Columbia Public Schools standardizes on Ruckus for Gigabit Wi-Fi

Schools are moving to Gigabit Wi-Fi in order to meet bandwidth demands

ruckus-wi-fiRuckus Wireless, Inc. has been selected by Columbia Public Schools to supply next generation Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi products and technology.

This is one of the nation’s first production deployment of Gigabit class Wi-Fi using the industry’s newest 802.11ac Wave 2 specification access point (AP). Other schools making the move to Ruckus Wave 2 Gigabit WiFi include Shelby County Schools (TN), Pitt County Schools (NC), and Vancouver Public Schools (WA).

Covering 300 square miles between St. Louis and Kansas City, Columbia Public Schools (CPS) is deploying more than 1,400 Ruckus ZoneFlex™R710 802.11ac Wave 2 APs. These access points are managed through a cluster of Ruckus SmartZone™ 100 controllers to serve over 18,000 students and staff, and nearly 20,000 Wi-Fi-enabled devices across more than 30 K-12 schools.…Read More

New service lets you pay for only the bandwidth you need

New service can scale bandwidth for peak and off-peak periods via an online portal

broadband-attA new network service from AT&T is giving customers the ability to scale their bandwidth up or down in near real time using an online portal, without having to make expensive network upgrades.

The service could be particularly useful for school districts, allowing them to add bandwidth during high-use periods such as online testing—while reducing network capacity when school is not in session.

“We’re making networks more dynamic and more responsive to customers’ needs,” said Rupesh Chokshi, director of the service, called Network on Demand.…Read More

SunGard K-12 Education releases eSchoolPLUS 4.0

User interface offers at-a-glance insights, action-oriented support for student achievement

education-sisToday, SunGard K-12 Education announced the release of eSchoolPLUS 4.0. The next-generation student information system, eSchoolPLUS 4.0 is a solution for student information management that helps educators directly and positively impact student achievement.

This release amplifies SunGard K-12 Education’s student information system with a smart user interface and a variety of features that promote collaboration.

According to Joel Hames, SunGard K-12 Education’s vice president of product, eSchoolPLUS 4.0 delivers on the vision of bringing a highly elegant solution with user-focused interactivity to schools. “With recent advances and increasing options in technology, today’s educator relies on a broad spectrum of devices and browsers to access their web applications,” says Hames. “eSchoolPLUS 4.0 meets educators where they are by leveraging the latest technology to create a progressive, highly usable, and forward-thinking solution for student achievement.”…Read More

A leader’s guide to technology implementations

ISTE 2015 session examines how school and district leaders can best plan for a technology initiative’s success

technology-leadershipEstablishing a shared vision around a technology initiative is one of the most important success factors for that initiative, according to a panel of administrators from around the country who gathered at ISTE 2015 in Philadelphia to discuss a leadership roadmap to successful technology integration.

The panel was based around ISTE’s Essential Conditions, which are 14 necessary conditions for effectively leveraging technology. The conditions fall under the categories of people, policy, and resources.

Some of the conditions–such as consistent and adequate funding–are largely aspirational and may not be fulfilled.…Read More

Insight works with education leaders on Microsoft Server security

With less than one month to an end of service deadline, Insight highlights cybersecurity concerns at ISTE

microsoft-serverThe Insight Enterprises, Inc. Public Sector team will speak to the risks of failing to address the pending end of service for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference.

On July 14, 2015, Microsoft will cease support for this operating system, and Insight is warning education leaders to not ignore critical steps to protect their sensitive data.

At ISTE 2015 (June 28-July 1 in Philadelphia), Insight will provide education decision-makers with detailed information on how to protect information stored on millions of computer servers from cyber-attacks and data loss–even if they are not prepared within the next 30 days.…Read More

4 things every IT department should do this summer

Use this checklist to help take stock of equipment and software

summer-itSummer might mean a long respite for students, but not for IT directors. When I was an ed-tech director for several California school districts, I was too busy responding to problems and meeting teachers’ instructional needs to do much IT planning and assessing during the school year. But summer brought a chance to take a deep breath, take stock of my ed-tech inventory, and prepare for the following year.

Here are some strategies for doing this effectively in your own schools.

Software licensing…Read More

Barracuda announces next-gen firewall, web security integrations

New additions are intended to improve deployment choices for integrating content and network security functions

firewall-securityBarracuda Networks recently announced a number of security product integrations intended to help schools protect students.

Barracuda has enhanced its next-generation firewall products in an attempt to improve support for transparently redirecting traffic, which allows easier integration between discrete firewall and web security appliances.

Barracuda Firewall, designed for single-site K-12 environments, now supports Safe Search and YouTube for Schools, features often included only with dedicated web security solutions.…Read More

Instructure launches Canvas Data

Canvas Data provides insight into teaching and learning data for institutions

canvas-dataInstructure, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company and creator of the Canvas learning management system (LMS), has released Canvas Data, a hosted data solution providing fully optimized data to K-12 and higher education institutions capturing online teaching and learning activity.

