Spaces4Learning Names Lightspeed’s Mobile PA A Platinum 2023 New Product Award Winner

TUALATIN, ORE. (PRWEB) — Lightspeed, the provider of instructional audio solutions that create equal access to learning, announces that the company’s  Mobile PA solution was named a Platinum  2023 New Product Award winner by Spaces4Learning. The annual awards program honors the outstanding product development achievements of education companies whose services or solutions are particularly noteworthy in their ability to enhance the learning environment.

A portable, all-in-one instructional audio system, Mobile PA extends the learning environment beyond the classroom and provides a clear, even distribution of sound—no matter where learning takes place. Unveiled in  September 2022, Mobile PA ensures students can hear their teachers’ voices. In addition, Mobile PA is easy to move, Bluetooth enabled and includes a built-in charging cradle and storage for two wireless microphones so educators can use Lightspeed’s Mobile PA solution throughout their school each day.

According to the latest  Gradient Learning Poll, 80% of educators are concerned about their students’ lack of engagement in classroom-based learning. While there are several indicators that help educators track engagement, 77% of educators noted that the level of student participation in discussions helps them assess if students are engaged and connecting with instruction.…Read More

Mobile app helps students with special needs self-monitor behavior

Key points:

  • A new grant will fund research around increasing the academic engagement of students with special needs
  • Teachers will benefit from insights into how to best support students with unique needs who also wish to be independent
  • See related article: What matters most for our special education teachers?

When Sara Estrapala started her career as a high school paraeducator supporting students with disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, learning disorders and challenging behaviors, she quickly recognized a challenge–her teenage students desire to make their own decisions and their teachers’ struggle to keep them engaged and following directions.

Now an assistant research professor in the University of Missouri College of Education and Human Development, Estrapala is leading a four-year, $519,939 early career development and mentoring grant aimed at increasing academic engagement and decreasing disruptive behavior by empowering select students to self-regulate their own behavior.…Read More

Internet Safety Labs Advances Mobile App Safety for K-12 Students, Families and Educators with New App Microscope

SAN DIEGO (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  Internet Safety Labs, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent software product safety testing, today announced a big leap forward to help ensure mobile app safety for K-12 students, families and educators with the introduction of the App Microscope.

Funded with support from the  Internet Society Foundation, the new web-based resource is designed to help school technology decision-makers and other interested parties pierce the technology fog and take a good hard look at what is really going on with children’s private and personal data inside the EdTech mobile applications they are using.

The extensive research presented in the ISL’s  2022 K12 Edtech Safety Benchmark Findings Report Part 1 makes it clear the technology recommended and used by U.S. educational institutions poses substantial privacy and safety risks to children and families. The report shows that 96% of educational apps share children’s personal information with third parties — 78% of the time with advertising and data analytics entities – and typically without the knowledge or consent of the users or the schools.…Read More

Ellipsis Education Launches the Curriculum Delivery Platform

CARMEL, Ind. – Ellipsis Education, a leader in computer science curriculum for K-12 education, has launched the Curriculum Delivery Platform (CDP) that will provide everything educators need to teach computer science in one place.

The CDP is an online portal where teachers access and navigate Ellipsis courses. Designed to be mobile-responsive, the CDP makes the curriculum teachers know and love easier to use. Features of the CDP include:

  • Streamlined organization; 
  • Increased access to resources; 
  • Improved look and feel;
  • Access to a standards map on the lesson-level page; and 
  • Easier movement between courses.

“We hope that teachers will find this delivery tool efficient to use and attractive to view,” said Dr. Whitney Dove, CEO at Ellipsis Education. “Our goal is to put the curriculum at teachers’ fingertips, so they spend less time gathering their materials and more time doing what they do best—teaching!”…Read More

ASCD Unveils Witsby™, Its Next-Generation, Mobile OptimizedProfessional Learning Platform

Arlington, VA (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ASCD releases Witsby™, a new professional learning and credentialing platform featuring ASCD’s trusted research-based content. Designed for digital, the next-generation professional learning platform features thousands of bite-sized learning objects, courses and on-demand content from ASCD authors and experts to support the ongoing development and growth of teachers. Witsby is backed by powerful analytics, multi-layered reporting tools and authoring capabilities to give school leaders the ability to blend their own professional development assets with ASCD professional learning content.

“We’re excited to give educators what they have been asking for – a professional development tool that meets the needs of today’s teacher. Created with input from instructional leaders, coaches, teachers and administrators, Witsby is the first on-demand, mobile-optimized platform that empowers district leaders to build meaningful learning journeys for teachers,” said Penny Reinart, ASCD Deputy Executive Director. “Our goal is that Witsby will become THE solution for districts to attract, retain and support teachers throughout their career.”

Witsby is designed to create tailored, personalized professional learning paths to help educators stay on track–and on pace–to meet their evolving needs and goals. …Read More

Lightspeed Unveils Mobile PA, Extending Instructional Audio Beyond the Classroom

TUALATIN, ORE. (PRWEB) — Lightspeed, a leading provider of powerful instructional audio solutions, announces Mobile PA, a wireless and portable instructional audio system that expands access to learning and gives teachers, administrators and students the freedom to be heard and understood anywhere.

Barriers to listening are even more prevalent in large, outdoor spaces, making the delivery of instruction and engaging students challenging.

