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.

New ManagedMethods Report Reveals 30% of K-12 School Districts Lack Cloud Application Security

BOULDER, Colo.—November 16, 2021— ManagedMethods, the leading Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 cybersecurity, student safety, and compliance platform for education, today announced new research that found gaps in the cybersecurity strategies of district administrators when protecting their cloud collaboration and storage applications. The research findings were released in a special report,  What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: New Survey Identifies Gaps in K-12 Cloud Security, commissioned by ManagedMethods and administered by the  EdWeek Research Center.

The report reveals 30% of district administrators with at least a medium level of influence on technology decisions do not have a security platform to protect cloud applications. In total, half of respondents either did not have a platform in place or did not know if a platform had been implemented in their district.

“School districts have long led the charge into cloud technology by embracing Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 cloud applications. This new research tells us that some district administrators are unaware of the cybersecurity, safety, and privacy risks that come with using them,” said Charlie Sander, Chief Executive Officer at ManagedMethods. “Technology leaders need to know their cloud environments may be vulnerable, and that it’s their responsibility to secure them.”…Read More

Future of School Announces Microsoft as the Newest Resilient Schools Project Partner

Future of School (FoS) today announced that Microsoft has joined as a partner in the Resilient Schools Project (RSP) to provide access to valuable training sessions from Microsoft Store aimed to support educators with remote and hybrid learning. The RSP, a partnership between FoS and the Digital Learning Collaborative (DLC), is an initiative designed

to help schools and districts respond to instruction disruptions during the 2020-21 school year and beyond.

“Addressing immediate school district challenges is only the beginning of the Resilient Schools Project,” said Amy Valentine, CEO and Education Evangelist of Future of School. “Now is the time to think big and pursue ambitious goals related to flexibility, accessibility, equity and achievement. It’s clear that Microsoft’s commitment to the transformative potential of technology, and to giving educators and students tools that empower them, makes it an ideal partner to work with us in pursuit of the RSP’s objective.”…Read More

ManagedMethods Launches Industry-leading Student Cyber Safety Monitoring Powered by Artificial Intelligence

ManagedMethods, the leading Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 cybersecurity, student safety, and compliance platform for K-12 school districts, today announced the launch of its Signals student safety monitoring feature.

Signals by ManagedMethods is an AI-powered student safety monitoring feature that helps administrators detect when a student is in crisis and in danger of potentially harming themselves. It does this by monitoring district Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts for distress signals, and hidden cries for help. Upon detection, Signals sends alerts to designated school administrators in real-time. These alerts include the information needed to understand the incident, allowing for quick response to a student in need.

“We have put a tremendous amount of effort into developing the K-12 education industry’s leading AI technology for student safety monitoring over this past year,” said Charlie Sander, Chief Executive Officer at ManagedMethods. “Student safety is such an important focal point in making—and keeping—schools safe. We’re proud to see Signals already making a positive impact on students and staff in schools today.”…Read More

Nureva HDL300 system is now Microsoft Teams certified

Nureva Inc., an innovator in advanced audio conferencing solutions, announces that its Nureva HDL300 audio conferencing system is now certified as a Microsoft Teams Room device. After undergoing Microsoft’s rigorous testing process, the HDL300 system becomes the first microphone and speaker bar to be certified for large meeting spaces up to 15′ x 28′ (4.5 x 8.5 m). Powered by patented Microphone Mist™ technology, the HDL300 system fills a room with 8,192 virtual microphones so in-room participants can move around, maintain physical distance and still be heard clearly by remote participants. Unlike traditional audio conferencing systems for large spaces, there isn’t a need for a DSP, complex installation and calibration of multiple components such as table-top pods and ceiling mics. IT teams can quickly and easily install and set up the HDL300 system in under an hour. The system hangs on a wall with two screws and connects via USB to a computer with Teams software. It calibrates automatically and continuously so the Teams Room is always ready to go – even if it has been reconfigured to accommodate changing uses or distancing protocols.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Teams has become indispensable to a growing number of organizations and education institutions around the globe that have shifted to a hybrid model, where a combination of workers or learners are physically in the same space, alongside those who are remote. Recent data show that daily active Teams users climbed to over 115 million at the end of October, and more than 230,000 education institutions are using Teams for remote and hybrid learning. As those numbers continue to grow, reliable audio conferencing that is easy to implement and manage will continue to be an essential aspect of any IT strategy to support collaboration. The HDL300 provides Teams customers with a new certified device option that is ideally suited to meet this need.

“As the global adoption of Teams continues to grow, so will the need for reliable audio conferencing solutions that deliver performance without complexity,” said Nancy Knowlton, Nureva’s CEO. “We are thrilled that the HDL300 is the first microphone and speaker bar to be certified for Microsoft Teams in large meeting rooms, demonstrating its unique ability to provide full-room microphone coverage from a single device.”…Read More

ManagedMethods Launches Google Classroom Monitoring & Reporting

ManagedMethods, a leading Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) and Microsoft 365 cybersecurity, student safety and compliance platform for K-12 school districts, today announced the launch of its new Google Classroom monitoring and reporting features. District IT teams now have the ability to track Google Classroom from the same cybersecurity and student safety platform that monitors their other G Suite for Education applications.

