Aircuity Introduces “Air Quality as a Service” Solution to Accelerate Safer Building Re-openings

Aircuity, the leading provider of measurably better environments, today introduced “Air Quality as a Service” (AQaaS), a new indoor air quality (IAQ) solution that helps building owners create “healthy buildings” that meet both COVID-19 re-entry and longer term air quality requirements. As an operating expenditure, Aircuity’s AQaaS requires no or low upfront capital, making it easier – and faster – to deploy in existing buildings.

Aircuity approaches each AQaaS engagement by working with clients to prioritize their portfolio for IAQ improvement and identifying each organization’s largest operational and energy savings potentials. In many cases, untapped savings opportunities exist in critical environments and other highly variable occupancy spaces. These savings opportunities can easily help fund such air quality improvements to create a positive cashflow implementation and a true “win-win-win” for investing organizations, as follows:

  • Owners: see dramatically improved air quality and lower operating costs;
  • Occupiers: get a platform and understanding of better air quality; and
  • Operators: get a life cycle platform approach to managing and maintaining air quality over the life of the facilities

“Aircuity’s Air Quality as a Service addresses building owners’ need to deploy comprehensive air quality programs through a sustainable and economic strategy for both the current COVID-19 pandemic and the undeniable future demand for healthier buildings,” said Dan Diehl, CEO of Aircuity.  “We view this AQaaS solution as a ‘best practice’ to address the growing demand for healthy buildings, and it comes without a dramatic increase in operating costs or large upfront capital. Aircuity customers can access AQaaS at a time of historic low cost of capital and can immediately leverage identifiable and proven efficiency opportunities while achieving comprehensive and verifiable outcomes.”…Read More

Impero Creates Cloud-Based Platform to Support Schools during Hybrid Learning

Student safety leader Impero today launched a cloud-based platform, built on state-of-the-art technology, that provides teachers, school counselors and administers with classroom management and student safety solutions, all in one place, to support hybrid learning.

COVID-19 has changed the way schools deliver instruction and has highlighted the need for solutions to support the continuation of education whether students are learning in class or through distance learning. The tools in Impero’s new platform help teachers manage student devices and stay on top of potential safety or health concerns. Because the platform is cloud-based and the tools work with multiple devices, it is a well-rounded solution to support instruction, whether students are learning online, in person, or in a hybrid model during COVID-19 and beyond.

Impero’s new cloud-based services include:…Read More

How IT leaders can thrive in the post-COVID era

This school year is unlike any other. More than 90 percent of households with school-age children are engaged in some form of distance learning from home, while college students are navigating a variety of hybrid remote learning environments. These new learning environments present challenges for educators and school IT leaders alike.

Related content: How COVID put a spotlight on equity

As educational institutions of all sizes are weighing how to keep students engaged while also ensuring their safety, IT departments are faced with a difficult task – how to keep operations running regardless of the learning environment.…Read More

Super Duper’s Jeepers Peepers Game Wins 2020 NAPPA Award

Super Duper Publications’ Jeepers Peepers The “Ask and Answer” Question Game has earned a 2020 National Parenting Product Award (NAPPA). This popular family favorite won in the Best Board & Card Games category.

“Jeepers Peepers is a great interactive game because it’s so much fun to play, and at the same time helps young children develop important skills such as asking questions, describing, categorizing, and problems solving,” said Thomas Webber, chairman of Super Duper Publications. “We are honored that NAPPA recognized it as one of the best card games for families.”

The National Parenting Product Awards has celebrated the best in family products for more than 30 years and is one of the longest-running family product awards programs in the country.…Read More

Solving at-the-Desk Classroom Charging Problems with a New, Multi-Use Solution

JAR Systems launches a new Active Charge upgrade for their Adapt4 USB-C Charging Station. Designed as a cost-effective solution for charging classroom devices while they are in use, it is a first-of-its-kind bundle. Active Charge saves districts time by including all essential items such as four power banks to actively charge devices while in use, adapters to connect older devices, and a USB-C charging station for both the power banks and mobile devices.

“We saw so many districts struggling with the same dilemma, but the solutions were all temporary and costly. We knew we had to offer something that would not only solve their need for active charging now but also provide long-term value,” said Axel Zimmermann, the company’s CEO regarding the development of the product.

Active Charge helps districts to overcome the monetary and physical barriers that they have faced in combatting low battery life, allowing the focus to stay on learning. It costs less than other battery-powered options and is more practical than running cables and power strips to desks. It enables districts to get more mileage from their current devices and they can also continue to use the Adapt4 USB-C Charging Station even after they refresh their devices.…Read More

How automation keeps bullying in check—both in-person and remote

Even a pandemic won’t stop bad student behavior–and in many cases, it inflames behaviors such as bullying.

In this conversation with eSchool News, Laura Lockhart, director of student services of Keller Independent School District in Texas talks about how the district digitally updated their bullying reporting process to keep students safe and meet federal reporting regulations.

