunities: Among others, these include the annual Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards and Vernier Engineering Contest, both of which award teachers with cash and technology prizes.
● Community Forum: Customers can access the forum to exchange advice, trade used equipment, look at DIY projects and discuss lab ideas with other educators.
● Hands-on workshops: These free educator-led seminars provide teachers with innovative ways to integrate probeware into their curricula.
● Sample experiments: The student version of these classroom-ready investigations can be downloaded directly from the Vernier website. More than 1,000 sample experiments are available.
● Tech Tips Videos: This collection of more than 180 videos provides helpful tutorials on using various Vernier data-collection technologies.
● Technical Information Library (TIL): An extensive collection of technical information, troubleshooting advice, frequently asked questions and more than 1,000 searchable technology tips are available 24/7. The Vernier TIL was honored with a Stellar Service Award from Tech & Learning magazine.
● Warranty and repair program: In addition to an ample five-year warranty, Vernier will attempt to repair most products, many times at no charge.
● Webinars: These personalized, customized webinars provide an effective way for educators and their science departments to learn more about using Vernier technology.…Read More

Bloomz announces new features at ISTE 2016

The teacher-parent communication app will be free for schools and introduces student timelines, behavior tracking, and video support

Just in time for ISTE 2016, the teacher-parent communication app Bloomz is announcing a major award and introducing new features, including offering its basic schoolwide product for free.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) recently named Bloomz a Best Website for Teaching & Learning in the Social Networking and Communications category. “Members of the Best Websites committee were very impressed by Bloomz,” said AASL President Leslie Preddy. “The site combines the features of several collaboration and social media platforms in order to optimize communication with parents. Bloomz’s ‘one-stop shop’ opens a window into the classroom that today’s parents expect—while protecting student privacy. One committee member said, ‘Honestly, I wish it had existed when I was a classroom teacher!’”

Bloomz also announced four new updates that will be coming to its mobile and web app in time for the upcoming school year:
• Student Timelines: As teachers share pictures of a students’ work, parents will now see a portfolio or timeline of their child’s creations, and watch them evolve over time. The feature is similar to that of a Facebook timeline view for every student over time, across all activities. This feature is scheduled to launch in August.
• Behavior Tracking: This feature helps teachers send home reports of how students behave in class. Taking a cue from the app’s name and to reinforce positive student behavior, “blooming” flowers will be used to provide parents a pictorial representation of their child’s behavior throughout the school year. Behavior tracking will also be available in August.
• Video support: This feature has been the most requested by Bloomz users. Now, teachers will be able to record moments from the classroom and share them directly on Bloomz, where parents can watch and enjoy them. Video support will be available starting in September.
• Free for schools: Bloomz is also making its current basic schoolwide communication product (currently in beta until the new school year), free for schools moving forward.…Read More

Pearson Realize course content now works with any LMS

Interoperability certification gives teachers, students freedom to assign and use any Pearson content regardless of LMS

Pearson announced a new iteration of its main content delivery system for K-12 schools that will allow them to experience learning, assessment and data applications seamlessly, saving thousands of hours and dollars in the process. Traditionally, teachers, students and administrators have to deal with multiple logins and repetitive data entry. Pearson Realize is now fully compatible with IMS Global’s Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI™) standards, making almost all of the company’s K-12 content and data easy to use, access and analyze, regardless of the school’s learning management system (LMS).

IMS Global is a non-profit organization that sets standards for digital educational content. Leading IMS members like Pearson are committed to creating content and applications that “play nice” with one another so that accessing content from multiple sources and publishers is a unified, continuous experience.

“When we say we put digital content at teachers’ and students’ fingertips, that should be the reality. Now fully compatible with all learning management systems, the digital content delivered through Pearson Realize should make learning and assessing student performance easier, and that’s why we’re committed to interoperability,” said Marc Nelson, vice president of product management at Pearson. “We’re proud to support IMS and the future of digital education, where educators can easily select the digital products that meet their students’ needs without having to worry about whether or not they work together.”…Read More

Odysseyware releases more than 250 new courses ahead of ISTE 2016

Curriculum provider launches 1,600 new direct-instruction videos, state-specific courses, enhanced assessment item types, and new lessons and projects

Odysseyware, a provider of dynamic, individualized online courses for K-12 education, today announced its summer release of more than 250 new national and state-specific courses.

Just in time for ISTE 2016 and bolstered by Odysseyware’s new Search by Standards feature, these courses were created in response to educators’ demand for more personalized, flexible, and standards-aligned content. The new national courses include the following:

· Odysseyware Grades 6–12 ELA and Math Fundamental courses;…Read More

Riverview High School integrates the Nureva Span system

Expansive, digital workspace deepens collaborative learning

Nureva Inc., a collaboration-solutions company, announced the integration of its Span system into Riverview High School’s innovative, high-tech science lab in Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada.