As a tool for education improvement, the basic version of the service will be made available to Canvas clients at no additional cost, with premium versions available for purchase.

“Education data transforms the way we teach and learn by making the invisible — visible,” said Jared Stein, vice president of research and education at Instructure. “However, its impact relies on how the data is analyzed and applied, and how the underlying platform is used. The Canvas platform has consistently higher adoption rates than legacy learning management systems, making its data more complete and valuable than other solutions.”…Read More

Sony expands projector line with lots of new models

New models feature high brightness and compact design

sony-projectorSony is adding new models to its line of professional projectors, with each designed to deliver high image quality, high brightness and enhanced flexibility. The update includes three projector additions to its 3LCD series, each with a brightness of 4,200.

The new compact projectors include the VPL-EW348, VPL-EW345 and VPL-EX345 models. The VPL-EW348 model has a built-in HDBaseT interface for easier connectivity and reduced total system costs. HDBaseT capabilities allow installers and integrators to reduce their number of cable runs by transmitting video, audio, control and IP over a single Cat5e/6 cable for up to 328 feet (100m).

Sony is also introducing two 3LCD laser models (VPL-FHZ65 and VPL-FHZ60) to expand its growing line of Z-Phosphor laser light source projectors. WUXGA (1920 x 1200) laser models deliver brightness of 6,000 lumens (VPL-FHZ65) and 5,000 lumens (VPL-FHZ60). The new laser models are designed to deliver enhanced picture quality with new features such as “Reality Creation” and “Contrast Enhancer.” A laser light source means there’s no lamp that needs to slowly warm up or cool down.…Read More

Anatomy of a successful Chromebook rollout

Best practices and PD tips for going one-to-one with Chromebooks

chromebook-rolloutWhen Lyle Evans looks around his district and sees that its year-old one-to-one Chromebooks implementation is running smoothly, he can’t help but think back to a time when Chesterfield County Public Schools’ technology vision was just beginning to formulate and gel. “Our blended learning philosophy dates back about four years,” says Evans, the Chesterfield, Va., district’s assistant superintendent, human resources & administrative services. “Long before Chromebooks, we knew we wanted to deliver the best in face-to-face learning supported by instructional tools.”

Concurrently, Evans says the 65-school district was also looking for new ways to “extend” the classroom and student learning time outside of the traditional four walls. And while the district was already using three to four computers per classroom and a number of Dell laptops, it felt that getting more devices or laptops into its students’ hands would help advance some of its educational goals. “We started to think about our strategic plan,” recalls Evans, “and it became clear that we needed to move to a one-to-one initiative as quickly as possible.”

As a first step in that direction, Evans says school leaders and the district IT team investigated its device and laptop options. After reviewing those options, he says, “it came down to the Chromebook versus the laptop.” The former won out based on its economics (roughly $158 per student via a lease-purchase agreement + a $50 computing fee that students pay), the fact that the district’s current network could support the devices, and the Chromebook’s short boot-up time.…Read More

How these 19 districts strike better deals on tech, together

19 Appalachian districts form one powerful cooperative. Small districts: take notice.

cooperative-togetherIt’s been 40 years since a group of 10 school districts across southeastern Kentucky banded together to gain economies of scale when purchasing goods and services. Calling themselves the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC), the pioneering group probably had no idea that their early efforts would eventually parlay into an initiative that’s largely focused on helping rural Kentucky schools gain access to technology and use it successfully in the educational setting.

“Initially, KVEC was formed to help schools more easily and efficiently purchase supplies and services (i.e., driver’s education),” says Dessie Bowling, associate director for the Hazard, Ken.-based cooperative. During the last four decades, that focus has shifted and now aligns with Kentucky’s overall goal of staying on the leading edge of both classroom technology and IT infrastructure management.

“Over the last five years, our state has done a very good job of leading the rest of the country in its approach to K-12 education and the use of technology,” points out Jeff Hawkins, KVEC’s executive director. Collectively, “our use of technology has really blossomed, because we realize that that is the way to increase curricular and learning opportunities for students.”…Read More

Edsby and Microsoft 365 now integrate

Single sign-on and other features added

edsby-microsoftThanks to a new partnership, Edsby, a social network-inspired LMS company, now integrates with Microsoft Office 365.

One aspect of the integration is in the area of single sign-on support. Edsby users can now authenticate via Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory and the OAuth2 protocol. This enables a convenient one-click login for Edsby users already authenticated with Office 365.

In addition, this new integration enables Edsby users to select documents from their Microsoft OneDrive file store as teachers and students collaborate within Edsby classes and groups and as students submit work digitally to teachers for assessment.…Read More