Related content:  How COVID put a spotlight on equity…Read More

Frontline Education Acquires SuccessEd

Frontline Education, a leading provider of school administration software for the K-12 education community, today announced that it has acquired SuccessEd, a Texas-based K-12 software provider. With this acquisition, Frontline enhances its commitment to serving the special education community.

“This new partnership between Frontline Education and SuccessEd brings a best-in-class relationship management and customer care model together with continuous technical innovation in product functionality,” said Mark Gruzin, CEO of Frontline Education. “Our combined organization will drive additional value and an enhanced client experience for our partners in special education management across the country.”

SuccessEd team members, most of whom are former educators, have worked on behalf of special education and special programs for over 25 years. This acquisition provides Frontline Education with an opportunity to further serve its special education and special programs clients through expanded levels of Texas state-specific domain expertise. As part of the Frontline Education family, SuccessEd clients will benefit from access to a broad portfolio of connected solutions that are purpose-built for K-12 schools and proactively adapted to the changing ways schools operate.…Read More

VuWall Introduces Multi-Video Wall Control and AV Distribution

VuWall, a technology leader in video wall control systems and unified visualization solutions, today announced the introduction of their new VuTrex™ technology, the first of its kind to bridge AV, IT and IP systems to manage and control any visual content across any type of display or video wall. VuTrex is now embedded in each component of the VuWall ecosystem of products. Its unique hybrid and standards-based approach enables seamless interoperability between all devices.

VuTrex is the architecture and methodology that is at the core of every software component in the VuWall ecosystem, bringing efficiency to the entire video wall management workflow. VuTrex is responsible for the ecosystem’s interoperability, expandability and simple configuration, without the need for programming.

“Video walls are becoming present in all work spaces, and they are now an integral part of most AV installations. Our customers face many challenges when it comes to handling AV and IT content, and big data,” said Paul Vander Plaetse, CEO of VuWall. “After several years of intense development, we are proud to bring a unique and disruptive technology to the market that will overcome those challenges and help integrators reduce integration time, reduce project risk and future-proof their end users’ investment.”…Read More

Strategies for teaching SEL skills during virtual learning

Why did you go into education? I bet it was because you love teaching and inspiring young minds. However, these days teachers are faced with an increased focus on academic benchmarks, state testing–and currently, major changes with the switch to virtual learning.

This shift in focus is causing an increase in teacher stress due to the workload, and the teacher shortage this year is at the highest we have seen in decades. How does an educator teach the important academic skills that will be measured on formative assessments, but also the meaningful life skills that will prepare each student for their future?

Related content: 8 great resources for classroom SEL…Read More

Super Duper Digital Library is selected as a Winner by Two Prestigious Family Awards Programs

The Super Duper Digital Library, a collection of hundreds of online cards, games, and worksheets to support reading and literacy skills for children in Pre-K – Grade 5, recently won two prestigious awards programs – the Family Choice Awards and the Mom’s Choice Awards.

The Family Choice Awards selected the Digital Library as a winner in four categories: Technology & Apps, Children (Early Elementary), Special Needs, and Music & Audio Books.

The Mom’s Choice Awards named the Digital Library a Gold winner, making it the 11th Super Duper product to earn the coveted Mom’s Choice Awards winner’s seal.…Read More

Using data to strengthen writing instruction

Writing is often difficult for educators to teach, challenging for students to do, and hard for administrators to monitor and evaluate. Yet writing well—and the high-quality writing instruction behind it–has become an increasingly important 21st century skill due to online college and job applications, as well as the reliance on email and collaborative documents in many 21st century careers.

Ways to compile and use data to guide writing instruction were explained during an edWebinar sponsored by Texthelp, which featured Joni Degner and Mark Schwartz, a Director and a Product Evangelist for Texthelp. The software automates and accelerates many aspects of the writing-evaluation process, though each teacher’s grading and feedback also remain crucial parts of the process.

Related content: 10 writing lessons for distance learning…Read More

Trox Launches New SHIELD Protection Program for Chromebooks and Other Mobile Devices

Trox, a leading North American provider of education technology and collaboration solutions, today announced the launch of its new proprietary Trox SHIELDSM Protection Program for Chromebooks and other mobile devices.

Trox SHIELD helps educators protect their technology investment by ensuring that mobile devices and remain in circulation. Offering a zero cost of ownership guarantee for devices, Trox SHIELD extends the original manufacturer’s warranty and covers accidental damage. Trox certified technicians repair damaged devices, which allows IT teams to focus on supporting students and teachers.

“Demand for Chromebooks and laptops is at an all-time high for schools. Devices that are damaged in transit puts significant strain on limited budgets and IT resources,” said Sarah Kydd, Chief Operating Officer, Trox. “With many schools offering remote or blended learning, ensuring that students have working devices is more important than ever. That’s why we added Trox SHIELD to our robust lifecycle management services.”…Read More