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Podcast 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.

Osmo From BYJU’s Names Kar-Han Tan, Ph.D., Head of Computer Vision and Machine Learning

Palo Alto, CA–Feb 10, 2022–Award-winning STEAM brand, Osmo from BYJU’S, announces Kar-Han Tan’s appointment as Head of Computer Vision and Machine Learning, effective immediately. With three decades leading teams in robotics and AI research and development, Tan will further thedevelopment of a world-class computer vision and AI platform that aids in the creation of new products, games, and devices incorporating gains made in deep learning technology. In addition, he will lead a growing global team to research, develop, and optimize new algorithms for computer vision and AI-enabled features such as object detection, object recognition, hand tracking, pattern matching, and hand-drawing analysis, among others, all in an effort to create the best learning tools and outcomes.

“We were impressed by Kar-Han’s extensive experience leading R&D teams in robotics, AI, and deep learning,” says Mark Solomon, Senior Vice President of Products and Platform at BYJU’S. “His background will help Osmo expand the usage of computer vision technology across BYJU’S various products and platforms, further meeting the needs of learners of all ages everywhere.”

Tan, who was born and educated in Singapore, most recently founded Helpful Robotics LLC, which designed and built an AI-enabled autonomous assistive robot from the ground up, and fostered a collaboration between scientists and engineers located in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the University of California San Francisco, and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.…Read More

The Illinois Learning Technology Purchase Program Selects ParentSquare as a Vendor Partner for School-Home Communications

Santa Barbara, CA — Dec. 15, 2021— ParentSquare, the award-winning unified school-home communications platform for K-12 education, has been named a vendor partner by the Illinois Learning Technology Purchase Program (ILTPP).

The ILTPP is a statewide cooperative created by Illinois’ Learning Technology Center (LTC), Regional Offices of Education (ROE), and Intermediate Service Centers (ISC) in 1998. Its goal is to provide a voluntary purchasing program that combines the purchasing power of Illinois school districts and other eligible educational entities to offer competitive pricing on technology products and services.

Approved vendors undergo a rigorous evaluation before obtaining ILTPP’s approval for partnership. The program researches the reliability of each vendor by contacting three educational facilities that have purchased their products within the last year. In addition, an advisory committee consisting of LTC, ROE, and ISC directors and Illinois State Board of Education officials assesses the vendors’ pricing and products.…Read More

What’s in store for the post-pandemic classroom?

Seventy-seven percent of classroom teachers believe technology will help them be more effective in the post-pandemic classroom, but just 38 percent of educators report a positive view of teaching profession, according to a new survey.

Teacher optimism has fallen to pre-pandemic levels, according to new research out today from learning technology company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH). In its 2021 Educator Confidence Report, an annual barometer for how educators on the front lines in schools across the country are feeling about the state of teaching and learning, 37 percent of educators reported thinking the pandemic would increase respect for teachers this year–a significant decrease from 63 percent in 2020.

Still, while teachers are navigating the challenges spurred by the pandemic, the report also reveals rising confidence in mastery and benefit of learning technologies and an unwavering commitment to student well-being in the post-pandemic classroom.…Read More

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Copyleaks Inc Partners with Canvas LMS to Offer Plagiarism Detection using AI and Machine Learning.

Copyleaks, an artificial intelligence platform that detects plagiarism, today announced a partnership today with Canvas, the learning management platform from Instructure, that allows educational institutions to seamlessly enable advanced plagiarism detection software directly within a Canvas account. Copyleaks can now be accessed by thousands of K-12 schools and universities around the world that are part of the ever-expanding Canvas community.

Through its artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, Copyleaks is able to understand and learn more about the text that students are writing throughout the school year. While many plagiarism checkers only find identical matches of text, Copyleaks can spot similar words and paraphrased text that are commonly missed by plagiarism software. The platform allows both teachers and students to improve their writing processes.

As more schools adapt to an e-learning environment this fall, teachers are both emphasizing the importance of academic integrity, as well as taking extra precautions to check that students have written original work.…Read More

5 tips to build academic integrity

The importance of academic integrity can’t be underestimated, especially when it comes to blended learning. And these aren’t just words. Statistics show there was a 68 percent increase in the number of integrity violations reported in 2019-2020 compared with 2018-2019.

With the rise of digital innovation, distance learning technology has become an integral part of blended learning – an approach that integrates technology and digital media with traditional instructor-led classroom activities. It also made academic integrity a significant point of concern. Students are now expected to possess an increased degree of autonomy – probably the highest in history, which might nudge them toward cheating.

Related content: 4 best practices for remote testing…Read More

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Infobase Acquires Professional Development and Training Platform

Infobase, the award-winning provider of the Infobase Learning Ecosystem, which delivers interactive learning experiences and award-winning digital reference content to the school and library community, today announced the acquisition of Hoonuit’s Professional Development and Training Platform, the leading solution for educators needing to improve student learning and meet district, state, and department objectives. With this purchase, Infobase empowers educators with the professional development and training resources they need to create college- and career-ready students.

Helping Educators Close Student Learning Gaps

Infobase is now positioned to connect educators with the solutions they need to fill learning gaps, provide social-emotional learning support, and successfully utilize distance learning technology through the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.…Read More

Florida Virtual School migrates to Brightspace

Florida Virtual School (FLVS), a statewide public school district in the state of Florida and international provider of education products and services, has selected D2L, a global learning technology provider, to deploy its Brightspace platform as the district’s new learning management system (LMS).

FLVS, the largest fully accredited online state public school in the U.S., had nearly 400,000 completed semester enrollments in the 2015-16 academic year.

The Brightspace platform includes a number of advantages that were key elements in its selection by FLVS. Since the platform incorporates personalized learning, teachers can deliver their lessons with much greater flexibility and give each student the personal experience they need to succeed. Brightspace was designed with modern students in mind and offers a clean, responsive user experience as well as integrated social media, chat and advanced video features.…Read More

Brightspace Excellence Awards highlight innovation in online learning

This year’s Brightspace Excellence Awards, announced at FUSION 2016 by global learning technology provider D2L, recognized the promise of online learning and its ability to connect more and more people to high-quality educational programs.

Faculty dedicated to helping students learn online created robust online environments and high-quality tools to help students succeed in their online learning endeavors.

This year’s crop of winners demonstrated progress and innovation in student and teacher engagement, student retention, and teaching and learning efficiencies that resulted in cost savings.…Read More

Microsoft, HP make laptop pitch to Maine educators

HP’s ProBook 440 beat out Apple’s iPad and Macbook Air, as well as an HP tablet and the CTL 2go Classmate PC, as the preferred device for the Maine Learning Technology Initiative.

Hewlett-Packard and Windows 8 might not take Maine’s Apple-loving schools by storm, but HP and Microsoft making a strong pitch to educators who must decide this week which laptops or tablets they’re going to provide to more than 70,000 middle and high school students this fall.

Apple was the sole provider of laptops under the Maine Learning Technology Initiative for a decade before HP won a competition in late April to become the state’s preferred one-to-one computing vendor.…Read More

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