Lightspeed’s Mobile PA overcomes these barriers by engaging students with exceptional audio quality, durability and ease-of-use. Each grab-and-go unit stores everything to get started quickly, including wireless microphones for both the teacher and students and a battery that lasts a whole school day.…Read More

Carousel Digital Signage and Indiana School District Get into the School Spirit

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA  Carousel Digital Signage has provided Elkhart Community Schools with a seamless way to communicate timely, up-to-date messages to its diverse network of students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The K-12 public school district now uses Carousel Cloud to distribute department-specific messaging throughout its high school. The school district is also working with Carousel partner Jamf to securely convert Apple TV devices into media players, and providing access to meeting room schedules on mobile devices.

Based in Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart Community Schools serves approximately 12,000 students. The public school district is comprised of 14 elementary schools, three middle schools, and one high school. Elkhart Community Schools also oversees the Elkhart Area Career Center, which offers programs for high school juniors and seniors seeking to make the transition into college or a career.   

Elkhart Community Schools has now successfully rolled out the new solution at Elkhart High School, explains Stephen DeCook, Technology Deployment Administrator at the district. The system is configured into separate zones to address the needs of different departments, such as arts, athletics, business, and food services. Each department can now contribute content and messages related to classes, special events, and programs, with food services updating menu options daily.   

DeCook’s technology department has also integrated Carousel Cloud with an RSS feed that displays internal-facing messaging about system status throughout the school, which helps to streamline troubleshooting and service calls for an IT and technology team with limited human resources. There is also a main zone for more generalized, school-wide announcements, which Carousel Cloud disseminates to all departments.  

“Contributors from different departments will display relevant themes depending on what day of the week it is, or if it’s a special day celebrating a certain event in history, to keep content fresh and engaging,” said DeCook. “We are using Carousel’s Education template, and right out of the box it was ready to go. We added a few pieces of our own content and were up and running.”  

One significant advantage of Carousel Digital Signage’s partnership with Jamf is Elkhart personnel can access conference room scheduling information using their iPads through the Jamf’s secure mobile device management (MDM) platform. DeCook says that the integration has streamlined the reservation process considerably.   

“It’s really helped folks who need to have impromptu meetings,” he explained. “They immediately know which rooms are in use and which are free without interrupting any meetings in progress.”   

Elkhart is also taking advantage of the system’s built-in weather and news feeds, and DeCook adds that his team is in the process of integrating Carousel Cloud with Singlewire’s InformaCast mass notification system for emergency messaging.   

DeCook notes that Carousel Cloud’s third-party integration capabilities help to optimize the school district’s return on investment. “We’re a Google shop, and it’s been easy to merge Carousel with Google. I don’t have to set up an additional account for the users that are         responsible for developing and distributing content,” he explained. “It’s easy to configure, and they offer a ton of information. And, whenever I’ve needed additional help and reached out to Carousel, their support has been excellent.”  

Five users are responsible for content development and delivery today, and this number will continue to expand as the district scales up its usage. DeCook, who estimates that the user count will grow to approximately 20 people, shares that Elkhart Community Schools will soon deploy Carousel Cloud at several of its elementary schools. “They’ve seen how the signage at the high school works and want to benefit from the same features,” he said.   

DeCook predicts that this continuing expansion will be relatively straightforward, thanks to Carousel’s intuitive user interface. “It’s a really robust system, but as soon as you understand the basics it’s really easy to navigate,” he said. “And through our Google integration we have full  control over who has access to which parts of the system, which enables us maintain our strict security standards.”  

Digital signage in general also helps to keep a diverse population of staff, students, and visitors engaged, DeCook adds. “We have a large community of English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) students, and the food services staff, for example, is excited about being able to display visuals alongside menu listings to help those individuals understand the content more easily,” he said. “We are also giving students up-to-date and sometimes real-time information on events and happenings, or opportunities to sign up for interesting programs. That helps us get everybody excited about what’s going on at our schools. It’s no secret that kids aren’t always thrilled about having to be at school, but when we can leverage this tool to show them some of the cool things that are going on, that helps to inspire more involvement.”  

About Carousel Digital Signage

Carousel is Digital Signage Content Management Software that is easy to use, scalable, and  reliable. With a deep feature set and strong technology partnerships Carousel gives you the most value in digital signage. Carousel Digital Signage is a division of Tightrope Media Systems. You can reach the Carousel team at (866) 866-4118, or visit www.carouselsignage.com.  

How to educate in the 4th Industrial Revolution

Just for a moment, think about your physical environment. Perhaps you’re taking your lunch break in your car that has satellite radio and reading this article on a mobile device. Maybe you’re at home on your computer where you’ve got another browser tab open, creating a meeting agenda in Google Drive to share with your colleagues. 

Evidence that we’re in the middle of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) is all around us. From the mobile device that can connect you via FaceTime or Slack with co-workers worldwide to cloud computing, we operate in a time and space marked by its reliance on artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, the Internet of Things, and automation.

As individuals interested in empowering the next generation of young people to succeed, it is time to ensure that the field of education is appropriately responding to the 4IR, which has impacted nearly every industry in recent years. The question, then, is how can we ensure that we educate students to succeed in a world dominated by the 4IR?…Read More