The Span system transforms one of the lab’s walls into a 20′ 2″ (6.15 m) interactive surface, giving groups of Riverview students ample space for student-led collaborative learning, such as developing passion projects or working together on entrepreneurial initiatives. From their laptops, students contribute notes, sketches and images to a shared, 40′ (12.19 m) digital canvas. Then at the wall, they work together to classify, discuss and refine this canvas content. All inputs are automatically saved in real time, so the canvas is always up to date, whether students contribute before, during or after a class.

The Span system creates a collaborative-learning environment unlike any seen before. More students can work together in a digital workspace to fully visualize all aspects of a problem, project or unit of study. Seeing more information at once, including the real-time contributions of their peers, enables students to deepen their understanding while developing their creative, critical-thinking and communication skills. At Riverview, students’ ability to use laptops or iPads to anonymously contribute to the group canvas has also led to noticeable gains in confidence, particularly among quieter individuals. And although the system is installed in the school’s science lab, students and teachers have already embraced its use in other subject areas, including history explorations focused on World War I and an English Language Learners (ELL) exchange program that incorporates remote collaboration with fourth-grade students in the United Kingdom.…Read More

Promethean introduces new ActivPanel at ISTE 2016

The tablet-like display for the modern classroom features externally accessible, upgradeable Android processing power and access to more than 500,000 educational apps

Promethean, a global provider of educational technology solutions, introduced its new ActivPanel interactive display at ISTE 2016 in Denver. Powered by an externally accessible, upgradeable Android™ platform central processing unit (CPU), the market-leading ActivPanel unleashes the power of teacher and student connectivity. The new Promethean ActivPanel features wireless and BlueTooth® connectivity, pre-loaded applications for mobile device mirroring, digital whiteboarding, and free collaboration software from ClassFlow.

“The new Promethean ActivPanel has been completely re-imagined to function as a captivating, interactive display as well as the wirelessly accessible teaching and learning hub of the modern classroom,” said Promethean’s Chief Marketing Officer Vincent Young. “With its externally accessible Android processor, the new Promethean ActivPanel can be easily upgraded over time to keep pace with frequent advances in computing technology.”

Without the need to connect a separate computer, the new Promethean ActivPanel provides teachers with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, while also providing instant access to instructional apps directly from the home screen. Teachers and students can interact with the touchscreen display with tablet-like gestures such as swipe, pinch, or zoom. In addition to touchscreen interactivity, the ActivPanel features a digital pen to draw, move, and scale.…Read More

Groups partner to leverage open tech standards

ClassLink, Mackin partnership aims to help students, teachers enjoy single sign-on to an industry provider of print and digital media

ClassLink announced a new single sign-on connection to Mackin Educational Resources, an adaptive learning platform for grades K-8. This new partnership will provide users with secure, OneClick access to MackinVIA, a free and complete digital resource management system providing easy access to eBooks, audiobooks, educational databases, and video.

ClassLink OneClick delivers single sign-on to web resources, like MackinVia, and to files, whether they are stored in the cloud, on a device, or on the school network. With more than 3,000 single sign-on connectors, ClassLink has brought together more resources than all other single sign-on platforms combined.

For 33 years, Mackin has provided library and classroom materials for pre-K- 12 teachers and students. Working with over 18,000 publishers and a database of more than 2.5 million printed titles and more than 350,000 digital titles,Mackin supplies print books, eBooks, online educational databases, audiobooks, video resources and more, along with digital content management and custom collection analysis services.…Read More

itslearning unveils personalized LMS at ISTE

Enhanced LMS platform is intended to personalize, improve user experience

ISTE 2016 attendees interested in the Digital Age Teaching and Learning focus area can stop by the itslearning booth (#1541) to see how the company’s brand new personalized learning management platform aims to change how educators and students work in a learning platform. The new platform will be live July 1.

“Our main focus with this new platform is enhancing the user experience,” said Arne Bergby, itslearning CEO. “So we’ve done a great deal of research to understand what our users are really trying to do when they use our platform. And we’ve tested and rebuilt the platform so that educators can more easily carry out their core tasks and get support from a system that is truly intuitive and doesn’t complicate their work but rather puts the focus on student learning outcomes.”

The main benefits educators will of the new platform include the following:
· Simplification and modernization of the interface and navigation
· Making the platform feel like an extension of the physical classroom
· Empowering teachers to follow best practices
· Increased compatibility with mobile devices…Read More