“K-12 education is undergoing a major shift as students and teachers begin the school year in remote or hybrid learning environments. For IT admins, this is creating new technology, access, and security challenges,” said Charlie Sander, Chief Executive Officer at ManagedMethods. “Our new Google Classroom features will give IT teams the visibility and control needed to support teachers during these challenging times, while protecting students when learning remotely.”

District IT administrators now have access to the following Google Classroom monitoring and reporting features—from one easy-to-use platform:…Read More

Gaggle Reports Over 95% of School Districts Renew Their Partnerships

Many districts across the United States are starting the 2020–21 school year using hybrid or fully remote learning, so students’ online safety remains a top priority. That fact, plus Gaggle’s high success in saving student lives (927 in the 2019–20 school year), has resulted in 95% of districts renewing subscriptions to Gaggle’s student safety solution, up from the previous year. In addition, 286 districts across 42 states have implemented services with Gaggle since March.

“The School District of Osceola County utilizes multiple systems to protect its students in an increasingly complex digital world,” said Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace. “Gaggle is one system that the district relies on to monitor the safety of our students’ Microsoft email and OneDrive, and has proven itself on multiple occasions, especially during possible student situations. During the last year, the district was notified of 14 possible student situations, including issues of violence and suicide. Knowing that Gaggle is monitoring the safety of our students is a great comfort.”

For more than 20 years, Gaggle has helped thousands of districts avoid tragedies and save lives while also protecting against district liability. The company helps ensure student safety in digital spaces by providing real-time monitoring of the use of online tools within Google’s G Suite, Microsoft Office 365, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, and the Canvas learning management system for more than 4.5 million students across the United States.…Read More

Merge Releases Hand-Held Digital Teaching Aids

Merge, the leader in mixed reality for K-12 education, announced today their new hand-held digital teaching aids are now available for teachers and students worldwide. The hands-on digital collections help students with science related studies in a whole new way as they continue to learn at home, at school, or in a hybrid environment during and post COVID-19.

“As a Microsoft Education Partner, Merge is focused on providing educators our new hands-on digital teaching aids, which are one of the most significant technological advancements in education since computers were first brought into the classroom over three decades ago,” said Franklin Lyons, Founder and CEO of Merge. “We are working to help teachers across the world upgrade their learning tools by integrating Microsoft technology like Immersive Reader and Teams with Merge EDU.”

“We’re pleased that Merge is a top-tier Microsoft Education Partner,” says Dan Ayoub, General Manager, Education Experiences at Microsoft Corp. “Merge is making an impact in education. The Merge Cube is an innovative school supply: with a single Merge Cube, students have access to thousands of dollars of real-world 3D models they can use for hands-on learning.” Merge’s innovative approach to learning resources is a significant leap forward in giving students the ability to hold and study objects in their hands without having to pass physical models and items to other students. Setting a new standard, the digital teaching aids will alter the way millions of students learn in 150,000 U.S. schools as well as over a billion students worldwide.…Read More

New remote learning hub

Buncee recently released their new Remote Learning Hub – a centralized collection of resources to support your remote learning needs! If you’re looking to transition to a distance learning environment, Buncee’s new site features helpful resources and lessons to help integrate Buncee along with tools like Microsoft Teams and Immersive Reader, Google Classroom, Wakelet, and Flipgrid.

You’ll also see examples of how educators are currently implementing Buncee into their remote instruction by sharing engaging resources and lessons, having students create to demonstrate their learning, and keeping the community connected with personalized communications. There’s also a guide of fun activities for families to work on at home.

For more information: www.remotelearning.buncee.com…Read More

Microsoft extends access to Minecraft: Education Edition and resources to support remote learning

As COVID-19 concerns prompt school closures around the world, many educators are turning to remote learning to keep students engaged.  To help teachers and students stay connected to the classroom, Minecraft: Education Edition is now available through June 2020 for all educators and learners who have a valid Office 365 Education account. Please fill out this form to verify your account and request access to Minecraft.

We have also compiled a special Minecraft remote learning toolkit, which includes more than 50 lessons, STEM curriculum and project-based learning activities so educators can use Minecraft: Education Edition with their students whether they are in school, at home or in another remote learning environment.

Features like classroom multiplayer allow students to collaborate on projects in their Minecraft worlds, building, planning, learning and even chatting as they work together. (Download this how-to guide for using Multiplayer Mode.) When they are ready to document their work and submit their projects, students can use tools like the Camera and Book & Quill to take screenshots, write about their work and export their in-game portfolios as PDF.…Read More

Richardson Independent School District – Texas, USA

BARCO SOLUTION

  • wePresent

KEY BENEFITS

  • Improves student learning & drives engagement
  • Ease of use for teachers & stimulates interactive teaching
  • Supports different BYOD operating systems & perfectly integrates in the network

The Richardson Independent School District in Texas, USA, was not looking for just any wireless solution. They wanted one that would accommodate all users. This is a must in an age when Bring Your Own Device practices reign supreme and every classroom is inhabited by a mix of Google, Apple, Android and Microsoft devices. For Technology Project Manager, Terry Balch, finding such a solution was far more difficult than it should have been:…Read More